Carbon Footprint of Streaming

36g CO2per hour (HD)

Global avgAverage video streaming

This figure is a global average from peer-reviewed research. Actual values vary by country due to differences in energy grids, farming practices, and supply chains. Use our calculators for country-specific estimates.

Key Takeaway

Streaming video produces approximately 36 g CO2 per hour in HD on a modern setup — far less than early estimates suggested. The IEA debunked inflated claims of 300+ g/hour, finding that data centres, networks, and devices are far more energy-efficient than assumed. While individually small, global streaming's scale (1 billion+ hours daily on YouTube alone) makes its collective footprint significant.

In this article

Breaking Down Streaming Emissions
How Streaming Compares to Other Activities
4K, Gaming, and High-Bandwidth Content
How to Reduce Your Streaming Footprint
Frequently Asked Questions

Breaking Down Streaming Emissions

Streaming emissions come from three sources: data centres (encoding, storage, delivery CDNs) account for roughly 20-35% of total emissions; network infrastructure (fibre, mobile towers, home routers) accounts for 25-40%; and the end-user device (TV, laptop, phone) accounts for 30-50%. The device is often the largest single contributor — a 55-inch TV uses 60-100W, while a smartphone uses under 3W. This means watching on a phone produces roughly 5-10x less CO2 per hour than watching on a large TV.

How Streaming Compares to Other Activities

One hour of HD streaming (36 g CO2) is roughly equivalent to driving a car 150 metres, boiling a kettle twice, or charging a smartphone 4-5 times. For context: watching Netflix for an entire year (2 hours/day) produces about 26 kg CO2 — less than a single 30 km car journey. Streaming's environmental impact is real but modest compared to transport, diet, and home energy use, which each contribute hundreds to thousands of kg CO2 per year.

4K, Gaming, and High-Bandwidth Content

Resolution matters: 4K streaming uses 4-7x the data of HD, and the larger screens typically used for 4K consume more electricity. A 4K stream on a 65-inch TV can produce 80-100 g CO2 per hour — roughly 3x the HD-on-laptop figure. Cloud gaming services (Xbox Cloud, GeForce Now) produce 40-120 g CO2 per hour depending on the game and rendering requirements. Downloaded content has a slightly lower per-play footprint than streaming because it avoids repeated network transmission.

How to Reduce Your Streaming Footprint

While streaming is a relatively small part of most people's carbon footprint, you can reduce it further: (1) Watch on smaller screens when possible — a laptop uses 5-10x less power than a large TV. (2) Use Wi-Fi instead of mobile data — 4G/5G networks use more energy per GB than fixed broadband. (3) Download content for repeat viewing instead of re-streaming. (4) Lower resolution when full quality isn't needed (e.g., background listening). (5) Keep devices longer — manufacturing a new TV produces 300-500 kg CO2, dwarfing years of streaming emissions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much CO2 does an hour of Netflix produce?

Approximately 36 g CO2 for HD streaming on a laptop or phone. On a large 4K TV, this rises to 80-100 g CO2 per hour. For context, driving a petrol car for 1 km produces about 170 g CO2 — so an hour of Netflix on your phone equals about 200 metres of driving.

Is streaming bad for the environment?

Individually, streaming has a small carbon footprint compared to transport, diet, or heating. However, the global scale is enormous — YouTube alone serves over 1 billion hours of video daily. The collective impact is significant, though not as large as early reports claimed.

Does video quality affect carbon emissions?

Yes. 4K streaming uses 4-7x the data and typically involves larger, more power-hungry screens. Reducing from 4K to HD can cut streaming emissions by 50-70%. Audio-only streaming (music, podcasts) produces roughly 90% less CO2 than video.