If the share of digital in the country’s carbon dioxide emissions may now seem anecdotal or almost – only 2.5%, or 17.2 million tonnes of CO2 – the outlook is not reassuring for all that.
On Monday March 6, Ademe and Arcep presented the Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, and the Minister Delegate for the Digital Transition and Telecommunications, Jean -Noël Barrot, the results of a prospective study on the environmental footprint of digital technology in France by 2030 and 2050. This document, the third part of their prospective survey, raises fears that cleaning our mailboxes is not enough.
A carbon footprint that could increase by 50% in 2030, and triple by 2050
According to the report, if nothing is done to reduce the environmental footprint of digital technology and if uses continue to progress at the current rate, data traffic should be multiplied by six by 2030. The number of devices should also increase by nearly 65% in 2030 compared to 2020, particularly against a backdrop of the boom in connected objects.
This would result in an increase, between 2020 and 2030, of the digital carbon footprint in France by around 45%, to reach 25 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The consumption of abiotic resources (metals and minerals) would also increase by 14%, and the final electricity consumption in the use phase by 5%, to reach 54 TWh per year.
The forecasts are even darker for 2050, since the carbon footprint of digital technology could triple compared to 2020. “While this digital development makes it possible in part to reduce other environmental impacts in other sectors, the consumption it would generate in terms of electricity and resources in any case raises the question of their feasibility (will it be possible to produce as much electricity or consume as much raw material in a world where tensions are increasing?)explains the document. To achieve the objective of the Paris Agreement in 2050, digital must play its part: a collective effort involving all stakeholders is therefore necessary”.
Action levers identified to reduce the impact
Ademe and Arcep did not content themselves with presenting worrying prospects to Bercy: they also identified levers for action. The study highlights that one of the major environmental issues of digital, in addition to its carbon footprint, is the availability of strategic metals and other resources used for the manufacture of televisions, computers, internet boxes or smartphones.
Concept in view in terms of energy, the “digital sobriety” is mentioned, and it is from this that the optimistic scenario derives. The report recommends questioning the extent of the development of new digital products or services and the reduction or stabilization of the number of devices. This involves extending the lifespan of terminals by developing reconditioning. Equipment repair is also a major line of work, as is raising consumer awareness of these issues.
According to the experts, in order to improve energy efficiency in particular, eco-design must be systematized: for terminals, but also for all equipment (network infrastructures and data centers), as well as within the framework of deployment of digital networks and services. “The implementation of all of these levers would reduce the environmental footprint of digital technology by 2030: up to -16% for the carbon footprint compared to 2020”concludes the report.
“This third part of the study conducted by Ademe and Arcep, quantified and concrete, must challenge us stronglysaid Jean-Noël Barrot. If we don’t change anything, if we let current trends continue, the environmental impact could increase dramatically. […] We have neither the choice nor the right to inertia and inaction, in digital as in other sectors. Our society must take two major turning points: the ecological transition and the digital transition, it is imperative to lead them both together”.