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Digital technologies are widely viewed as drivers of efficiency, growth, and innovation. However, their contribution to climate change is significantly greater than previously understood. A new study published in the journal Communications Sustainability shows that digital industries were responsible for around 4.1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. The bulk of these emissions were not captured by existing emissions accounting standards or official climate assessments.
An international research team has systematically calculated the emissions generated along the global supply chains of digital technologies, including hardware, IT services and communication infrastructures. The analysis is based on data for the period from 2010–2021 and covers direct emissions as well as upstream and downstream production stages.
Accounting standards are inadequate
Between 77 and 87 per cent of emissions are generated before the actual use or supply of digital technologies—mainly during their production along global supply chains. These upstream emissions are rarely included in corporate emissions reporting. This is due to a regulatory gap in accounting standards, explains co-author Stefanie Kunkel from RIFS: "The Greenhouse Gas Protocol, an international standard, distinguishes between three areas: Scope 1 comprises emissions generated directly by the reporting company, for example through the use of chemicals or energy generation. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased energy such as electricity. Finally, Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions along the value chain, for example from the extraction of raw materials, transport or the subsequent use of products. The problem is that the recording of Scope 3 emissions is voluntary in many world regions and for most companies and is therefore not carried out adequately by many companies." National climate statistics generally apply a production-based accounting methodology—in other words, they capture emissions generated during production, but do not attribute these emissions to the locations where corresponding goods and services are consumed.
Furthermore, according to the study, 42 per cent of digital emissions are not attributed to the digital industries at all, but to other economic sectors such as automotive engineering, mechanical engineering or financial services. “Whether emissions from the production of digital technologies are reported as 'digital emissions' or assigned to the climate footprint of other industries depends on how those emissions are allocated in climate statistics,” explains Kunkel. Currently, digital emissions are often hidden in the footprints of other sectors.
More transparency and cooperation needed in global supply chains
While emissions from traditional hardware production have recently fallen slightly, the researchers point to a significant increase in emissions from IT services. Growing demand for cloud applications, computing power and data-intensive services has caused emissions in this sector to rise by more than 60 per cent since 2010. This trend is likely to be further reinforced by the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence.
There are strong regional imbalances. China is the largest producer of digital emissions and also a major exporter. Europe and the USA, on the other hand, import a significant proportion of their digital carbon footprint via global supply chains. The authors therefore call for climate policy to take greater account of emissions caused by the consumption of goods outside the producing countries.
Building more efficient data centres and reducing power consumption alone will not be sufficient to shrink the climate footprint of digital technologies. Instead, it is crucial to reduce emissions from digital technologies along the entire value chain—including their use as components in other products and services. Addressing environmental impacts across borders under fair competitive conditions will require greater transparency, clearly defined responsibilities, and cooperation between companies and governments along global supply chains. Solutions include mechanisms such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Advances in durable and reusable hardware and a more environmentally conscious approach to digital applications could also help to reduce digital emissions.
Dr. Stefanie Kunkel
stefanie.kunkel@rifs-potsdam.de
Axenbeck, J., Kunkel, S., Blain, J., & Charpentier, F. (2026). Between 2010 and 2021, global emissions from digital technologies were largely obscured in greenhouse gas emission accounting standards. Communications sustainability, 1: 25. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-025-00022-6.
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