The energy required to make chips for electronics, used in everything from smartphones to artificial intelligence hardware and vehicles, would skyrocket this decade, Greenpeace said yesterday.
This requires major firms to commit to seriously cutting emissions, the group said.
The global semiconductor manufacturing industry is projected to emit 86 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2030 — more than double Portugal’s total emissions in 2021, Greenpeace said in a new report.
Photo: REUTERS
The group flagged high electricity use by semiconductor manufacturers as one of the major reasons behind rising emissions from the global electronics industry.
Its report focused on companies with operations in East Asia, home to major global semiconductor manufacturers including Apple Inc chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, South Korea’s largest chipmaker.
Electricity grids in East Asia are highly dependent on natural gas and coal-fired power generation, Greenpeace said.
None of the companies analyzed in the report has climate commitments in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommendations to limit global warming to 1.5°C, nor to adopt 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, the report said.
“Most electronics industry suppliers studied have set long-term targets for carbon reduction, but their timelines do not reflect the level of ambition that is necessary in the face of catastrophic climate change,” it said.
Greenpeace said TSMC’s electricity consumption was projected to grow the most among all the semiconductor manufacturers studied — 267 percent by 2030, when it would consume as much power as about one-quarter of Taiwan’s population.
Samsung Electronics has not made firm 2030 climate commitments for its operations in South Korea, despite 75 percent of its electricity use happening on home soil, Greenpeace said.
Samsung last year announced a commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions across global operations by 2050.
“We are committed to achieving our goal announced last year and will continue to share our progress with various stakeholders and listen to their feedback,” the company said in a statement when contacted for comment about the Greenpeace report.
Emissions from South Korea’s semiconductor manufacturing industry are projected to rise due in large part to Samsung’s “continued emissions growth,” Greenpeace said.
Samsung would use more electricity to make chips in 2030 than all of Singapore did in 2020, the group said.
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