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The Climate Question: Can the internet ever be green?

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07/02/2021 GMT

Can the internet ever be green?

BBC World Service - The Climate Question, Can the internet ever be green?

Data drives our modern economy, but at what cost to the climate?

Data is driving a new industrial revolution globally, and it is growing exponentially. But what damage is it doing to the climate?

The big tech firms of the world have reported record profits during lockdown. These firms are some of the industrial titans of the digital age. 

Their ability to manipulate vast quantities of data is revolutionising, well, everything. From streaming games and movies, to automating mining operations, controlling medical devices and even simple emails, the internet has brought incredible advances right across the globe.  

But we now know that previous industrial revolutions placed a huge burden on the planet. Our climate question this week is: Will this one be any different? 

Facebook has pledged to use only renewable energy by the end of 2020, not 2030, as we stated in the programme.

Guests:
 
Dr Rabih Bashroush - IT infrastructure expert, The Uptime Institute 
Dr Stephanie Hare - Author and tech researcher 
Mats Lewan - Tech reporter, Stockholm 

Presented by Graihagh Jackson and Neal Razzell 
Produced by Jordan Dunbar 
Researched by Soila Apparicio 
Edited by Emma Rippon

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