The rapid advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), alongside the burgeoning demand for cloud computing and other digital services, are significantly escalating global electricity consumption and, consequently, carbon emissions. A recent report by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations' agency for digital technologies, highlights this growing concern, particularly focusing on the energy-intensive nature of data centres that power these technologies.

The ITU report reveals a stark increase in the operational carbon emissions of four leading AI-focused tech companies—Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta. Between 2020 and 2023, their indirect emissions, which encompass those generated by purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling, rose by an average of 150%. Individually, Amazon's operational carbon emissions saw the largest growth at 182% in 2023 compared to 2020, followed by Microsoft at 155%, Meta (owner of Facebook and WhatsApp) at 145%, and Alphabet (Google's parent company) at 138%. These figures underscore the substantial environmental footprint associated with their expanding AI operations.

The report further projects that as investment in AI continues to surge, carbon emissions from the top-emitting AI systems alone could reach up to 102.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) per year. This substantial figure indicates the potential for AI, if unchecked, to become a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions.

The core of this escalating energy demand lies in data centres. The ITU found that electricity use by data centres is increasing four times faster than the overall rise in global electricity consumption. This boom in energy consumption is echoed by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which notes that electricity consumption by data centres has grown by 12% year-on-year since 2017, driven by AI and cloud computing.

According to the IEA, data centres consumed 415 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2023, accounting for 1.5% of global power demand. If this growth trajectory persists, the demand from data centres is projected to hit 945 TWh by 2030, a figure that would surpass Japan's current annual electricity consumption. Such rapid expansion could put considerable pressure on existing energy infrastructure worldwide.

Beyond just data centers, power-hungry digital companies consumed an estimated 581 TWh of electricity in 2024, representing roughly 2.1% of global demand, according to the ITU report which tracked 200 leading digital companies. This demand is highly concentrated, with data supplied by 164 of these companies showing that just ten firms accounted for 51.9% of their collective electricity demand in 2023. These top ten consumers include China Mobile, Amazon, Samsung Electronics, China Telecom, Alphabet, Microsoft, TSMC, China Unicom, SK Hynix, and Meta.

The environmental impact is significant. Publicly available emissions data for 166 of the 200 companies studied revealed that they emitted a combined 297 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023. This staggering amount is comparable to the combined annual emissions of countries like Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile.

Doreen Bogdan-Martin, head of the ITU, emphasized, "Advances in digital innovation – especially AI – are driving up energy consumption and global emissions." A key challenge identified in the report is the lack of standards or legislative requirements for companies to disclose their AI-specific emissions or energy consumption, making a full understanding of AI's impact difficult. While some companies, like Meta, have stated they are working to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency in their data centers, the ITU report notes that overall, ambitions set by digital companies have not yet fully translated into actual, substantial reductions in emissions.

The increasing reliance on AI and digital technologies presents a dual challenge: harnessing their innovative potential while mitigating their growing environmental impact. The findings from the ITU and IEA underscore the urgent need for greater transparency, robust regulatory frameworks, and concerted efforts towards sustainable practices within the tech industry to ensure that digital advancement does not come at an unsustainable cost to the planet.