
And these emissions are predicted to double by 2025. It is similar to the amount produced by the airline industry globally, explains Mike Hazas, a researcher at Lancaster University. The carbon footprint of our gadgets, the internet and the systems supporting them account for about 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions, according to some estimates. Those scraps of energy, and the associated greenhouse gases emitted with each online activity, can add up. Less obvious, but perhaps even more energy intensive, are the data centres and vast servers needed to support the internet and store the content we access over it.Īlthough the energy needed for a single internet search or email is small, approximately 4.1 billion people, or 53.6% of the global population, now use the internet.


As the day wears on you will doubtless spend even more time browsing online, uploading images, playing music and streaming video.Įach of these activities you perform online comes with a small cost – a few grams of carbon dioxide are emitted due to the energy needed to run your devices and power the wireless networks you access. It’s probable you’ve already replied to a couple of emails today, sent some chat messages and maybe performed a quick internet search.
