Technology's impact on climate change

Let's talk climate change and how technology is escalating it.

The world around us is magnificent and power is in our hands to make sure that future generations will have as much, if not more, to be grateful for.

Unfortunately, the tech sector produces about 830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which is about 2% of the global CO2 emissions, the same amount as aviation. According to the UN we only have 11 years left to prevent irreversible damage from climate change.

You will walk out of this talk having learned what the current state of tech's impact on climate change is, and steps we can take to prevent this from escalating and reduce the carbon footprint.

Transcript

1. Technology's impact on climate change Natalia Waniczek @lil_natw @elixelofficial
4. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw I try...
5. Technology's impact on climate change Natalia Waniczek @lil_natw @elixelofficial
6. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw
7. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw A Free Community-Run, Open-Space Event around Tech and Climate Change. #OMGClimate
8. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw 1 Current state of climate change and technological impact on it Agenda 2 Ways of reducing carbon emissions in web development 3 Examples of good work already happening in this space!
9. We only have 10 years left
10. The internet is responsible for 2% of global carbon emissions, the same as the emissions from aviation. By 2030, the internet is on track to consume as much as 20% of the world's electricity Shaunagh Duncan, Bulb, 16th September 2019 “
11. 60% of wildlife has been lost since 1970
12. Over the past two decades, 9 sea levels have risen by 3.2mm per annum
13. We’re on course to lose over half of all insects by the end of the century
14. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw Music streaming accounted for 200 to 350 million kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions. 2015/16 JON BLISTEIN, Rolling Stone, 2019 https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/environmental-impact-streaming-music-835220/
15. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw Streaming spotify 8 hours a day for 21 working days emits as much CO2 per month as driving 19.6 miles by an average passenger vehicle. Spotify
16. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw Carbon intensive data centres - 3% of the global electricity supply - 2% of total greenhouse gas emissions - AWS only 5 green data centres: US West (Oregon), Europe (Frankfurt), Europe (Ireland), GovCloud (US-West), Canada (Central)!
17. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw - 20 emails a day per user over one year, create the same CO2 emissions as a car travelling 1000 km - 5G - Internet of things - New *shiny* technologies! https://www.energuide.be/en/questions-an swers/do-i-emit-co2-when-i-surf-the-intern et/69/ Thank You! Data
18. How can web development save the world?
19. The average web page size in 2017 was 3 MB. In 2014 it was only 1.6 MB!
20. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw Tips • Write clean HTML • Lint your code for unused scripts, and CSS • Use less js scripts • Use CSS instead of JS • Don’t use jQuery • Avoid: ◦ Adverts ◦ Carousels, ◦ Background videos, ◦ Chatboxes, ◦ Social media embeds • Optimise scripts & images • Lazy load images • Accessibility first! • User experience! • Use green servers!!!!!
21. How do you know you’ve done a good job? Demo time!
22. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw
23. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw - Download instead of streaming. - Use Spotify instead of YouTube - Participate in 11@11 - Join ClimateAction.tech slack Thank You! Tips
24. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw
25. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw
26. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw
28. Elixel The Jevons paradox! – the easier you make it to consume the product the greater the consumption will be.
29. We only have 10 years left
30. Technology's impact on climate change @futureSync 2020 @lil_natw 1. Business Declares - https://businessdeclares.com/resources 2. Carbon Footprint of Sending Data by Chris Adams https://observablehq.com/@mrchrisadams/carbon-footprint-of-sending-data-aroundhttps://observablehq.co m/@mrchrisadams/carbon-footprint-of-sending-data-around 3. KinCo-Climate-Emergency-Guide-for-Businesses - http://www.kinandco.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/KinCo-Climate-Emergency-Guide-for-Businesses.pdf 4. Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator - https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator 5. Website Carbon Calculator - https://www.websitecarbon.com/ 6. OMG Climate London https://medium.com/omg-climate/what-to-expect-on-the-day-of-omg-climate-london-3484d5acf254 7. Only 11 Years Left to Prevent Irreversible Damage from Climate Change, Speakers Warn during General Assembly High-Level Meeting https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm 8. The Carbon Footprint of Servers https://www.goclimateneutral.org/blog/the-carbon-footprint-of-servers/ 9. Global warming: Data centres to consume three times as much energy in next decade, experts warn - https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/global-warming-data-centres-to-consume-three-times-as-much- energy-in-next-decade-experts-warn-a6830086.html Extra useful resources