Emissions and water for one hour of a video call, with the camera on and off. Each entry records the claim as published: what it counts, who made it and who paid,
and any dispute. Figures with different boundaries are not comparable without reading what each counts.
One hour of videoconferencing or streaming, Purdue/Yale/MIT study
150 to 1,000 g CO2 per hour of videoconferencing or streaming
2 to 12 litres of water (kind not known) per hour of videoconferencing or streaming
Just one hour of videoconferencing or streaming, for example, emits 150-1,000 grams of carbon dioxide (a gallon of gasoline burned from a car emits about 8,887 grams), requires 2-12 liters of water and demands a land area adding up to about the size of an iPad Mini. But leaving your camera off during a web call can reduce these footprints by 96%.
One hour of videoconferencing or streaming (the release adds that leaving the camera off cuts these footprints by 96%)
Scope
not stated
Counts
processing and transmission of internet data
Leaves out
not stated
Model or version
Footprints per gigabyte of data for 18 platforms, online gaming and web surfing, using models from Madani's research group and known energy use per gigabyte of fixed-line internet
Place
not stated
Period measured
not stated
Method
Estimated from the data volume of each platform multiplied by per-gigabyte carbon, water and land footprints of electricity for internet data; the researchers call the estimates rough.
Claimed by
Independent: Renee Obringer, Benjamin Rachunok, Debora Maia-Silva, Maryam Arbabzadeh, Roshanak Nateghi and Kaveh Madani (Purdue, Yale, MIT)
Paid for by
Purdue Climate Change Research Center, Purdue Center for the Environment, MIT Energy Initiative, Yale MacMillan Center
Dispute
Félix Mortas (arXiv preprint, 2026) measured data use on Microsoft Teams calls over 4G and found that turning the camera off roughly halves data use and the related emissions, which it presents as a challenge to this study's 96% figure, noting that the study is based on estimates and modelling rather than experimental data. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.06045
History
Added.
One-hour Teams call with the camera off, over 4G (network data only)
4.8 to 10.8 g CO2e per hour of video call with the camera off
Turning the camera off reduces these emissions to 4.8 to 10.8 g of CO2e per hour.
A one-hour Microsoft Teams call with the camera off, measured at 8.76 MB per minute on a 4G connection
Scope
network
Counts
electricity for mobile (4G) network data transfer
Leaves out
data centres; end-user devices; screen sharing
Model or version
Measured data volume times mobile-network energy intensity (kWh/GB, minimum and maximum from the literature) times the French electricity carbon intensity (ADEME, 79.1 gCO2e/kWh)
Place
France
Period measured
not stated
Method
Mobile data use was read from the operator app before and after each of nine 30 to 60 minute Teams meetings and converted to emissions with mobile-network energy intensities and the French grid factor; figures as in version 2 (18 January 2026).
Claimed by
Independent: Félix Mortas
Paid for by
not stated
Dispute
none
History
Added.
One-hour Teams call with the camera on, over 4G (network data only)
10.2 to 21.6 g CO2e per hour of video call with the camera on
For video calls, having the camera on results in emissions ranging from 10.2 to 21.6 g of CO2e per hour.
A one-hour Microsoft Teams call with the camera on, measured at 18.07 MB per minute on a 4G connection
Scope
network
Counts
electricity for mobile (4G) network data transfer
Leaves out
data centres; end-user devices; screen sharing
Model or version
Measured data volume times mobile-network energy intensity (kWh/GB, minimum and maximum from the literature) times the French electricity carbon intensity (ADEME, 79.1 gCO2e/kWh)
Place
France
Period measured
not stated
Method
Mobile data use was read from the operator app before and after each of nine 30 to 60 minute Teams meetings and converted to emissions with mobile-network energy intensities and the French grid factor; figures as in version 2 (18 January 2026).
Claimed by
Independent: Félix Mortas
Paid for by
not stated
Dispute
none
The calculator uses this figure: Video call, camera on (4G mobile network only, France).