Digital boom could well be a bust for the environment, warns UN trade agency

Electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing domestic waste stream in the world. WHO Electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing domestic waste stream in the world. Did you know that producing a computer weighing two kilogrammes (kg) requires a staggering 800kg of raw materials? Or that the energy required for data mining for bitcoins reached 121 terawatts last year – more than the amount consumed by most small countries?

These are just a few of the concerning findings of a new report into the digital economy by UN trade agency UNCTAD, which insists that the thriving sector’s negative environmental impact must be taken more seriously – and slowed by investment in renewables. “The rise of technologies such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency mining, has significantly increased energy consumption,” said UNCTAD chief Rebeca Grynspan.

“For example, Bitcoin mining’s energy consumption rose 34-fold between 2015 and 2020, reaching around 121 terawatt hours…The energy consumption of Bitcoin mining is more than what Belgium or Finland consume per year,” the UNCTAD Secretary-General told journalists in Geneva.

Today, some 5.4 billion people use the internet and the global digital economy is booming, with obvious upsides for many. In value terms alone, business e-commerce sales surged from $17 trillion in 2016 to $27 trillion in 2022 across 43 countries, Ms. Grynspan noted. “We talk a lot about how digital technologies can reduce paper use and improve energy efficiency and they can help cut greenhouse gas emissions in transport and construction, agriculture and energy sectors. “But the downside is not talked about as much,” she said, insisting that digitalization is “highly materialistic” in addition to requiring masses of carbon-rich electricity to boot.

To counter this threat to the environment and in support of an equitable and environmentally responsible digital economy, UNCTAD’s Digital Economy Report 2024 offers policy suggestions covering precious minerals used to make electronic devices including mobile phones and other vital natural resources, such as water.

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Source: The UN