Chapter 09 · Sustainability & AISustainability & AI

ICT sector carbon footprint

Meaning statusEstablishedSource recordDirect document linkedWhy these are different

Definition

The aggregate greenhouse-gas emissions of information and communication technology: devices, networks and data centres, across manufacture and use.

References

Joule 2018Belkhir & Elmeligi — Assessing ICT global emissions footprint

This source provides part of the technical or institutional basis for the definition.

ITU-TL.1470 — GHG emission trajectories for the ICT sector compatible with the Paris Agreement (2020)

This source supports the explanation of how the term is applied, measured or governed in practice.

Overview

What it means

Sector estimates vary with scope and method; the peer-reviewed literature (e. g. Belkhir and Elmeligi 2018) places ICT in the low single-digit percent range of global emissions, with growth driven by data traffic and AI. ITU-T L. 1470 sets Paris-aligned emission trajectories for the sector, giving it a science-based benchmark.

How it is used

ICT companies use the footprint for target-setting under ITU trajectories and GHG Protocol accounting; policymakers use it to size the sector's role in national inventories and to design efficiency and reporting rules.

Why it matters

AI inherits and amplifies the sector's footprint debate. A credible sector baseline — and a Paris-compatible trajectory — is the reference against which claims that digitalisation 'dematerialises' the economy must be checked.