UN calculates nation-sized environmental footprints for AI and data centers
A United Nations University report reveals that the environmental footprint of global data centers, fueled by AI growth, already rivals large countries. The report projects a doubling of their water and energy use and pollution within four years. Last year, data centers used 448 trillion watt-hours of electricity, producing 208 million tons of carbon dioxide.
A recent report from the United Nations University highlights that the global environmental footprint of data centers is now comparable to that of some of the world's largest countries. The study forecasts that the water, energy consumption, and pollution associated with data centers will double within the next four years, largely due to the expanding adoption of artificial intelligence.
According to the report, global data centers consumed 448 trillion watt-hours of electricity last year, an amount exceeding the usage of all but 10 countries worldwide. This electricity consumption generated approximately 208 million tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to Argentina's annual emissions. The report, which focused primarily on energy use, did not specifically detail the significant water requirements for cooling data center facilities, although it noted the 1.2 trillion gallons of water consumed to produce that much energy. The Associated Press article included illustrative file photos of various US data centers, such as Meta's Stanton Springs Data Center in Newton County, Georgia, and an Amazon Web Services data center in Boardman, Oregon.