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ICT sector carbon footprint 2020

ICT used about 4% of the global electricity in the use stage while in total representing about 1.4% of the global GHG emissions in 2020.

In 2020, the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector were about 764 million metric ton carbon dioxide equivalents (Mt CO2e), which is 5% higher than in 2015. ICT’s share of global GHG emissions of 1.4% was about the same as in 2015. The share of use stage electricity increased somewhat and is about 4% of the global electricity. Use stage GHG emissions relating to electricity use represent the majority of the total GHG emissions. User devices accounted for over half of all GHG emissions in the ICT sector, with equal parts relating to use stage and other lifecycle stages. Networks and data centers are dominated by use stage GHG emissions.

This five-page research brief summarizes a peer-reviewed scientific article.

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ICT sector carbon footprint 2020

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