Computers are the real greenhouse gas guzzlers

FLYING may attract the wrath of environmentalists – but computing creates more greenhouse gas than planes, a study has revealed.

Information and communications technology (ICT) is believed to account for 2.1 to 3.9 per cent of global emissions – far greater than the aviation industry’s 2 per cent.

The Lancaster University study in the journal Patterns said the greenhouse gas emission rate is higher than thought if you take into account energy expended in manufacturing, the carbon cost of using the equipment, and the disposal.

This could be partly due to socalled ‘rebound effects’ where increased efficiencies result in increased demand.

Study author Professor Mike Berners-Lee, whose brother Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web, said: ‘ICT brings efficiencies. But its relationship to carbon reduction may not be as straightforward as many assume.’

The study recommends people should prioritise some computer functions over others that take up more energy, like bitcoin mining.