In 2023, the digital industry generated 3.4% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study by French experts group GreenIT published on Tuesday, February 4. According to the organization's calculations, this means that for each user, digital technology's carbon impact was equivalent to around 3,500 kilometers traveled by car, or 40% of the annual carbon budget that every person should respect to keep global warming below +1.5 degrees Celsius, as set out in the Paris Agreement on climate change. Unfortunately, the study does not allow a comparison between the level of these emissions and those of its previous edition in 2019, as its methodology has changed.

In more detail, greenhouse gas emissions are divided into two blocks. Less than half come from telephone networks and data centers, whose production and use were taken into account. It is worth noting in passing that as early as 2023, 4% of digital technology's impact has come from servers running artificial intelligence.

The other major block of emissions is caused by the electronic devices of end-users, private individuals and professionals. Their production generates around 15% of overall emissions, but what weighs most heavily is their use, representing almost 40% of digital technology's total impact. This figure should be taken with caution by French users, as it does not correspond to France's carbon footprint. Indeed, the use of electronic devices is linked to their power consumption, but in France, "electricity production generates around eight times less greenhouse gases than the global average," Lorraine de Montenay, co-chair for GreenIT's studies, told Le Monde.

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