The internet has a large environmental impact due to the large amount of energy required to run the data centers which are needed to store the data which exists on the internet. The electricity needs of the ITC sector can be considered as having the third largest demand after the US and China.
ITC Sector Electricity Consumption in 2012 compared to countries:
For a more in depth explanation how the ICT sector, in particular the internet, impacts the environment through electricity consumption and emission generation, check out the video below!
Additionally, the CO2 emissions by life phase of a smart phone can be seen in the graphic below. 73% of CO2 emissions occur during the manufacturing phase. This is due to the fact that the majority of smartphones manufactured are assembled in China where 67% of China's electricity comes from coal fired power plants. Use accounts for 19% of the carbon footprint of a smartphone where use would include the emissions from charging as well as data consumed from respective applications such as Google, Facebook, and Netflix.
- It has been estimated that half an hour of watching Netflix accounts for 1.6 kg of CO2 emissions which is equivalent to to driving nearly 6.5 kms.
- Sending one email is estimated to release 4 g of CO2 emissions
- Sending one email with an attachment is estimated to release 50 g of CO2 emissions
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