Shift Project: Will Mobile Networks and Virtual Worlds Be Frugal, or Not?

December 14, 2024: The Shift Project (a French think tank for low-carbon transition) presented a first report on the frugality of digital infrastructures for resilient users and a second one on the frugality of virtual worlds. The goal is to address the challenges of the dual carbon constraint: reducing carbon emissions from our activities and making the country independent from fossil fuels.

Current State of Digital Infrastructures and Their Improvements

To provide access to high-performance networks for individuals and businesses across the entire French territory, providers plan to increase mobile capacities. This translates into an increase in speed and lower latency, leading to a rise in the number of sites. The proliferation of antennas and equipment will collect and transmit resources in electricity and the volume of emitted data. The multiplication of IoT and Industry 4.0 has been highlighted by providers to justify the deployment of 5G and subsequently 6G.

However, in the context of climate risk, the increase in natural disasters can damage or even destroy some of these facilities and slow down the supply of raw materials. The multiple energy and ecological transitions that French society will have to adapt to will result in new standards or modifications to the subcontracting value chain. The deployment of network capacities is taking place in an uncertain context, which all sectors must now take into account.

The Shift Project concludes that currently, network dynamics are unable to meet the dual carbon constraint. As the size and capacities of infrastructures expand, the performance of cumulative future advancements will not be able to compensate for their ecological consequences. However, the team encourages users to question the usefulness of digital technologies, and rethink their lifestyle. Decarbonization and resilience of the infrastructure must now become a priority.

Digital Sobriety and Virtual Worlds: Naturally Incompatible?

A virtual world is characterized by a large space where simultaneous exchanges between the physical and virtual worlds occur through an interface. This world provides an immersive experience. If the user is absent, it continues to exist and evolve, becoming richer and more complex. It is also possible to sell goods in it.

Virtual worlds are at the heart of decisive financial and strategic issues for companies specializing in video games, online conferences and meetings, social networks, e-commerce, and cultural experiences.

But despite massive investments over the past decade, virtual world projects seem so far dictated only by a blurry, heterogeneous and multiple vision. This does not encourage entrepreneurs to integrate environmental thinking about their consequences, and to truly design a metaverse that is compatible with the Paris Agreement.

To assess progress to be made in the future for a frugal virtual world, Shift Project experts have studied their environmental impact. They are currently examining the needs for terminal volumes, data, and calculations to operate virtual worlds. The Shift Project is also looking for technological and social alternatives to meet the dual carbon constraint.

Solutions to be Presented in the Shift Project's Final Report

In December, to further its reflections on the subject, the Shift Project organized workshops focused on mobile networks and virtual worlds. The synthesis of these debates should provide new insights, which will be included in the final report presented in 2024.