Low-carbon solutions for energy-intensive live-streaming commerce

Live-streaming commerce (LSC) is emerging as a dominant mode of digital retail, yet its climate impact due to the high energy demands remains underexplored. Using one U.S. dollar (USD) of consumer purchases as the functional unit within a cradle-to-grave, attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) boundary, we present the first LCA benchmarking LSC against in-store and traditional online shopping. Results show that LSC exhibits 3.49 kg CO2eq per USD of spending, more than double that of in-store (1.39 kg) and online shopping (1.01 kg). Emissions are primarily driven by electricity use in internet networks (32.5%) and end-user activities (32.3%), underscoring LSC's high energy intensity relative to other retail modes. This electricity dependence, however, also creates opportunities for decarbonization through power-sector transitions and ICT electricity-efficiency interventions. Conscious behavioural changes, such as moderately lowering the default streaming resolution, could cut emissions by up to 45% without impairing user experience, while foreseeable decarbonized power grid could reduce emissions by as much as 78% by 2050. Regional analysis identifies northern and central provinces in China, along with the central United States, as hotspots of mitigation potential, calling for targeted strategies. These findings position LSC as both carbon-intensive retail innovation and critical opportunity to accelerate energy-efficient and low-carbon digital transitions.