Between 2010 and 2021, global emissions from digital technologies were largely obscured in greenhouse gas emission accounting standards

Abstract The climate impact of digital technologies remains insufficiently measured. Using global input-output data, we calculate the embodied –i.e., supply chain-related– greenhouse gas emissions of digital industries (hardware, IT services, and communications). We find that the total embodied emissions of digital industries in 2021 are 4.1% of global emissions, with 77–87% being accounted for upstream (i.e., under Scope 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol). We show that 42% of digital emissions are ultimately accounted for within non-digital industries. Hardware accounts for the largest share of digital industries’ embodied emissions, while increasing demand for IT services has driven emissions growth over the past decade. Our findings highlight the need to reduce digital emissions across all industries’ value chains. This includes accounting for embedded digital inputs, adopting circular economy principles in hardware manufacturing, and limiting embodied emissions from IT services, such as artificial intelligence.