{"id":11898,"date":"2026-06-03T18:02:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=11898"},"modified":"2026-06-03T18:02:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:02:47","slug":"un-calculates-nation-sized-environmental-footprints-for-ai-and-data-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=11898","title":{"rendered":"UN calculates nation-sized environmental footprints for AI and data centers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The environmental footprint of data centers already rivals some of the world\u2019s largest countries, according to a United Nations University report, which also predicts their water and energy use and pollution will double in just four years as use of artificial intelligence grows.<\/p>\n

Read more What to know: Protests grow over Trump family-linked resort in Albania<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year, global data centers used 448 trillion watt-hours of electricity, more than all but 10 countries of the world, said the report issued Wednesday. That electricity use produced about 208 million tons of carbon dioxide, about the same amount as Argentina, and producing that much energy consumed about 1.2 trillion gallons of water, according to the report on the environmental consequences of AI\u2019s energy use.<\/p>\n

By 2030, data centers will account for nearly 3% of the world\u2019s projected electricity use, with 935 trillion watt-hours. If data centers were a country, the country would be projected to rank sixth-highest in power use in 2030. That would produce nearly 440 million tons of carbon dioxide, the report said. The study focused on energy use and didn\u2019t examine the massive amount of water used to cool data centers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at these numbers, we\u2019re seeing scales comparable to nations,\u201d said study co-author Kaveh Madani, a water scientist and director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health in Canada. \u201cThe demand is enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of the growth of data centers is being driven by AI. About 20% of data centers\u2019 energy is currently due to AI, but that should grow to 40% by 2030, the report said.<\/p>\n

First global look at ecological impact<\/h4>\n

The report is significant because of the credibility and authority of the U.N., not just because of any one set of eye-popping numbers, said Fengqi You, a Cornell University energy engineering professor who directs the college\u2019s AI sustainability issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts value is that a U.N. institution is putting carbon, water, land, life-cycle impacts and environmental justice into one frame\u201d for an issue that is often shrouded in secrecy and partial disclosures, said You, who was not part of the report.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe general public should be concerned, but not panicked,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Jean Su, director of the Energy Justice Program at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the report is important because it is the first U.N., or even global, report \u201cthat shines a light on the environmental harms of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

National Artificial Intelligence Association President Caleb Max emphasized how his industry is becoming more efficient and how it benefits the public: \u201cAI is rapidly becoming part of our everyday lives and adding benefits that improve safety, live longer, work more efficiently, enhance food production, and reduce poverty. The evidence is growing daily that the energy return on investment of AI development is transformative for our world and therefore more than worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Josh Levi, president the Data Center Coalition, said the industry takes its environmental impact seriously.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe remain committed to working with policymakers, local communities, and industry partners to ensure that as data centers grow, they do so responsibly, transparently, and in ways that reflect the best available practices,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

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How much energy your query uses and how to trim it<\/h4>\n

Madani, also the winner of the most recent of the Stockholm Water Prize, said the numbers show the environmental cost of AI, which may seem cleaner at first glance than other mechanical devices, such as cars and furnaces, that have visible pollution.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is not just a virtual thing. We\u2019re talking about something that has physics, something that has real impacts. There is infrastructure there. There is energy that is being used,\u201d Madani said. \u201cA lot of hardware is behind all these operations that to us seem very, very clean because we don\u2019t see smoke out of our devices. On our cellphone, there is no visible smoke or out of our computer or something. But somewhere else someone is suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n

People can reduce AI\u2019s massive energy appetite by being less polite and more concise in their queries, Madani said. The report found that cutting word use in requests by 30% can reduce energy used by AI by 25%. That would save about the same amount of electricity as what about 700,000 people in Africa use in a year, the report said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re too polite, then that extra \u2018please\u2019 you put there can make a huge difference,\u201d Madani said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be very precise and be short.\u201d<\/p>\n

A typical ChatGPT-style query is about 200 times more energy-intensive than the type of basic text classification used in an email spam filter, for example. AI-generated images or video require much more energy.<\/p>\n

And the more complicated the AI, the more energy it takes to train or learn. The report said GPT-3 used about 1.3 billion watt-hours to train, but the next version used 50 to 70 billion watt-hours.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not training that really feasts on power, said study co-author Miriam Aczel, a United National University environmental policy researcher. About 90% of the power use of AI comes from operational requests, she said. GPT alone accounts for 2.5 billion prompts a day, she said.<\/p>\n

Efficiency still means more power use<\/h4>\n

Even though tech advocates can argue that their machines are becoming more efficient, there\u2019s a common paradox that finds when things get more efficient, they are used more often and total energy use soars even if individual uses are more efficient, Madani said. While some companies tout the use of renewable energy for data centers, Madani said that means the supply of clean electricity is depleted and thus dirtier energy is used elsewhere.<\/p>\n

One of the problems in conducting this study is that many companies and places are not transparent about what data centers and AI are consuming or even where and how big they are, Aczel and Madani said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot manage what companies do not disclose,\u201d Cornell\u2019s You said.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.<\/em><\/p>\n

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