Increased internet use in lockdown wiped any gains from fewer flights

IT is said that at least lockdown was good for the planet; the birds and animals could live without our noise and cars killing them.

The massive reduction in international air travel and commuting meant a drop in carbon dioxide emissions.

But locked up at home 24/7, the need to heat and light the house at times when normally it wouldn’t be increased my carbon footprint. Plus hours of screen time, study online, film streaming, Tik-toking, Youtubing, Facebooking and Googling.

This got me thinking: did we really reduce our emissions? What is the carbon footprint of the ever-expanding internet?

Apart from the electricity used to charge phones and devices, every picture, video clip and email sent or received has a carbon cost that increases with file size and distance of travel. The new generation of high-resolution video for 5G streaming will be the worst offender.

A celebrity updating millions of followers about his breakfast, sending high-resolution video across the world, significantly adds to carbon emissions. The clip is stored for all time at large data facilities which never close and which consume as much electricity as small cities.

The new data farms outside Dublin consume over 20% of all electricity generated in the Republic and this will grow as new facilities come online.

In fact the internet as a whole now contributes about 6% of global emissions, which is equivalent to the emissions from the entire world’s air travel in an average year.

This consumption can only increase as more people post funny videos of their cats and share online narratives of their lives, and as teenage ‘influencers’ blog make-up tips and advertise consumer goods to millions of their fans.

The only hope, then, is expansion of green electricity generation.