The world has declared war on carbon dioxide. What can the IT industry do to reduce emissions?

The world faced the task of neutralizing the consequences of human activity on the environment, and one of the main areas here was decarbonization "(photo - Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)"

Why the World Needs Decarbonization

According to the audit and consulting company FinExpertiza, in the first quarter of 2020, the volume of harmful emissions into the atmosphere increased by 57% compared to the same period in 2019^[1]. Air pollution contributes to, among other things, climate change and global warming. According to estimates by the EU climate service Copernicus, starting in the 1970s, every 10 years the temperature on the planet rises by about 0.2 degrees, and 2016 and 2020 became the warmest in the history of the planet^[2]. This despite the fact that in 2020 La Niña developed - a meteorological phenomenon that leads to a partial decrease in temperature on the planet^[3].

The world was faced with the task of neutralizing the effects of human activity on the environment, and decarbonization was one of the main areas here. This name is a set of measures aimed at gradually replacing traditional energy sources, such as gas, oil and coal, with renewable ones. The need for decarbonization is due to the fact that the burning of fossil energy sources leads to carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and contributes to air pollution. For example, in 2019, global greenhouse gas emissions from fuel combustion amounted to about 33 gigatons^[4].

There are several "landscaping" methods that act separately, but the maximum effect can be achieved when used together. The first of them is the development of renewable energy sources: today in our country they account for only half a percent^[5]. The second is the modernization of thermal power plants in such a way that they have less harmful emissions into the atmosphere. Finally, energy consumption can be reduced by using energy-efficient technologies.

In 2020, a landmark event took place in terms of decarbonization: for the first time, 27 EU countries received more electricity from renewable sources than from fossil^[6]. The share of traditional energy decreased to 37%, and the share of renewable energy increased to 38%. Another 25% comes from nuclear energy.

What the law says

Russia cannot boast of such successes yet: as we have already noted, the share of renewable sources in the country's energy is currently negligible. However, the movement towards decarbonization has already begun, including at the legislative level. In the fall of 2020, the government approved a plan for the development of hydrogen energy until 2024^[7]. The new strategy is expected to help increase hydrogen production as an energy carrier and expand its applications. To do this, it is planned to build plants that generate hydrogen without carbon dioxide emissions.

A little later, the president signed a decree "On reducing greenhouse gas emissions." According to the document, by 2030 their volume should not exceed 70% of the level of 1990^[8].

The decarbonization of the economy in Russia, as in other countries, is also facilitated by the formation of an appropriate legislative framework at the global level. For example, the European Union announced plans to introduce carbon taxation on imports from countries where greenhouse gas emissions are exceeded in 2023^[9].

And about a year before, the European Commission introduced the European Green Deal, which involves turning Europe into a climate-neutral continent^[10] by 2050]. This means a complete cessation of greenhouse gas emissions by the specified date. This decision was made as part of an extensive campaign aimed at achieving carbon neutrality, which involves either reducing carbon dioxide emissions to zero or compensating for these emissions through carbon negative projects.

The starting point was the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, prescribing measures to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 2020^[11]. Among the main goals of the agreement are to keep the average temperature increase much lower than 2 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels and limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees.

Ways of decarbonization

In order to achieve the goal and limit warming, it is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030. This is a rather high indicator, and it is important for companies to now begin to take measures in the direction of decarbonization. At the same time, they choose from two options.

Production processes can be changed using other materials and chemical compounds, thereby preventing or minimizing the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The reduction of greenhouse gases associated with operational activities includes two categories of solutions: avoidance of emissions and reuse or storage. The avoidance strategy involves improving production efficiency, switching to more technological solutions and switching to new fuels and energy sources.

The second category of measures includes processing and re-production, as well as carbon capture with subsequent use or storage.

Another way to achieve carbon neutrality is to compensate for the negative impact on the environment by participating in environmental campaigns, such as landscaping projects and investments in waste-free production. Often, such measures are considered not as the main tool of "landscaping," but as an addition that contributes to the achievement of the final goal.

First of all, companies are thinking about reducing their carbon footprint. Many of them are switching to renewable energy for this. This is not only the right step from the point of view of environmental friendliness, but also an economically profitable solution. For many companies, about a third of production costs are for energy. At the same time, there has been a gradual decline in the cost of renewable energy.

In addition, by reducing the carbon footprint, the company draws attention to its initiatives and becomes more attractive to applicants.

The Role of the IT Industry

The IT industry is the most environmentally friendly^[12]. Only 2% of carbon emissions are related to the activities of IT companies. However, data centres account for a fairly large share (0.3 per cent) of total carbon dioxide emissions. And this indicator is growing rapidly, especially recently, due to the active transition of all sectors of the economy to the cloud. Therefore, for IT companies, the issue of reducing carbon emissions from the use of data centers is now relevant. Among the actions that companies can take are switching to alternative energy sources to power data centers and improving data center energy efficiency.

Changes related to the use of data centers can be part of the company's decarbonization strategy "(photo - thealternative.org.uk)"

Changes related to the use of data centers can be part of companies' decarbonization strategy. Other solutions include optimizing office space and energy consumption through the introduction of carbon-free and renewable energy sources, introducing systematic criteria for decarbonization of the supply chain, improving product energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the fleet by transferring service cars to electric models.

In addition to reducing their own carbon footprint, IT companies can help other industries achieve carbon neutrality by introducing high-tech solutions. So, artificial intelligence technologies, the Internet of things and big data allow you to analyze data on the required amount of energy in real time, which helps to reduce energy production and consumption.

In theory, if a company uses uncontrolled energy sources, such as wind, excess energy generated can be stored in batteries and used if necessary, for example, when the load increases sharply. AI solutions in conjunction with machine learning technologies also contribute to the creation of greener products. Studying the previous experience helps optimize the production process, making it less energy-intensive.

The use of decarbonized cloud platforms helps achieve carbon neutrality goals. The concept of digital desktops contributes to the further transition to cloud solutions and the gradual abandonment of server equipment on-premise. Consequently, the amount of energy that is spent on the operation of the equipment is also reduced.

In addition, employees get more opportunities to work remotely. As a result, they are less likely to use transport, which mainly runs on combusted fuel and becomes an additional source of carbon emissions.

What's next

It is important for companies to accept that this process may have some difficulties before embarking on decarbonization. Thus, renewable energy is unstable: changes in weather conditions often lead to the fact that it ceases to be produced. Therefore, it is desirable to adopt an integrated approach, for example, not to completely abandon traditional energy, but to reduce its consumption and take measures to compensate for the negative impact on the atmosphere.

In addition, the use of the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence often raises concerns in terms of data security. So, machine learning works on the principle of a "black box," that is, you can't probably predict in advance what the result of the operation will be. Therefore, it is necessary - primarily for IT companies - to create and implement the most reliable solutions.

Nevertheless, decarbonization is not a fashionable trend, but an inevitable reality of the future. Both legal actions on the part of the world and local government, and the environmental situation itself make the transition to carbon neutrality inevitable. More and more companies are becoming aware of the importance of making efforts to reduce the negative impact of humans on the environment. Achieving the goals that the Paris Agreement sets for the global economy is not easy, so the contribution of each industry is important.

Author - Nadezhda Togacheva

See also

Carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide - CO2)

Notes