Assessing ICT global emissions footprint: Trends to 2040 & recommendations
Assessing ICT global emissions footprint: Trends to 2040 & recommendations
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.239
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发表时间：
2018-03-10
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Elmeligi, Ahmed
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Belkhir, Lotfi;Elmeligi, Ahmed
根据所谓的《巴黎协定》，为减少全球温室气体排放（GHGE）而做出的共同努力，信息和通信行业（ICT）作为GHGE的重要贡献者很少受到关注，如果有的话，通常会因有助于减少其他行业部门足迹的效率而受到高度赞扬。在本文中，我们旨在评估整个ICT行业的全球碳足迹，包括主要消费设备，数据中心和通信网络的贡献，并将其与全球温室气体总量进行比较。我们对ICT全球碳足迹进行了详细而严格的分析，包括ICT设备的生产和运营能源，以及支持ICT基础设施的运营能源。然后，我们将这一贡献与全球2016年水平的GHGE进行比较。我们发现，如果不加以控制，ICT GHG的相对贡献可能会从2007年的大约1-1.6%增长到2040年超过2016年全球GHG水平的14%，占整个交通部门目前相对贡献的一半以上。我们的研究还强调了智能手机的贡献，并表明到2020年，智能手机的足迹将超过台式机，笔记本电脑和显示器的个人贡献。最后，我们就如何通过可再生能源的使用、税收政策、管理措施和替代商业模式的结合来减轻和遏制ICT爆炸性的GHGE足迹提出了一些可操作的建议。(C)2018爱思唯尔有限公司版权所有。
In light of the concerted efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) per the so-called Paris Agreement, the Information and Communication Industry (ICT) has received little attention as a significant contributor to GHGE and if anything is often highly praised for enabling efficiencies that help reduce other industry sectors footprint. In this paper, we aim at assessing the global carbon footprint of the overall ICT industry, including the contribution from the main consumer devices, the data centers and communication networks, and compare it with the to the total worldwide GHGE. We conduct a detailed and rigorous analysis of the ICT global carbon footprint, including both the production and the operational energy of ICT devices, as well as the operational energy for the supporting ICT infrastructure. We then compare this contribution to the global 2016-level GHGE. We have found that, if unchecked, ICT GHGE relative contribution could grow from roughly 1-1.6% in 2007 to exceed 14% of the 2016-level worldwide GHGE by 2040, accounting for more than half of the current relative contribution of the whole transportation sector. Our study also highlights the contribution of smart phones and shows that by 2020, the footprint of smart phones alone would surpass the individual contribution of desktops, laptops and displays. Finally, we offer some actionable recommendations on how to mitigate and curb the ICT explosive GHGE footprint, through a combination of renewable energy use, tax policies, managerial actions and alternative business models. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.