TikTok’s annual carbon footprint is likely bigger than Greece’s, study finds

TikTok’s users also have the second-highest emissions per minute of use on social media according to Greenly’s analysis

Greece’s annual carbon emissions for 2023 were 51.67m metric tonnes of CO2e. File Picture: AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris

TikTok’s annual carbon footprint is probably larger than that of Greece, according to a new analysis of the social media platform’s environmental impact, with the average user generating greenhouse gases equivalent to driving an extra 123 miles in a gasoline-powered car each year.

Estimates from Greenly, a carbon accounting consultancy based in Paris, place TikTok’s 2023 emissions in the US, UK and France at about 7.6m metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) – higher than those associated with Twitter/X and Snapchat in the same region.