AI Data Centers' Power Consumption Surges...UN Calls for Environmental Transparency

[Financial News, New York = Reporter Lee Byung-chul] As the race in artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates and data centers rapidly spread across the globe, the United Nations has formally urged major AI companies to disclose their environmental impact transparently for the first time. AI is emerging as a key engine of future industry, but concerns are growing that data centers, which consume vast amounts of electricity and water, could further worsen the climate crisis.
In a speech at London Climate Action Week on the 23rd local time, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, proposed the 'AI Environmental Transparency Initiative' and urged that "all major AI companies must measure and disclose the full environmental impact of their systems."
He also called for an energy transition in the AI industry, saying, "We must work to operate all data centers with electricity generated from renewable energy by 2030."
The UN chief stressed that the environmental costs created by the AI industry can no longer be hidden. He said, "There should be no more hidden costs, and that burden must not be shifted to the people least able to bear it." He added, "If AI is to help build a better future, it must honestly disclose the environmental price it pays along the way."
As the AI boom drives a surge in data center construction, the environmental burden is also rising rapidly. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), about 30% of the electricity currently used by data centers worldwide comes from coal-fired power. Renewables accounted for just 27%, followed by natural gas at 26% and nuclear power at 15%. The share of renewables is projected to remain below half even over the next five years.
The UN also said in a recent report that water and energy consumption, as well as pollution linked to AI, are expected to double within the next four years. It forecast that data centers' share of global electricity consumption will rise from 1.5% in 2025 to 3% in 2030.
Guterres also highlighted the severity of the climate crisis, citing the heat wave currently gripping Europe. He said, "Climate disruption is accelerating before our eyes," and, quoting Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, noted that "our world faces two crises: the climate crisis and the energy crisis. The folly of a world addicted to hydrocarbons is being exposed."
At this year's London Climate Action Week, 41 cities around the world, including London, Boston, Seattle, Sydney, Milan, and Barcelona, also announced the Global Cities Data Center Compact. More than 1,700 data centers are operating in those cities, and mayors representing a combined population of 90 million called on the AI industry to cooperate in reducing the impact of AI infrastructure expansion on local communities and the environment.



pride@fnnews.com Reporter Lee Byung-chul Reporter