Soaring electricity use by new electronic devices imperils climate change efforts

Efforts by countries worldwide to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy security are in trouble if nothing is done to check the energy gobbled by both information and communication technologies and consumer electronics.

This warning came in a report published yesterday in Paris by the International Energy Agency. The study warns that energy used by computers and consumer electronics will not only double by 2022, but increase threefold by 2030.

IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said in a press release accompanying the report that the increase was equivalent to the current combined total residential electricity consumption of the United States and Japan.

“It would also cost households around the world USD 200 billion in electricity bills and require the addition of approximately 280 Gigawatts (GW) of new generating capacity between now and 2030,” he added. The report is called “Gadgets and Gigawatts: Policies for Energy Efficient Electronics.”

The International Energy Agency says one solution is for governments to “urgently implement policies to make electronic devices such as televisions, laptops and mobile phones more energy-efficient.” The Paris-based IEA is an autonomous body set up within the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and mandated to implement an international energy program.

The IEA’s publication makes a global assessment of changing patterns in residential electricity consumption over the past decade and reviews the extent to which government policies have been effective in creating markets for more energy-efficient appliances. It pinpoints new opportunities for creating smarter, more energy-efficient homes.

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