Google: Southeast Asia's Digital Economy's Impact on Carbon Emissions Projected to Reach 20 Million Metric Tons of CO2e by 2030

A report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company reveals that Southeast Asia is one of the regions most exposed to the risks and consequences of climate change. With the growing scale of the digital economy, carbon emissions are projected to reach ~20 Metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) by 2030.

The CO2e projection is calculated based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scope 3, a methodology used to calculate emissions from three major sectors of the digital economy: transportation, food delivery, and e-commerce.

The report explains that the carbon footprint of transportation is calculated from estimated average trips, including driver repositioning distance per trip, based on the size of urban areas.

Emissions from food delivery originate from packaging emissions, calculated based on the average quantity and type of materials used. In addition to packaging, food delivery emissions also stem from the average distance traveled by drivers or riders to the pickup point and then to the customer's destination.

For e-commerce carbon emissions, the carbon footprint is calculated based on market share. Carbon footprint growth is assumed to follow the growth sector of gross merchandise value (GMV).

Online travel has been excluded, despite the environmental footprint of air travel, because online platforms facilitate bookings and do not emit CO2e themselves.