At current growth rates data centers and telecommunication networks will consume about 1,963 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2020. That is more than triple their current consumption and more than the current electricity consumption of France, Germany, Canada and Brazil combined. However, the report also shows how IT can avert climate chaos by becoming a transformative force advocating for solutions that increase the use of renewable energy.
IT companies like Microsoft, Google, and IBM are now in powerful positions at the local, national, and international levels. They could use that influence to promote policies that will allow them to grow responsibly without fueling climate change.
For example, Facebook recently announced the construction of its own data center in Prineville, Oregon, running primarily on coal.
By choosing energy company PacifiCorp, a utility that sources the majority of its power from coal-fired power stations, Facebook missed a chance to promote the use of renewable energy and instead reinforced the coal industry’s grip on the United Sates power grid.
Facebook members aren’t taking this sitting down. More than 365,00 have joined groups in the weeks since Facebook’s announcement, calling on the company to quit coal and become a climate leader.
The IT sector has the ability to help us combat climate change by innovating to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency. Technologies that enable smart grids, zero emission buildings and more efficient transport systems are key to cutting climate change pollution. But, given the current expansion in cloud computing, the IT industry also needs to get its own carbon footprint under control.
We are calling on IT industry giants to put their might behind government policies that give priority grid access for renewable sources like wind and solar energy. IT companies should also support economy-wide climate and energy policies around the world that peak climate emissions by 2015.
Please help us encourage the 21st century’s great innovators to look beyond the cloud, to look beyond simply cutting their fuel bills and towards an energy revolution based on renewable energy sources.
– from greenpeace.org