The social media giant has also launched a ‘Climate Science Information Centre’ for some users alongside ambitions carbon reduction plans.
Facebook joins many larger tech firms in promising to heavily reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decade.
It has said it will be purchasing renewable energy and offsets to counterbalance its current carbon footprint, with a future focus on investing in renewable energy projects and initiatives. In addition, it is aiming to have net zero emissions by 2030 for its supply chains, employee commuting, and business travel sectors.
Facebook is trying to go green, basically, and will finally be tackling its climate misinformation problem. The site has faced criticism from scientists and environmentalists over the past year for ignoring the spread of bogus climate news and articles.
Zuckerberg has historically been hesitant to crack down on fake news, but the site has now launched a ‘Climate Science Information Centre’ for the UK, US, Germany, and France. Information from the United Nations and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is available to view through this centre, and it appears at the top of the news feed – next time your nan starts sending you dubious articles on the climate try sending her a link.
A large number of the biggest tech companies have made similar pledges in recent years. Netflix has invested in renewable energy, Apple has net zero goals for 2030, and Google just announced it’ll run on entirely carbon-free energy within ten years. Microsoft has also been dabbling with underwater servers to help reduce the energy required to keep them cool.
To Zuckerberg’s credit, Facebook has been lowering its carbon emissions annually since 2017 and has a smaller overall carbon footprint than Google. That’s not saying a whole lot, mind, given that Google produces an eye-watering 4.4 million metric tons of greenhouse gases a year on average, though it does have plans to change that over the coming years.
We don’t as of yet know the specifics of how Facebook will be reaching its new targets, or which green energy companies it’ll be investing in. All we do know is the time for action has never been more urgent. The US is experiencing its worst fire season ever and a new report last month stated that 28 trillion tonnes of ice have been lost from the surface of Earth since 1994. It’s obvious all companies have to act now, rather than tomorrow.
It’s a small step but this is certainly a start, and the less boomer articles we see floating about our news feeds the better.
I’m Charlie (He/Him), the Editor In Chief at Thred. I studied English at the University of Birmingham and as a music and gaming enthusiast, I’m a nerd for pop culture. You can find me curating playlists, designing article headline images, and sipping cider on a Thursday. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.
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