Delete your emails, save the world?

Digital technology is now responsible for 3-4% of global carbon emissions – a bigger impact on climate change than even the aviation industry. What can we, as individuals, possibly do about it?

We might think that everyday activities like scrolling on social media, sending an email or

Saving a photo doesn’t have much impact, but it all adds up.

It’s estimated that just one minute of scrolling an Instagram news feed emits equivalent

Carbon to driving a car 30m!

Of course, it’s impossible to give an exact figure for the carbon impact per 1MB of data transfer – it varies so much depending on the device, the network and the source of electricity – but some estimates put it at around 20 grams of CO2e.

On that basis, a single WhatsApp message generates just 0.05g of CO2e – but times that by the 100bn messages sent globally each day and that goes up to 5,000 tonnes a day! A single email generates on average 1.5g of CO2e. The rapid increase in AI is also hugely data-hungry.

To support rising demand, new data centres are now being brought forward all over the world, including a giant new site near Abingdon. These can put pressure on local water resources but are also power hungry - global electricity demand from datacentres is set to more than double by 2030.

So, it’s more vital than ever that we do all we can to reduce our own e-carbon footprint.

A good place to start is estimating your current usage and there are websites that can help, for example:

• For individuals: https://www.digitalcarbonfootprint.eu/

• For small businesses - https://small99.co.uk/digital-emissions-calculator/

  
  

And the good news is that there are simple steps you can take to reduce your impact - see our list below.

Please do give it a go. We’d love to hear how you get on and any of your own tips for

reducing Watlington’s combined e-carbon footprint. We don’t mind you emailing us or

messaging us on Facebook, but you can avoid that digital impact by coming along to one of our monthly Green Drinks meetings and telling us in person!

Written by Helen Marshall (not AI!)

Watlington Climate Action Group

Ten Things You Can Usefully Do to Reduce your E-Carbon Footprint

1. Be mindful of your online activities - Think about the energy and data consumption

associated with your online activities and make conscious choices. For example, do

you really need AI to help you with online searches?

2. Clean up your digital files - Delete old or unused files and apps to reduce data

storage requirements. Choose cloud services that prioritise sustainability and use

renewable energy. 

3. Reduce email usage - Send fewer emails, unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters,

and delete old emails. Try setting a timer for 5 mins a day and see how many old

emails you can delete in that short space of time!

4. Downloading before watching or listening is much less energy intensive than

streaming your video or audio. Watching with others rather than separately is also

good!

5. Use as low res as possible (eg there’s little point using 4k high res on a mobile

phone). Use dark mode.

6. Disable autoplay in all social media channels. Play songs as audio rather than

watching video. Use offline apps and games.

7. Turn devices off when not in use. According to a New York Times article, one--quarter

of all residential energy consumption is used on devices in idle power mode.

8. Use devices for longer before replacing and dispose of correctly.

9. If you host a website, check out its environmental credentials and how to improve

them.

10. Charge via renewable energy sources.