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by Projet Celsius
Projet Celsius
Key figureClimateUpdated on 11 November 2026

4.4%

Share of digital in France's carbon footprint

France · 2022 data · 29.5 MtCO2e · ADEME, January 2025

Digital accounts for 4.4% of France's carbon footprint, that is 29.5 MtCO2e and 434 kgCO2e per person per year, according to the ADEME study published in January 2025 on 2022 data.

2022 data: generative AI is barely counted in it.

See the source
Two data centre buildings in Amsterdam, a low black block and a tall metal tower
Equinix data centres in Amsterdam. Photo Choinowski, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Definition and scope

Share of French people's digital uses (devices, networks, data centres in France and abroad) in France's carbon footprint, over the life cycle.

What is included

  • Users' devices
  • Networks
  • Data centres, in France and abroad

What is excluded

  • Digital uses by foreign companies hosted in France

How the value is obtained

ADEME life cycle assessment of 2022 equipment and uses, an update of the ADEME and Arcep study.

Limits and uncertainties

  • The increase compared with the previous study stems mainly from the change of scope.
  • A single year; the next update should include generative AI.

In context

See the chart and its data

The digital sector in France, in 3 categories

Carbon footprint of digital in France, 2022, in million tonnes of CO2e

2022 (January 2025 study)

Digital accounts for 4.4% of France's carbon footprint, 29.5 million tonnes of CO2e.

051015Devices49.5 %14.6 MtData centres46.7 %13.8 MtNetworks3.8 %1.1 Mt
Source: ADEME, January 2025, 2022 data · projetcelsius.com/en/ai · CC BY 4.0AI Impactby Projet Celsius

Update history

The hub changelog
Answer sentence added at the top of the entry
First version of the entry

More on climate

The whole Climate topic →

Charts and maps

ChartClimateThe digital sector in France, in 3 categories4.4%of France's carbon footprintChartClimateGoogle and Microsoft emissions58 to 81%rise in emissions since the baseline yearChartClimateElectricity emissions, by contract or by grid1 to 4,400the same scope 2 at Meta, depending on the methodChartClimateOne question, 4 ways of counting CO2eover90timesgap between the lowest and the highest

Analyses

AnalysisClimate12 November 2026Why do estimates of AI's impact differ?Calculated with French electricity, one question to an AI emits 0.012 gram of CO2e; Mistral AI publishes 1.14 gram, more than 90 times as much. Its water use ranges from 0.26 to 45 millilitres depending on the published measurements. These figures are accurate; they do not cover the same scope.Where does this figure come from?Climate20 October 2026"Meta's electricity emits only 1,358 tonnes of CO2e"In 2024, Meta reports 1,358 tonnes of CO2e for the electricity it buys, the annual footprint of 170 people in France. The same report also gives 5.97 million tonnes. Both of the 2 figures are accurate.

Tools

ToolClimateCompare the footprint of an AI use by the country where the servers are21times as muchof CO2e in Poland than in Norway

On the Projet Celsius blog ↗

Blog article ↗HardwareDigital pollution: key figures for 2026, in France and worldwideBlog article ↗What is the carbon footprint of a company's digital activity?

Across the hub

AI Impact DatabaseAll the figures, their methodology and their sources.AI Ranking10 assistants rated out of 100: performance, ethics and environment.AnalysesThe signed pieces: analyses, viewpoints, "Where does this figure come from?".Charts and mapsYou are hereThe reference visuals, with their data and sources.ToolsOpen calculations, your assumptions on the left, the result on the right.

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