> Data centers consume about 1.5 percent of the world’s electricity and are responsible for about 0.5 percent of carbon emissions. And the Internet overall is reducing greenhouse gas emissions because it distributes goods digitally that once were delivered physically, like books, music, publications and mail.

The number from the first sentence is misleading. The internet consumes about 4 percent of the world's electricity[0], data centers are just one part of it. Citation needed for the second sentence. Americans own about 25 electronic devices per household[1], and that wouldn't be the case without internet. We now stream music from YouTube all day long instead of putting one CD on repeat. A kindle costs 170kgCO2e to manufacture, whereas a second-hand book close to 0. The carbon footprint associated with the digital revolution is not clear cut because of all those behaviour changes.

IF we used new technology only to gain efficiency, and not to consume more without energy gains, this would hold true. But society is not doing that.

[0] https://theshiftproject.org/en/article/unsustainable-use-onl... [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2013/01/02/24-electroni...