Global internet traffic surged by more than 40% in 2020 as a result of increased video streaming, video conferencing, online gaming and social networking. This growth comes on top of rising demand for digital services over the past decade: since 2010, the number of internet users worldwide has doubled, while global internet traffic has expanded 15-fold.
Rapid improvements in energy efficiency have, however, helped limit energy demand growth from data centres and data transmission networks, which each account for ~1% of global electricity use. Nevertheless, strong government and industry efforts on energy efficiency, renewables procurement and RD&D will be essential to curb energy demand and emissions growth over the next decade.
