Environmental impact of buying a new phone

1. What is the environmental impact of phones?
2. Is changing smartphone good for the environment?
3. Is phone production bad for the environment?

What is the environmental impact of phones?

That base of 4.5 billion smartphones will likely generate 146 million tons of CO2 or equivalent emissions (CO2e) in 2022. While that's less than half a percent of the 34 gigatons of total CO2e emitted globally in 2021, emissions can be further reduced.

Is changing smartphone good for the environment?

The practice of frequently upgrading our smartphones when new versions are released creates an enormous amount of physical e-waste. In 2019 that figure was estimated to weigh more than 50 million tonnes, constituting approximately 10% of global e-waste.

Is phone production bad for the environment?

But although they can definitely put a dent in your savings, the cost to the environment might be even higher. Apple says that 70% of its carbon emissions come from manufacturing alone. And Compare and Recycle estimates that iPhone manufacturing in 2022 alone will generate a mind-boggling 17 megatons of CO2 emissions.