The Metaverse is a collective virtual open space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality.

If successful, the Metaverse could greatly limit travel emissions a local and global scale. White-collar laborers could work in the Metaverse instead of commuting to work every day. Air travel for events like concerts and sports games would all but disappear. However, critics have raised some valid concerns. Virtual reality (VR) technologies, which currently leverage AI technologies like deep neural networks for precise hand tracking and deep learning for eye tracking, will most likely be used in the metaverse.

What is Metaverse?

The Metaverse is a collective virtual open space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. It is physically persistent and provides enhanced immersive experiences. Activities that take place in isolated environments (buying digital land and constructing virtual homes, participating in a virtual social experience, etc.) will eventually take place in the Metaverse. The adoption of Metaverse technologies is still at an early stage, so business leaders should limit their investments there.

What is the impact of the metaverse?

There are positive environmental parts of the metaverse – some say the metaverse will bring down the sum that individuals spend on travel for business and for no particular reason, thereby also diminishing pollution. Notwithstanding its perceived benefits, it has a few drawbacks too. According to Data Quest, analysts are worried that the metaverse could lead to an influx of greenhouse gas emissions. Virtual reality technology and data centers use AI and cloud services, which require quite large amounts of energy.

A recent study estimates that training just one AI model could generate 626,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, which is more than five times the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by a car during its lifetime. Cloud gaming, which is necessary for VR, could also raise carbon emissions by 2030. And, it will increase the necessity for hi-res images, which only increases the need for more energy.

Supposedly, data centers like Facebook and Microsoft have promised to achieve net-zero emissions, even though that likely means that instead of transitioning to cleaner means of energy, the company will simply make vague "environmental investments." And, the continuous development of VR will encourage people to buy new technology, which means an influx in e-waste, which is polluting our soil, groundwater, and landfills.

What can we do to lower our metaverse impact?

At present, it's mostly up to these major corporations to find eco-friendly means of building their virtual realities. But to hold yourself accountable, make a commitment to properly recycling e-waste, and shop for secondhand electronics. Also, try to stream in SD — not HD — when using your phone to interact with the metaverse, as HD has a higher environmental impact and releases more carbon emissions. Again, large corporations should be held accountable for this type of impact, but playing your part is important, too.

Web 3.0 technology means sustainable outcomes because it is

1. Decentralized – Enabled by distributed ledgers and smart contracts:

• Eliminates intermediaries, manual mediation, and arbitration; thereby avoiding power centralization and reducing cost.
• Enables multi-dimensional inclusion.

2. Consensus-based:

• Reinforces reliability and traceability, ensuring the highest level of governance.

3. Immutable:

• Delivers safe, trusted, and secured smart contracts and transactions.
• Reduces the risk of corruption and manipulation.

Looking ahead

As per a study, flights is responsible for about 11% of all transportation-related emissions in the U.S. A single round-trip flight between New York and California produces generally 20% of the ozone-harming substances that a vehicle radiates over a whole year.

The inefficiency of paper should be thought of, as well. It's assessed that U.S workplaces utilize 12.1 trillion pieces of paper a year; paper represents 25% of landfills and 33% of metropolitan waste. One ton of copy paper — 400 reams — requires 11,341 kilowatt-hours of energy (the same amount of energy used by an average household in 10 months) and 5,869 pounds of greenhouse gases (the equivalent of six months of car exhaust) to produce.

But the calculus isn't that simple. For example, research from WSP U.K. found that remote work in the U.K. may only be more environmentally friendly in the summer due to the need to heat individual workers' buildings versus that of office. This might not hold in regions that derive energy from more sustainable sources, like Iceland, which uses a significant amount of geothermal power. This much is clear: the metaverse will be costly. But more research must be done on whether the costs can — and will — be offset, and to what degree the impact will be distributed across geographies.

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