The digital revolution of the last quarter century has fundamentally reshaped society. With the tap of a finger, we can access the world’s information, stream entertainment, and connect with people across the globe. Our fridges can suggest recipes, our workplaces are more efficient, and our lives are increasingly integrated with technology.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector has been hailed for its transformative potential in many regards. It has focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by offering remote work, developing clean and renewable energy solutions, and facilitating environmental monitoring and research, all of which have been leveraged in the fight against climate change. But technological transformation has also come at a steep environmental cost. The rapid expansion of digital infrastructure and personal electronic production and consumption is intensifying the climate crisis while also deepening inequalities between the Global North and South.
The environmental impacts of technology begin long before a device reaches our hands. Producing a single smartphone requires 12,760 litres of water, more than the average Canadian household’s water use for a month. Each device contains non-renewable materials and over 30 different elements, including common metals like copper and aluminum and other rare earth elements essential for batteries and circuitry. These elements are often extracted and processed in environmentally destructive ways, leading to deforestation, soil degradation, and water pollution. With approximately 7.21 billion smartphones in circulation, these impacts scale exponentially.
The recent boom in artificial intelligence (AI) has further escalated concerns about the environmental costs of digital technology. AI systems that perform tasks requiring human intelligence have integrated into daily life at an unprecedented pace. While mobile phones took 16 years to reach 100 million users and the internet took seven, OpenAI’s ChatGPT achieved this in just two months. This extremely rapid rate of adoption suggests that AI is quickly becoming an integral part of our lives.
But this widespread adoption of AI is also driving massive increases in energy and water consumption. Large language models like ChatGPT require enormous computational power, as they are trained with vast datasets to generate human-like responses. This process takes place in data centers, where servers generate significant amounts of heat and require large amounts of water to cool them down. As such, estimates suggest that one ChatGPT request is the equivalent of pouring out one bottle of water. With 10 million queries handled daily, the water footprint of this technology cannot be understated. Studies indicate that globally, AI-related infrastructure and technology is on track to consume six times more water than Denmark, a country of six million people. With nearly two-thirds of the world’s population experiencing water scarcity for at least one month each year, the strain on water resources due to AI becomes a huge challenge to both sustainability and development.
AI is also an extremely energy-intensive industry. Sasha Luccioni, a climate researcher at an AI company called Hugging Face, explains that data centers rely primarily on coal and natural gas since they provide more stable energy than renewables such as wind or solar power. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts found that training for large AI models can emit approximately 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to nearly 300 round-trip flights between Vancouver and Montréal. While models such as DeepSeek have emerged as more environmentally friendly alternatives, AI is on track to become one of the biggest drivers of energy consumption in the coming years.
The environmental impact of digital technologies doesn’t disappear once they fall out of sight. From used AI training servers to broken cell phones and dysfunctional household appliances, e-waste is a growing driver of pollution and environmental degradation. E-waste is projected to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030. Canada’s e-waste generation has nearly tripled in the past two decades, expected to reach 1.2 million tonnes annually by 2030. These discarded electronic and technological products contain toxic materials such as cadmium and mercury, which pose serious threats to soil health, water and air quality, and wildlife preservation. Despite efforts, only about 20% of e-waste is successfully recycled, with the rest ending up in landfills. In these landfills, electronics account for up to 70% of their toxic waste.
As the world’s generation of electronic waste rises five times faster than documented e-waste recycling, certain communities will bear the cost more than others. The Global North has turned the Global South into a dumping ground for its electronic waste. Countries in Africa and South Asia receive massive shipments of discarded technology from Western countries, creating hazardous landfills that disproportionately affect the health of their populations and their environment. These exploitative practices reinforce North-South inequalities, as wealthier nations offload their environmental burdens onto regions with fewer resources to manage them safely and sustainably.
The environmental cost of technology is not a distant concern—it is an urgent crisis. As digital infrastructure expands, so must our commitment to sustainability. Governments, tech companies, and consumers all have a role to play in mitigating the environmental impacts of digital technology.
This is an article written by a Staff Writer. Catalyst is a student-led platform that fosters engagement with global issues from a learning perspective. The opinions expressed above do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication.
Edited by Aimee Wang
Béatrice is a final-year McGill student majoring in International Development Studies, with minors in Political Science and Hispanic Studies. She is passionate about international relations and socio-economic development. As a staff writer for Catalyst, she looks forward to examining issues relating to human rights, food security, and youth and women’s empowerment.