Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

Study Finds COP Websites Emit Up to 10 Times More Carbon Per View Than Average

A peer-reviewed analysis using web archives links the rise to heavier multimedia pages.

The study comes during this year's ongoing COP30 in Belem, Brazil, scheduled to go on until November 21.
Image
Image
The authors of the report say the United Nations should require countries hosting future summits to reduce the carbon emissions relating to their sites’ page views

Overview

  • The University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Design Informatics published the findings in PLOS Climate as COP30 opens in Belém.
  • Average emissions on COP sites now exceed 2.4g CO2 per visit versus about 0.36g for typical pages, a rise of more than 13,000% since 1995.
  • Researchers estimate COP3 1997 page views totaled 0.14kg CO2 compared with 116.85kg from COP29 homepage visits alone.
  • They attribute the surge to richer media and larger pages that often measure 3–10MB, and recommend leaner design, modern image formats, fewer invisible scripts, and renewable-powered hosting.
  • It is too early to quantify COP30 website emissions, and the site is not hosted on verified renewable-energy infrastructure.