The ecological footprint of electronic media goes deep. 88-inch and larger 8K UHD smart TVs, one-third more streaming usage among the under-30s, more and more data centres for digital content: The ecological footprint of electronic media is getting deeper.
Due to their large amounts of data, Netflix, YouTube and the like take a top spot in CO2 emissions. It’s estimated that around 80 percent of global data traffic is from streaming services.
1% of the world’s total electricity consumption is entirely devoted to watching videos.
The younger generation in particular consumes the most Netflix, YouTube, and other online formats and thus leaves the clearest ecological footprint behind. Of the average 7 hours of media consumption in the age group of 14 to 29 year olds, only 68 minutes is on broadcast television, while 81 minutes –and rising– are video-on-demand services. The consumption of video over the Internet is thus higher than television for the first time.
The use of these devices is driving up energy consumption worldwide. Today,
33 million tons of CO2 are emitted by the Internet and smart devices – roughly the same amount that is caused by all inner-German air traffic. Every year, energy demand rises by around nine percent.
A study by the French think tank The Shift Project has provided vivid examples of the amount of emissions of environmentally harmful greenhouse gases caused by intensive media use. The power consumption of Internet-enabled small devices in Germany accounts for around 8% of total electricity consumption – and here, too, the trend is rising.
CO2 emissions from these devices are even higher than those of the entire country of Croatia.
The growth of huge data centres – there were 50,000 in Germany in 2016 – has also boosted energy demand. Their total share of German electricity consumption is 2%, more than 10 terawatt hours.
This roughly corresponds with the amount consumed by 2.8 million 5-person households per year. Not included here are the greenhouse gases that arise during the procurement and production of the technical equipment.
Daily Netflix consumption on televisions also causes greenhouse gases. Depending on the model, emissions can range between 50 and 250 grams of CO2 per hour. According to the industry association gfu, the differences are significant, although manufacturers are increasingly developing more energy-efficient devices.
If you’re interested in your own CO2 emissions, then you should think carefully about whether you really need that 88-inch TV. The notorious standby mode also uses energy and is responsible for 1% of CO2 emissions worldwide.
by Paul Gäbler, translated and pubished with permission from Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin, 9 September 2019
© Colourbox with permission
