牛津经济研究院-欧洲数字超现金支付对环境的影响（英）-2024-351页_5mb

Environmental Impact of Digital Over Cash Payments in Europe

Core Content Overview

This white paper report, commissioned by the European Digital Payment Industry Alliance (EDPIA), analyzes the environmental impact of digital and cash payments in Europe, focusing on three countries: Finland, Italy, and Germany. The study employs a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach to evaluate the environmental effects of both payment systems across various impact categories, including global warming potential (GWP), mineral resource scarcity, and ionizing radiation.

Main Objectives

The primary goals of the report are:

• To compare the environmental impact of digital and cash payments at the point of sale (POS) in selected European countries.
• To identify the main drivers of environmental impact within each payment system.
• To explore potential measures that could reduce the environmental impact of both cash and digital payments in Europe.

Key Findings

Environmental Impact Comparison

• Digital payments are generally found to have a lower environmental impact compared to cash payments, particularly in terms of global warming potential.
• In Finland, 19% of POS transactions were cash-based in 2022, while in Malta, 77% were cash-based, highlighting the significant variation in digital adoption across Europe.
• The average cash transaction in the euro area had a GWP of 4.6g CO₂ equivalents, while the average digital transaction had a GWP of 0.85g CO₂ equivalents, according to the Dutch National Bank (DNB).

Life-Cycle Phases

The LCA considers the cradle-to-grave life-cycle of both payment systems, including:

• Production: Manufacturing of payment instruments, terminals, and data centres.
• Operation: Usage of payment systems, including energy consumption and data processing.
• End-of-Life: Disposal or recycling of payment instruments and related equipment.

Subsystems Analyzed

Digital Payment System

• Cards: Includes production, use, and end-of-life of physical cards.
• Terminals: Payment terminals used for processing transactions.
• Data Centres: Infrastructure supporting digital transactions, including energy use and carbon emissions.
• Smartphones: Devices used for mobile payments.

Cash Payment System

• Banknotes: Production, distribution, and end-of-life of paper currency.
• Coins: Production and circulation of coins.
• Cash-in-Transit (CiT): Transportation and handling of cash.
• Cash Counting Machines (CCMs): Machines used to count and sort cash.
• ATMs/CRMs: Machines for cash withdrawal and deposit.
• Cards: Physical cards used for cash transactions.
• Data Centres: Supporting cash transaction systems.

Impact Categories

• Global Warming Potential (GWP): Digital payments show significantly lower emissions than cash.
• Mineral Resource Scarcity: Both systems have similar impacts, but digital systems may be more efficient due to recycling and longer lifetimes.
• Ionizing Radiation: Minimal impact from both systems, but cash systems show slightly higher levels due to materials used in production.

Sensitivity Analysis

• The study performed Monte Carlo simulations to assess the uncertainty in the environmental impact estimates.
• Key factors influencing the results include:
  • Data centre energy use
  • Cash transportation and counting
  • Card recycling and usage
  • Lifetime of payment instruments
• The worst-case digital scenario vs. best-case cash scenario showed that digital payments have a more favorable environmental impact.

Key Recommendations

• Promote digital payment adoption: Given the lower environmental impact of digital payments, increasing their use across Europe could reduce the overall carbon footprint of the payments sector.
• Improve card recycling: Enhancing the recycling rate of payment cards can significantly lower the environmental impact of both digital and cash systems.
• Optimize cash transportation and counting: Reducing the number of cash-in-transit operations and using more efficient counting machines could lower the environmental burden of cash payments.
• Encourage energy-efficient data centres: Reducing the energy consumption of data centres, especially those supporting cash systems, can help lower emissions.
• Extend the lifetime of cash instruments: Longer lifetimes for banknotes and coins can reduce the frequency of production and circulation, thereby lowering resource use and emissions.

Methodology

• The ReCiPe 2016 method was used for impact assessment, following ISO guidelines for comparative LCA.
• The SimaPro 9.5.0.1 software was employed for data analysis.
• The ecoinvent 3.9.1 database provided background data for emissions from various processes.
• A cradle-to-grave analysis was conducted, covering all stages from material extraction to disposal.
• The functional unit was defined as an average POS transaction in 2022 in the selected countries.

Limitations

• Data quality was limited, especially for less trackable aspects like the number of coins and banknotes used per country.
• Some assumptions were necessary due to data unavailability, which may affect the reliability of results.
• The study focused on POS transactions and did not include other payment channels or methods.

Conclusion

The study concludes that digital payments have a smaller environmental impact than cash payments, particularly in terms of climate change and resource use. However, the environmental impact of both systems can be reduced through targeted measures such as card recycling, efficient cash handling, and energy optimization in data centres. The findings support the transition to digital payments as a means to reduce the carbon footprint of the payments sector in Europe.