During his presentation at The AI Summit at the Singapore Expo on May 30, Ian Chew, the CEO of Greenie Web, discussed the environmental impacts of digital technology, particularly the use of Generative AI. He highlighted the significant contribution of digital carbon emissions from online activities to Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, equating to 3.7 per cent, nearly as large as the aviation industry.
Chew also emphasized the rapidly escalating nature of this issue, projecting the contribution to rise to 14 per cent by 2040.
He noted, “[During the COVID-19 pandemic], every country in the world underwent significant digital transformation: The elderly and inexperienced individuals embraced digital devices for the first time, leading to a 300 per cent increase by 2040,” Chew explained.
To address these challenges, Chew proposed two solutions: Digital decarbonisation and sustainable digitalisation.
He introduced the SWUP framework for developers to support these goals, focusing on monitoring site or app animation speed, page weight budget, user optimization, and eco-friendly digital habits.
In a panel discussion on AI sustainability, Kenddrick Chan from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change highlighted the importance of considering the sustainability of AI itself, not just using AI for sustainability initiatives.
Chew stressed the need for a shift in the business model of data consumption to address the issue of increased data consumption incentivization by cloud service providers.
The panel acknowledged the significance of measuring digital carbon emissions but noted the lack of standardized methods for measurement, particularly when assessing tech platforms’ carbon footprints.
Throughout the event, discussions also covered the announcement of the Singapore government’s Digital Enterprise Blueprint (DEB) aimed at accelerating digital transformation and promoting AI innovation among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The event attracted over 22,000 attendees from 110 countries and regions, underscoring the growing importance of addressing digital carbon emissions for a sustainable future.