The Environmental Cost of Streaming — What Every Binge-Watcher Should Know

Netflix. YouTube. Disney+. Prime Video. You open them without thinking — and why would you? It’s just a screen, just a tap. But behind every hour of streaming sits a vast, humming infrastructure of data centres, transmission networks, and devices, all consuming electricity around the clock.

Streaming now accounts for 60 to 70 percent of all global internet traffic. In 2024, Netflix users alone watched 94 billion hours of content. And that number is rising every year. So what does it all actually cost the planet?

The carbon cost of one hour of streaming

To put 55g per hour in context: the average American streams nearly four hours of video content per day. That’s roughly 220g of CO₂e daily — just from watching TV. Over a year, that’s approaching 80kg per person, equivalent to driving more than 200 miles in a petrol car, just from streaming.

The device you watch on matters more than you think

Here’s the finding that surprises most people: switching from 4K to HD has a relatively small effect on your streaming footprint. What matters far more is the screen you’re watching on.

Streaming on a 50-inch TV uses approximately 4.5 times more energy than a laptop — and around 90 times more than a smartphone.

This means that one person watching a show on their phone produces a fraction of the emissions of someone watching the same show on a large television. The viewing device accounts for the biggest single share of streaming’s carbon footprint — more than the data centres and networks combined.

The autoplay problem

Every streaming platform is designed to keep you watching. Autoplay queues the next episode before you’ve decided whether you want it. Recommendation algorithms serve up content when you’re already done for the night. These design choices aren’t neutral — they actively increase the hours streamed, and therefore the emissions generated, without any conscious decision from the viewer.

A 2025 study found that 95% of remote workers stream content during the working day — with half admitting they watch films during work hours. Background streaming on a screen you’re not even watching still consumes data, still uses electricity, and still generates emissions.

Streaming and AI: competing for the same infrastructure

The environmental picture is getting more complicated. Streaming and AI now share the same data centre infrastructure — and AI’s explosive growth is placing unprecedented new demands on the same servers, cooling systems, and energy supplies that deliver your favourite shows. Research from late 2025 found that AI systems alone could consume water equivalent to the world’s entire annual bottled water production.

As streaming demand grows and AI demand grows alongside it, the efficiency improvements that have kept streaming’s per-hour footprint relatively low are under serious threat. The International Energy Agency has warned that efficiency gains may struggle to keep pace with combined data demand through the rest of this decade.

6 ways to stream with a lighter footprint

• Watch on the smallest screen that works for you. Your phone uses a fraction of the energy of a large TV. For casual viewing, it’s the greener choice.
• Turn off autoplay. Every major platform lets you disable this in settings. It won’t queue content you didn’t choose, and it stops passive background streaming.
• Use Wi-Fi, not mobile data. Streaming over mobile data is significantly more energy-intensive than over a home broadband connection.
• Download content for offline viewing. Downloading once and watching offline uses less energy than streaming the same content repeatedly. Great for commutes or flights.
• Lower resolution on small screens. On a phone, the difference between HD and 4K is invisible to the human eye — but the data load (and emissions) are very different.
• Turn off the TV when you’re not watching. Background noise TV — on while you cook, clean, or sleep — still streams, still consumes, and still emits.

The bigger picture: it’s not just about you

Individual choices matter, but they’re only part of the story. The platforms themselves carry a significant responsibility. Netflix has committed to reducing its Scope 3 emissions intensity by 55% per million dollars of value added by 2030. Amazon Web Services has targeted 100% renewable energy. Disney and Amazon, whose emissions are dominated by physical operations like cruise ships and logistics, have been slower to address their streaming-specific footprint.

Consumer awareness drives corporate action. When viewers ask platforms directly about their energy sources and sustainability commitments, it puts those questions on boardroom agendas. The more we understand about the hidden costs of our digital entertainment, the more we can demand the industry address them.

At DigitalGarb, we’re not asking anyone to stop watching. We’re asking everyone to watch with their eyes open — to the screen, and to what’s behind it. Small, consistent choices made by billions of people can shift the trajectory of an industry that’s only going to keep growing.