Digitalization leaves a mark, even if it is invisible. To manufacture a common laptop weighing two kilograms, almost a ton of materials is needed, about 800 kilos. Behind the extraction of these resources, there is an even bigger footprint. An example: two million liters of water are needed to extract 1,000 kilos of lithium, the basic material of today’s batteries. And the use of systems increases the list of side effects. Cryptocurrency mining alone increased its global energy consumption approximately 34 times between 2015 and 2023 and requires 121 TWh of energy annually, the equivalent of that of a country like Argentina. The UN group of experts (UNCTAD) warns of this situation in its latest report on the digital economy. (Digital Economy Report 2024).
The trail left by an airplane is a small, perceptible sample of the pollution generated by air traffic. But digitalization does not smoke and its effects are not so evident. However, according to the UNCTAD report, “carbon dioxide emissions from information and communication technologies range between 0.69 and 1.6 gigatonnes, between 1.5% and 3.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions.”
If all current digital information were stored on stacked compact discs, the tower would reach beyond the Moon (more than 384,400 kilometers), according to a study published in Science. The data centers alone needed to transport, store and process this huge amount of global information consumed 460 TWh of electricity in 2022 (almost double that of the consumption of a country like Spain), a figure that is expected to double by 2026.
To these more basic figures we must add the extraction of critical minerals, such as graphite, lithium and cobalt, which is expected to increase by 500% in 25 years, or physical waste from digitalisation, which grew by 30% in the last decade. Of these, developed countries generate 3.25 kilos of waste per person compared to the rest of the countries, which throw away between 0.21 and one kilo. Of all this waste, not even 24% is formally collected.
The reason for this growth is the general digitalisation of life, which has forced the production of semiconductors (the chips that make up mechanical brains) to quadruple; the push for devices in all areas, which will exceed 39 billion in five years; and e-commerce, with 27 billion in sales two years ago in just 43 countries.
This reality, according to António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations in relation to the Digital Economy Report 2024“highlights the direct environmental impact of our increased reliance on digital tools, from the depletion of raw materials, water and energy use, air quality, pollution and waste generation. This [el perjuicio ecológico] is accentuated by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.”
Rebeca Grynspan, head of UNCTAD (the UN’s technology division), agrees: “The digital economy, often praised for its virtual and intangible nature, has created the illusion of a world free of material waste. However, this Report starkly exposes the fallacy of this perception.”
However, he admits that there is an optimistic side to the computing world. “Despite these challenges, [el impacto en el planeta]digitalisation also has immense potential for environmental good. Digital technologies can boost energy efficiency, optimise resource use and enable innovative solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation.”
“We must harness the power of digitalisation to advance inclusive and sustainable development, while mitigating its negative environmental impacts. This requires a shift towards a circular digital economy, characterised by responsible consumption and production, the use of renewable energy and comprehensive management of e-waste. The growing environmental impact of the digital economy can be reversed,” says Grynspan.
Water devourers
The United Nations report highlights that, although digitalization drives global economic growth and truly offers unique opportunities rarely seen, for developing countries there are environmental repercussions that are increasingly serious and increasingly grave,” summarizes Pablo Gámez Cersosimo, a Costa Rican based in the Netherlands, from where he is the head of Naturally Digitalan organization specializing in sustainability, human behavior, ethics and digital wellbeing.
Gamez, author of Digital predators (Círculo Rojo, 2021), has participated as a researcher and consultant for UNCTAD and highlights that the study identifies how, in addition to the carbon footprint, digitalization is causing a water problem, which he considers one of the most complex and problematic problems.”
“I would venture to say that the sum total of water consumed by all the agents involved in the operation of the digital wheel, so to speak, could equal or exceed that of the chemical or textile industry in the world,” he says.
Water is present in all phases of the digitalisation cycle: for the manufacture of devices, for the operation of data centres, to keep artificial intelligence active or for the creation of semiconductors.
Gámez explains that “the projected consumption per person per year of water in Europe will increase from 0.29 cubic metres to 1.2 in 2030”, quadrupling. “This means that any European will use approximately three litres of water per day for internet activities and this exceeds the usual amount needed”, he emphasises.
The researcher regrets the opacity of technology companies in this area, which prevents oversight, control, monitoring and application of corrective measures. “Cyberspace has a limit with respect to the planet’s natural resources; it is completely dependent on mining, on the entire periodic table. The large multinationals know this, but they are not acting enough to correct it, despite the fact that solutions from the point of view of technological maturity are being developed,” he says. And he adds: “These large technology corporations are profiting, they are monetizing the Anthropocene [época geológica marcada por el impacto global que las actividades humanas]”.
“Cyberspace is literally the largest infrastructure created by humans and it is not growing anymore,” he concludes.
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