Submitted by Markus Hellenbrand on Fri, 28/10/2022 - 00:00
Markus gave a talk on the effects of Information and Communications Technology on climate change at the Cambridge Zero symposium on 28 October. Reflective discussions ensued and a follow-up talk is planned for early February 2023.
"The combined power consumption of data centres around the world is equivalent to 20 nuclear power plants and it is estimated that by 2030, up to 50 % of global electricity consumption will be caused by Information and Computing Technologies. In addition, all our computers and smartphones require rare minerals to function. None of this is sustainable. From a physicist's/materials scientist's/electrical engineer's perspective, I will argue that the betterment of our climate crisis is not held back by limitations in technological advancement, but by policy making and societal behaviour."