a very good morning to everybody both in the room and those joining us online Today
the launch of the global launch of one of
Sad's most important flagship reports which comes out every two years.
The Digital Economy report 2024
to present the key findings of the report and the recommendations from
by Secretary General Rebecca Greenspan,
Secretary General of UN Trade and Development
director of the Division on Technology and Logistics,
who have co ordinated the research and production of this flagship report.
We will first give the floor
to the Secretary General, then to the director and then take questions from
the floor both from media present in the
room and those accredited and connected online.
We remind all that the report is embargoed until midday today Geneva time,
from which time all information in the report itself will be available on
So, Secretary General, the floor is yours. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Uh so like Amalia said, we are presenting here today
a key reports the digital economy report 2024
The report explores the link between
the global digital economy and the environment
and what this means for development.
The digital economy is driving
but it is also having an increasing environmental impact that has to be considered.
is how this affects our environment and how it affects developing countries.
Developing countries, as we know,
are disproportionately suffering from the impact of climate change.
not at the forefront of reaping the benefits of the global digital economy.
But on the other hand, they are disproportionately affected,
so the disparity can and must be reversed.
Digitalization is welcome and necessary
and unnecessary driver of global economic growth.
However, it must be inclusive and sustainable.
As rapid digitalization escalates environmental concerns.
We can offer a positive outlook based on opportunities because we need
the digital economy to catalyse growth and generate opportunities for all.
That is why we put forward in this report
not only an analysis but a strong section on the
recommendations of how we can manage the impact of
digital economy on the environment and on climate change.
So let me first consider the impact of the digital economy on climate change.
the digital economy emissions
accounted for 1.5 to 3.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions
between 1.5 and 3.2% of global greenhouse emissions,
to air transport or shipping. So it's very important.
Let's analyse this more closely.
42 million US homes for a year.
This figure is expected to double by 2026.
The rise of technologies such as artificial intelligence
has significantly increased energy consumption.
Bitcoin mining energy consumption
What does it mean 121 terawatt hours?
or Finland consume under 90 terawatts hour,
the energy consumption of Bitcoin mining is more
of what Belgium or Finland consumes
So we can see that this is something that we cannot consider marginal
in terms of the impact or the need for renewable energy investments
the climate change impact that this has
digital related waste increased by 30%
reaching 10.5 million tonnes globally
and digital ways, management
This is a huge concern given the pollution
this generates and its impact on the environment.
the use of critical minerals.
developing countries are key producers of critical
minerals essential for the digital economy.
Also, for the energy transition,
they hold the key to the growth of the digital economy. We are witnessing
a 500% surge in demand for minerals crucial for digitalization
is estimated or predicted to be by 2050. So we are expecting a
in the use of minerals for digitalization by 2050
and this is driven by consumer electronics,
electric vehicle batteries
and renewable energy storage.
This is a development opportunity for resource rich developing countries.
this can only be realised if these countries can add value to extracted minerals,
utilise proceeds effectively
and diversify within the Value chain and other sectors.
This ambition requires a strategic shift
and inclusive digitalization.
This means reducing waste and environmental impact
and improving the efficiency of raw material use
here Let me mention some examples to illustrate
the impact of the digital economy on water consumption
1/5 of the direct water footprint of data centre servers
reportedly comes from moderately to highly water stressed watersheds.
Google disclosed that in 2022
at its data centres and offices amounted to 5.6 billion gallons
Microsoft reported that its water consumption was
6.4 million cubic metres,
so water consumption by data centres has recently
stopped tensions within local communities In several countries.
Google planned to build a data centre in Uruguay
which led to public debate.
In 2023 Uruguay experienced the worst drought in 7 to 4 years and more
than half of its 3.5 million citizens were without access to potable tap water.
So here the tensions in the use of water when you have water stress or drought.
Uh, also because of climate change.
Also add tensions in terms of how to manage
Microsoft training of GPT three
in its data centres in the United States
of 700,000 litres of clean fresh water only for training
So what are the policy recommendations?
With regards to the environmental impact of the digital economy,
we must integrate environmental and digital policies,
embracing a circular economy,
prioritising the recycling,
reuse and recovery of digital materials
and implementing resource optimisation strategies,
And we need global commitment to adopt these practises.
circular economy has to be considered seriously when we talk about digitalization
A calls for stronger environmental regulations
and investments in renewable energy to mitigate
the ecological footprint of digital technologies.
Closer international Cooper operation is critical
to ensure equitable access to digital technologies
and address the global nature of digital waste
the increased demand for critical minerals presents an opportunity
for resource rich developing countries to add more value
to extracted minerals, diversify their economy and enhance their development.
technology has to be transferred
and has to be more efficient.
For this to be able to be compatible
with the environment and climate change objectives.
The digital economy is central to global growth and development opportunities.
uh, uh, take us to a win win space
our also important objectives or environmental sustainability.
uh, our commitments to climate change.
So let me thank the team, Shamika. Thank you.
And the digital economy team. Thank you.
uh, for a very good report. And I hope
that will be more inclusive and more sustainable. Thank you.
Thank you. Secretary General,
we now give the floor to Shanika
director of the Division of Technology and Logistics who have produced
the digital economy. Report 2024. Director of the floor is yours.
ST. Let me tell you it's a difficult act to follow after you. But let me try.
So let me bring four messages or four points from the report.
digitalization is happening at a fast and furious pace.
The number of Internet users went up from
to 5.4 billion in 2023. Last year,
at UN Trade and Development. We estimated
that the total value of E commerce sales went up from
trillion in 2022. This is a massive jump.
You don't see these kind of jumps in trade data,
and this is even an underestimation
because we have data for a very limited number of countries.
Now, between 2010 and 2023 shipments of smart phones more than doubled
from 2001 to 2022. The number of Semicon
and this is just the beginning
Digital technologies can help to address environmental challenges,
but they also leave massive environmental footprint,
so we need to figure out the balance.
The good side is often talked, talked about. We talk a lot about
digital technologies, can reduce paper use and improve energy efficiency.
And they can help cut greenhouse gas emissions in transport in construction,
agriculture and energy sectors.
but the downside is not talked about as much.
that digitalization and the digital economy are happening
You know that it is virtual,
So I want to say to the contrary, digitalization is highly materialistic.
one of the numbers that we have in our
in our report is that making a two kilogramme computer
800 kilogrammes of raw materials.
I think ST you mentioned data centres consume massive amounts of energy and water.
Just last week, I think Google also announced that it is greenhouse gas emissions
over the past five years have gone up by 48%
and this is for running data centres that power their air products.
waste is another big one. S Su had the numbers for the eve.
addressing environmental footprints of digitalization is urgent.
Collectively, we need to act now before it is too late.
thinking of, for example, the climate related disasters.
You know they are all upon us and it's bit late,
so effective global governance is urgently needed.
This is a key message of the report.
There is no global framework to galvanise collective action,
to facilitate knowledge sharing among countries to set global standards
and to encourage transparent reporting and monitoring
of environmental sustainability of digitalization.
Let me just give two examples.
You know, we need better data
on the environmental impacts on the digitalization
on the use of metals and minerals, energy, water,
greenhouse gas emissions and also on E
lack of timely and comparable data
and hardly any harmonised reporting standards.
to make a compelling case for policy reforms and also to hold
big tech responsible if we do not have solid facts and evidence.
dialogue between digital and environmental policy Communities ST.
This is something that you just mentioned
at national level and also at international level.
international processes related to global environmental challenges
need to pay a lot more attention
to the role of digitalization.
I am here referring to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Uncle
and the Related Cops need to pay a lot more attention in these platforms
for the digitalization issues
and the fourth point, the last point. I think S
started with this point, So I want to end. So we have a connection.
Let me echo what ST said.
most developing countries have seen very little benefits of digitalization,
much of its negative environmental impacts. This has to stop.
One third of the world's population does not even have access to the Internet.
Digitalization brings zero benefits for them.
LDCs hardly benefit from E-commerce that I mentioned earlier the numbers.
Many developing countries are providers of
critical raw materials for digitalization,
but do not have the ability
to move on to high value added processing and end products.
And most developing countries are also the destination for significant
and low income countries also tend to be more affected by climate change.
and they lack the capacity to use digital technologies
for reducing negative environmental impacts.
digitalization is critical for developing early warning systems
and so forth they don't have the green agriculture.
They don't have the digital capabilities to address the environmental issues.
said, digitalization is critical for global growth.
Achieving more sustainable and inclusive
development from digitalization will require a
reversal of the status quo where the developing countries
have very little benefits so far from digitalization,
but much of its environmental impacts,
This has to reverse. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Director, We now
Journalists can now raise questions both in the
room first and those that are online.
So please identify yourself so that both the
secretary general and the director are aware.
What do you think the impact of a I is going to be. It's a growing field
and it takes up ever more server power and electricity.
What's the impact of a I going to be?
Shall we take another question If there are any online?
I don't see any for the moment online so
Yeah, A I is, uh, an incredible, intense, intense, uh, consumer
of, uh, energy and training the models
uh, electricity consuming.
Uh, the numbers I think that we gave are
Uh, first, uh, uh, on electricity.
Uh, the the numbers we gave Let me look at them. And
you know, add, uh, to that
artificial intelligence and Cryptocurrency mining
are the two things that we saw.
Uh uh, more, uh, closely and in artificial intelligence. Toor
or or, uh, Shamika. We had also because I gave the number on,
um on Cryptocurrency, but in a I we had also,
uh, some of the numbers. I think that they were also in our press release.
Do you have the name Tobon?
Can you come here and give us some of the,
Like what you said before?
but the data centres are not the same as the A. I training
And thanks for the question.
Well, you know, to start with no one knows exactly.
There is not one number on the impact of a I
but what has been highlighted in the report is that
especially the generative of a I processes have really added
energy consumption because it is so compute intensive.
And what has been highlighted also are some
examples of the impact of training of various
large scale language models.
But what is being seen now? Also, if you take the example of
the focus has so far been made on the training
because every individual request to
may not be very energy intensive,
the fact that you see the global nature of the use of these kind of tools at scale.
So it's expected that the inference the use of these tools will
become the big user of energy as a result of the scale,
there is a lot to be seen.
We don't know precisely how this will evolve,
and there are no perfect data being collected yet.
So this is one of the messages also the report that we
simply have to get a better evidence base To look at this,
we need to require the big corporations that are involved
in this to report more on these kind of developments
and with to monitor how much they can improve the energy efficiency of the various A.
So it's an early assessment.
We provide various detailed examples from separate companies, but there is.
The information that exists is basically basically on the data centres,
which includes information on a I and Bitcoin mining, et cetera, et cetera.
was saying, say, for example, if I go to Chad GPT
to do a search of literature or find some information on something,
it's much more energy consuming than if I just go and Google,
you know the search word.
So it's that level of how we use
to the enormous amount of burden to the energy.
Now. I think these numbers that we saw from Google last week they issued some numbers
that for example, they said,
the greenhouse gas emissions over the past five years have gone up by 48%
and this was for running data centres that power their A I products.
So, as Tobian says, the problem we have in this whole
gamut of things. We simply don't have standardised data.
There's no definition for this. There's no collection of data.
There is no way of monitoring
what's going on. And that's pretty scary.
it will be very good if, uh, some,
uh, responsibility on producing the data will go to all the big five. Yes,
because we have only sketchy,
uh, data, uh, was sent said by by to
But also not everybody is reporting.
Not not all the big ones are reporting. It will be good
to have a standardised and reporting responsibility.
Thank you very much. We now take questions online.
I see Jeremy Lynch from Radio France. Please go ahead. And then colleague Margo
So please go ahead from those joining us online. Jeremy. Lunch Radio France first.
Um, I'd like to go back to, uh, to a I and and what you just said, I think, uh,
if I got this right is that, uh you said that, um, chat G BT um uh, required, like,
just to to train the A. I I'd like to
to make sure that I get the the the figures. Right?
And, um but can you explain again, uh, in the end, like, um,
a I And the digitalization of the economy requires a lot of energy,
a lot of water to cool down the data centre. So what is the alternative here?
Uh, because we know that the the the numbers you gave like,
the emission will will will rise in the next, uh, in in in the coming years.
So what are the alternative
to cool down the the the the data centres? Um, yeah.
Can you give us AAA couple of insights? Thank you.
Let me let me, uh, give some general answers and let's ask the experts to go deeper. It
the data, the the number that I gave is that the Microsoft training of GP T three
in its data centres in the United States directly
consume an estimate of 700,000 litres of clean,
So the first thing that you
uh uh uh think about this is
let's not put the data centres where we have
You know, if you put you know, the data centre there is a geographical location,
uh, to the data centres that will have to be considered because if you go
to the parts that are already water stressed.
So the tension between different consumptions and
the tension also with local communities will rise
and you will have to decide what is it,
uh, that you want the water for which consumption.
So let's have that in mind
when we talk about the location
of the data centres or the production production that will need a lot of water.
research and development for the new technologies will have to be, you know,
more investment on research and technology for technologies that will be
more efficient in terms of what are used will be important,
because maybe that is not a factor that has
been considered in the development of the technologies.
And so we will have to put much more research
and resources in trying to look for technologies that will,
uh, uh, reduce the impact on the environment.
And obviously, obviously, thirdly, we need to go for renewable energy for the,
uh, digitalization process, because we know that is very energy intensive. So
we have to go for a a much more renewables. Now,
also that it has to be in addition
to the investment in renewables that we already have to
do for the consumption of the population at large.
if we will draw from the same pile for renewable energy and energy access
in all the energy poor people of the world or all
the people of the world that has to make anyway,
uh, fossil fuels to energy.
to a budget restriction of investment in energy. So we have to consider that.
So obviously, many of the companies I have to say have a
and that is a good thing is a good step forward.
But what we say only is that it has to be additional investment
for this purpose so it won't enter into,
um, a trade off with the other uses uses of energy,
renewable energy that are consistent with the commitments of the countries for,
Thorn if you want to add here,
let me just add a couple of things.
I think this is why again, we have to go back to data.
we simply don't have data.
We simply don't have a monitoring systems of Of what's going on.
Uh, for for you know, we don't have harmonised reporting standards. We don't have
a timely and comparable data.
So these things need to be addressed because unless we know what's going on,
They are all anecdotal stories that we tell
number two. I don't think we can.
You know, a I These are very, very powerful technologies, and they have immense.
They can have, they can have or they can have immense
help developing countries to improve the education system, the health systems,
And there is no end to the use of this technology for development.
But at the moment, they are not
going to developing countries
to uplift the populations. So there is that angle. Also, we need to
You know. A I is just for search engines A I for marketing a I to sell me a t-shirt
So there are many dimensions that we need to, you know, start a discussion.
This hasn't happened yet, but
We need to embark on this
conversation at international fora.
You know, the UN is the best place because this is the most inclusive
a place where all developing countries
Thank you very much just to add a few more points.
I think when we look at the impact on these
big data centres which is often influenced by a I,
it's important to understand that they can have very
local impacts if you take the case of Ireland,
the data centres in Ireland now according to the government's regulator,
account for about 18% of the country's total electricity consumption,
and this is expected to rise to 28% in a few years from now.
So for individual places,
it has created stress not only on water but also on electricity,
then in order to really, as was stressed here also by
in order to understand the full impact
on the environment by artificial intelligence.
We are highlighting here the direct environmental footprint.
But of course how we use the A.
I will have great implications which can be both positive and negative,
because it may change the way we operate in various
sectors that can sometimes lead to less environmental stress.
But it can also add to more if we are changing the behaviour of
a and measuring the direct footprint is challenging.
Measuring the indirect effects is even more challenging.
So we simply need to put more
emphasis on understanding these implications.
Before we design all the rules and regulations for a I.
This environmental link needs to be there. Also,
as we discuss all the other dimensions of the development implications of a I
I think that in the in the press release, we we try, We try to
a strong recommendations, like in the form of tweets.
Yes, because there are a lot of things that we can do
take the opportunity that digitalization
But at the same time, manage the impact that it has in the environment. And we say
Adopting circular economy models,
implementing resource optimisation,
strengthening regulations,
investing in renewable energy and promoting international cooper operation.
And I think that that is also the message of this report. We can do it.
We can do it better and at the same time harness digitalization for development.
Thank you very much, Secretary General. And for those online
your patient, there's one final question. I would just like to say that
the answer for those covering this press
conference previously has been provided by our colleague
He's the head of E commerce and the digital economy branch
of the Division of Technology just for journalists covering this event.
Now we go to a final question that is
Um So I was wondering how is the environmental impact
of the extractive mining sector related to digitalization quantified,
for instance, on air and water
and also as regard, um, deforestation.
Aside from Brazil, and global debt data.
There are no specific figures illustrating the
extent of these damages for instance,
So why is there no data communicated for these regions?
That's a very good question. And
in fact, we are highlighting in the report that
the minerals and metals that are being used
for developing and rolling out our digital technologies
are very much similar to the ones that are needed
for the low carbon transition for the energy transition.
And in fact, there is very little data available again.
We point to the lack of data here
on the specific impact of digitalization.
But we are emphasising that what we are seeing in terms of the low carbon transition
is reinforcing each other because we cannot go to
the low carbon economy without relying heavily on digitalization
and at the same time, for digitalization we are using,
sustainable as possible. That means that we need to charge the digital
activities increasingly with low carbon energy, so it's really reinforcing it
and we are highlighting in the report a number of issues that can
arise as a result of this kind of mining activities that are taking place
mining and processing activities.
But we don't have any specific numbers on precisely
how much the digital mining related activities account for.
But we are highlighting that these are additional
areas that we need to pay attention to.
And of course, a lot of it is related to ensuring that
mining of these kind of minerals, like other minerals,
have to be done in as a sustainable way as possible,
taking into account both the environmental dimensions that you
highlighted and also the social implications and health aspects.
Let me add a bit, I think. I think what you hear from this conversation is that the
need for creating standards need for creating data
need for collecting statistics need for reporting.
You see, in our report we looked at the whole life cycle
so we start with the production
and the use and the waste.
is the the mining, and it is the processing,
uh, of the minerals and metals and it is the the final production,
and we find that that production phase
the greatest negative environmental impact
of mineral and metal production.
the volume of greenhouse gas emissions generated and water related impact. So
is happening at the very beginning phase
and just want to tell you that a number that I gave you before,
you know, digitalization relies heavily on the physical
world and raw materials. You know, digital is not happening in the void.
For example, making a two kilogramme computer can involve extracting
800 kilogrammes of raw material. So that's the extent
of the of the raw materials is being used.
Let me let me make a comment on this. First of all,
the recommendations that we put together,
and I think that the the last question is a very a very good one.
The recommendations cannot be,
uh, seen in isolation. Because
if we have a circular economy, if there are standards, for example,
for the life duration of the electronics that,
uh, have have intentionally done shorter than necessary.
the cir So the circular economy and the E waste management are very important.
Also for the mining side of this because we can be overproducing,
the minerals and having a higher impact
on the environment precisely because there is
no circular economy in place and because
the patterns of consumption are not changing.
And so I think that we have to see this as
a package because if we don't act on the consumption side,
we will continue to have a higher impact in the pro,
in the production side. Uh,
new technologies can be much better in terms of extractive for the environment,
and those technologies have to be transferred to where the production is done.
I think that we have to differentiate. And I have to, uh, to say this between the big
extracting mining activities and the small ones,
we have to deal with both problems.
Multinational corporations and big corporations are a big part of the extracting.
And they have more capacity for technology, for investment,
for research and development
and for caring for the environment
in the small producers. Yes, that also have an effect on the environment.
There is other, uh, um uh,
policies that have to be in place to help communities to change.
their source of income and also to be more
responsible with respect to the extraction activities that they,
uh, carry on. But we have also to,
make a more granular analysis of the sector and to
see which are the actors in the extracting part.
uh, with respect to Africa is that, uh, I really think
and Latin America, the South of Latin America,
big reserves of the critical minerals that are necessary for both like, uh, Tonne
the energy transition and for digitalization,
the most important thing is that they want they will be able to reap the benefits
of, uh, these reserves because to go
through the path of commodity dependence, we know what
It doesn't bring, you know,
the sustainable development that we want for these countries.
uh, taking advantage for the diversification
of the economies to produce better jobs and
and the more value added for, uh, their populations is a mass
uh, revolution in terms of the energy transition and
uh, I think that we need to think about this, uh, in in a more
uh, integral way in terms of the recommendations,
let me just finish if you if you will allow me to
to say again, what? As he said at the beginning,
is a welcome and necessary driver of global economic growth.
But we need to do it in an inclusive and sustainable way.
escalate. Environmental concerns is now more urgent than ever
to have the right policies in place.
So we can close the gaps.
We can widen the opportunities and we can
manage properly the impact on the environment.
Can I just say that if you look at the overview of our report, the executive summary
there, if you go to the page 2021 22
there is a very easy table where we give policy recommendations
the use and the end of life and all phases.
And we look at the policy options for national level,
regional level and international level that would give you a lot of
ground realities and the policies that are needed.
Thank you very much. With this, we close the
to underline that speakers are available for
interviews and for any further insights,
we direct you to the Web.org.
The report will be online.
All the data is available and again we underline We are The
speakers are available for interviews and for engaging with media from now.