The rapidly growing telecommunications industry , with its billions of smartphones , tablets and interconnected phones , could cause 3.5 % of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 , 5.5 % by 2020 and up to 14 % by 2020 . It is also on target to use 20 % of the world 's electricity by 2025 . This is despite the industry long claiming that it can lower carbon emissions by reducing waste and energy efficiency . The major technology companies have committed to using renewable energy for their data centres , but at present only 20 % of electricity used in the world 's data centres is from renewable sources .
The rapidly growing communications industry, with its billions of smartphones, tablets and interconnected devices, could cause 3.5% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, 5.5% by 2025 and up to 14% by 2040. It is also on target to use 20% of the world's electricity by 2025. This is despite the industry long claiming that it can lower carbon emissions by reducing waste and increasing efficiency. The major technology companies have committed to using renewable energy for their data centres, but at present only 20% of electricity used in the world's data centres is from renewable sources.