The growing footprint of digitalisation

The 27th edition of UNEP’s Foresight Brief explores the environmental impact of internet use and the increasing digitalization of the economy. It outlines some of the mitigating factors that can be implemented to green our digital future.
Since 2010, the number of internet users worldwide has doubled, and the global internet traffic has grown 12-fold. The digital services that we enjoy are sometimes referred to as “dematerialized technologies”, but is this really the case? Computers, servers and other electronic devices require large amounts of natural resources. The energy to run them emits high amounts of CO2, and programmed obsolescence and the low percentage of recycling (20%) are generating e-waste. The vast majority of data on the cloud are not used. Without denying the many benefits brought by these technologies, including for the environment, it is important for users, services providers and policy makers to understand what the impacts are and to learn how we can move towards greener digital technologies.