ICT Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions -- Issues and Trends

TL;DR

It is concluded that more accurate emissions estimates will only be possible with a more more detailed, industry informed, understanding of the whole ICT landscape and much more transparent reporting of energy usage and emissions data by ICT stakeholders.

Abstract

As Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use has become more prevalent, there has been a growing concern in how its associated greenhouse gas emissions will impact the climate. Estimating such ICT emissions is a difficult undertaking due to its complexity, its rapidly changing nature, and the lack of accurate and up-to-date data on individual stakeholder emissions. In this paper we provide a framework for estimating ICT's carbon footprint and identify some of the issues that impede the task. We attempt to gain greater insight into the factors affecting the ICT sector by drawing on a number of interviews with industry experts. We conclude that more accurate emissions estimates will only be possible with a more more detailed, industry informed, understanding of the whole ICT landscape and much more transparent reporting of energy usage and emissions data by ICT stakeholders.

Figures (2)

• Figure 1: Map of stakeholder groups, organisations and participants interviewed.
• Figure 2: Simplified ICT landscape -–- use phase