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* Subscribe Digital Print * * December 24, 2024 Subscribe Digital Print * Trump transition * Yen * 2024 in review * Latest News * Deep Dive Today's print edition Home Delivery * JAPAN * Politics * Society * Crime & Legal * Science & Health * Explainer * History * WORLD * Politics * Crime & Legal * Science & Health * Society * ASIA PACIFIC * Politics * Crime & Legal * Science & Health * Society * BUSINESS * Companies * Economy * Markets * Tech * SPORTS * Sumo * Soccer * Baseball * Basketball * Tennis * Olympics * More sports * OPINION * Editorials * Commentary * Environment * CLIMATE CHANGE * Energy * SUSTAINABILITY * WILDLIFE * EARTH SCIENCE * LIFE * Travel * Digital * Food & Drink * Style & Design * Language * Lifestyle * CULTURE * Film * Books * Music * Art * TV & Streaming * Stage * Entertainment news * COMMUNITY * Voices * Issues * How-tos * Our Lives * * My Account * My Bookmarks * Logout Subscribe for more access BUSINESS / Tech U.N. WARNS DIGITAL ECONOMY DRIVE IS DAMAGING THE ENVIRONMENT Electronic waste — also known as e-waste — from computers in a junk shop in Metro Manila, Philippines | REUTERS By Robin Millard AFP-JIJI SHARE/SAVE Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Email Print Bookmark story Jul 11, 2024 Listen to this article 5 min Geneva – The drive toward a digital economy comes at an environmental cost, the United Nations warned Wednesday, with big data centers consuming vast amounts of water and energy. While digitalization fuels global economic growth, its environmental repercussions are becoming "increasingly severe," the U.N. trade and development agency UNCTAD said in a report. The agency called for sustainable strategies to counter the growing environmental toll, particularly in developing countries. "Digitalization continues to move at warp speed, transforming lives and livelihoods. At the same time, unregulated digitalization risks leaving people behind and exacerbating environmental and climate challenges," U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said in the report. He cautioned that increased reliance on digital tools was directly impacting the environment, from depleting raw materials, consuming water and energy, spewing air pollution, and generating waste. "These are accentuated by emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence," he said. Data remains sketchy on how rapidly evolving AI is affecting the environment. UNCTAD chief Rebeca Grynspan called on the world's biggest tech companies to lead the way by producing standardized data. Google recently reported a 48% increase in its greenhouse gas emissions over the five years to 2023, attributed to powering data centers that support AI operations. Similarly, Microsoft's latest sustainability report showed a 29% increase in greenhouse gas emissions last year compared to 2020. Google and Microsoft have each pledged to become carbon neutral by the end of this decade. RUSH TO AI U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs last month said the promise of generative AI technology was leading tech giants to spend an estimated $1 trillion on capital expenditure in the coming years, including investments in data centers, chips and other infrastructure. "But this spending has little to show for it, so far," it said, with questions over "whether this large spend will ever pay off in terms of AI benefits and returns." Shamika Sirimanne, UNCTAD's director of technology and logistics, said the question of what AI should be used for — whether for public good or for search engines, marketing or selling t-shirts — "hasn't happened yet." "But before it is too late, we need to embark on this conversation." In its Digital Economy Report 2024, UNCTAD gave a few examples of digital economy impacts on the environment. The report said the information and communications technology sector emitted between 0.69 and 1.6 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide in 2020. That represents 1.5% to 3.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions — about the same as air transport or shipping. Producing a 2 kilogram computer requires approximately 800 kg of raw materials, it said. Demand for critical minerals like graphite, lithium, and cobalt could surge by 500% by 2050, said UNCTAD. Fans are at a Bitcoin "mining" operation in Mechanicville, New York. | Cindy Schultz / The New York Times BITCOIN USING MORE ENERGY THAN BELGIUM Data centers consumed 460 terawatt hours of electricity in 2022, with consumption expected to double by 2026. The report said that in Ireland, data center electricity use more than quadrupled between 2015 and 2022, and now accounts for 18% of the entire country's electricity consumption — a figure that could rise to 28% by 2031. The global energy consumption of "mining" bitcoin, the most prominent cryptocurrency, rose about 34 times between 2015 and 2023 to reach an estimated 121 TWh. That puts bitcoin mining ahead of entire countries like Belgium and Finland, Grynspan told reporters. This, she said, is "not something that we can consider marginal." "Digitalization is a welcome and necessary driver of global economic growth, but we need to do it in an inclusive and sustainable way," she concluded. "As rapid digitalization escalates environmental concerns, it's now more urgent than ever to have the right policies in place so we can manage properly the impact on the environment." KEYWORDS U.N.(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/un), GLOBAL economy(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/global-economy), environment(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/environment), emissions(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/emissions), AI(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/ai), bitcoin(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/bitcoin), cryptocurrencies(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/cryptocurrencies), Digitalization(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/digitalization), TECH(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/tech), DATA CENTERS(https://www.japantimes.co.jp/tag/data-centers) * * * In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. SUBSCRIBE NOW MORE FROM NEWS A BOOMING AND COAL-HEAVY STEEL SECTOR RISKS INDIA’S GREEN GOALS India is the world’s third-largest emitter and the rate at which it can decarbonize will have a major impact on global climate efforts. 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However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page. Your subscription plan doesn't allow commenting. To learn more see our FAQ * WHAT’S TRENDING * * Editors' Picks Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt Honda-Nissan megamerger in the works Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists? Japan accuses Google of violating antimonopoly law Okinawa people stage rally against sexual assaults by U.S. servicemen A brief history of ‘osechi ryōri,' Japan's edible tradition for the new year Japan accuses Google of violating antimonopoly law Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024 Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential? 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