This publication is a follow-up that provides additional insight into a question that has naturally arisen from the seminal Carbon Trust study: “now that it is clear that emissions from device use make up the majority of internet uses like streaming, what should we do next to continue reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions?”

Contents of this paper include:

1. Principles for evidence-based policy decision-making, built upon a technical review of academic and industry input.
2. Key messages distilled from academic and industry experts on the historical progress and future-facing opportunities for decarbonisation of the digital sector.
3. Reframing of some misconceptions about the digital sector’s energy consumption trends, which have arisen from (a) a lack of insight into different modelling types and their limitations, and (b) an incorrect association of demand growth for digital services vs. energy consumption and carbon footprint changes.