This week, host Kristin Hayes talks with George Kamiya, an analyst at the International Energy Agency (IEA) and an expert on the emissions of information and communications technology. Kamiya leads the IEA's analysis on the energy impact of digital technologies and coordinates cross-agency efforts on tracking clean energy progress, digitalization, and automated and shared mobility. Kamiya and Hayes discuss the environmental footprint of the many digital technologies that have now become fixtures of many of our lives. The discussion focuses on energy consumption—Kamiya's primary area of expertise—but also touches on other broader issues and impacts, along with some technologies that most people probably don't use on a daily basis, such as Bitcoin mining. While some recent sensational media coverage has suggested otherwise, Kamiya emphasizes that the environmental impacts of digital technologies still pale in comparison to those of bigger sectors, such as transportation and industry.

References and recommendations:

“Factcheck: What is the carbon footprint of streaming video on Netflix?” by George Kamiya; https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-what-is-the-carbon-footprint-of-streaming-video-on-netflix

“Calculate your emissions” data tool, from the International Energy Agency; https://www.iea.org/commentaries/the-carbon-footprint-of-streaming-video-fact-checking-the-headlines

“Bitcoin energy use—mined the gap” by George Kamiya; https://www.iea.org/commentaries/bitcoin-energy-use-mined-the-gap

“Digitalisation and Energy” from the International Energy Agency; https://www.iea.org/reports/digitalisation-and-energy

Carbon Brief newsletter; https://www.carbonbrief.org/daily-weekly-briefing-sign-up

"The Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success" by Mark Jaccard; https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/citizens-guide-to-climate-success/49D99FBCBD6FCACD5F3D58A7ED80882D

“The AI Revolution: The Road of Superintelligence” from the Wait But Why blog by Tim Urban; https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/01/artificial-intelligence-revolution-1.html

“Tackling Climate Change with Machine Learning” interactive summary; https://www.climatechange.ai/summaries