Upgrading old laptops is more energy-efficient than purchasing newer, 'greener' models, German scientists said on Monday (1 October).
The German Öko-Institut study showed that the manufacturing part of information and communication technology (ICT) devices, such as notebooks or portable computers, counts for a very large part of the carbon footprint of the product, because the process is highly energy-intensive.
The production phase, with about 56% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of a notebook, casts a significantly higher impact than the use phase, the study showed. More exactly, if the lifetime of a notebook is assumed to be 5 years, 214 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide equivalents arise from its production and 138 kilogrammes or 36% from use.
To read the original article: Replacing laptops harms the environment, study shows | EurActiv
