If the metaverse is seen solely as a world where people can gather virtually without leaving their homes, it would seem like a boon for a net-zero future.
Scaling back commuting and travel would cut down carbon emissions. Simulations for everything from medical students performing surgeries, to companies onboarding employees, to factories tweaking their production lines would lead to financial and energy savings. In retail, for instance, augmented-reality fitting rooms have helped reduce clothing returns — and the waste associated with it — by up to 36%.
But this ignores the fact that the technology underpinning the metaverse is a large contributor of greenhouse gas emissions.
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