Data Carbon Ladder

News:

Scientists have developed a new tool to calculate digital carbon footprint of stored data.

What:

• It is a tool to calculate emissions from digital data.

Why:

• It is to help businesses measure the carbon emissions from their digital data.

Significance:

• This tool is first of its kind.
• Consideration of data CO2 footprint is important for effective global decarbonisation policies.
  • Data centres contribute 2.5% to 3.7% of all human-induced CO2. This is more than the contribution from the aviation sector (2.1%).

How:

• It will help calculate data CO2 footprint from the origin of the dataset to its end use, eg: AI analytics.
• It gives stage-by-stage CO2 output and overall CO2 footprint for new data projects.
• It will help determine
  • The appropriate size of the required dataset
  • The optimal frequency for updates
  • The most suitable storage locations
  • The necessary analytics for projects
• This it does by assigning data carbon scores.

Who:

• By researchers from Loughborough University, UK.

Fact:

• The amount of digital data is increasing 2X every year.
• Data-driven businesses employ 100 full-time employees which will generate some 2,203 tonnes of CO2 emission/ year because of new data.
• Global data is expected to surpass 180 zettabytes, by 2025.