With developments such as 5G, Blockchain, cloud storage, the role of technology in human life has continued unabated in recent years. Although these developments make human life easier in many ways, the other side of the coin is increased energy use and carbon emissions. The case of China, where ther is the world's largest 5G network and the second largest data center, confirms this fact.
According to May report of Greenpace, 61% of the electricity usage of China's digital infrastructure in 2020 comes from coal energy. The electricity consumption arising from this infrastructure is expected to increase by 289% until 2035. The estimated increase in electricity usage in 5G base stations for the same period is 500%. China's two big data center companies, Chindata and AtHub, have committed to reach 100% clean energy use by 2030 as a solution to this situation. Taking advantage of the low temperature in the ocean to cool the computer networks in data centers is seen as another solution. The Hainan island administration has started work on the world's first undersea commercial data center. However, the very high initial costs of establishing a undersea data center may prevent this solution from becoming widespread.
On the other hand, the rapid increase in carbon emissions harms not only China but also the whole world with its effect on the ozone layer. Therefore, this effect will continue to increase exponentially as more countries follow the policies of China, the rising power in the economy. In summary, unless economic policies are based on sustainability, it seems inevitable that low development will accompany high growth.
Source:
https://https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-looks-ocean-cheaper-way-cooling-power-hungry-data-centres-2021-05-25/
https://https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-eastasia-stateless/2021/05/a5886d59-china-5g-and-data-center-carbon-emissions-outlook-2035-english.pdf
Research Assistant Mahsum ÖKMEN
