Icon: enlarge
"Data centers also need electricity, the network is not climate-neutral"
Photo: Wolfram Schroll / Bloomberg / Getty Images
SPIEGEL:
Mr. Jordan, can digitalization prevent the climate crisis?
Jordan:
That would be too short-sighted.
We have so many environmental problems that digitization alone cannot solve.
Data centers also need electricity, the network is not climate-neutral.
SPIEGEL:
A study last year came to the conclusion that the Internet already causes more CO2 emissions than global civil air traffic.
Online applications are now even more popular.
What are the consequences?
Jordan:
There are hardly any reliable figures on this.
The problem is that the vast majority of servers worldwide are powered by coal and nuclear power or a mixture of renewable and fossil fuels.
It is true that more and more large companies are using green electricity for their data centers, but the vast majority of web services have a very non-transparent carbon footprint.
SPIEGEL:
At the moment, many business trips are being replaced by video conferences.
So can the internet also help protect the climate?
Jordan:
Of course, less air travel is positive.
But the world of work does not automatically become sustainable when everyone is in the home office.
Video streaming also has a carbon footprint: It accounts for 60 percent of global data traffic.
And with video telephony, you don't just download data, you also upload it.
An hour in the Zoom meeting requires more bandwidth than an hour in Netflix with the same quality.
SPIEGEL:
We are doing this interview via Facetime in the home office.
Is that positive for the climate?
Jordan:
That's pretty ideal.
We're both on WiFi, which is much better for the climate than the cellular network.
In addition, with Apple, we use a service that, according to the company, runs entirely on green electricity - something that some other tech companies also offer.
The climate balance could only be improved if we had this conversation by email - but then it would no longer be a real interview.
Read more with Spiegel Plus
More perspectives, more understanding.
Your advantages with SPIEGEL +
Icon: Check
DER SPIEGEL as a magazine
as an app, e-paper and on the e-reader
Icon: Check
All articles on SPIEGEL.de
Exclusive texts for SPIEGEL + readers
Icon: Check
Try one month for free
can be canceled online at any time
A price
only € 19.99 per month
One month for € 0.00
Try now for 0.00 € Buy nowArrow to the right
Already have a digital subscription? Register here
Restore iTunes subscription
SPIEGEL + is processed via your iTunes account and paid for with a purchase confirmation.
24 hours before it expires, the subscription is automatically renewed by one month at the current price of € 19.99.
You can cancel the subscription at any time in the settings of your iTunes account.
To use SPIEGEL + outside of this app, you must link the subscription to a SPIEGEL ID account immediately after purchase.
With the purchase you accept our general terms and conditions and privacy policy.
