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Data Centres Under Construction Will Emit as Much CO2 as 24 Million Cars
New analysis finds that data centres currently under construction will produce carbon emissions equivalent to 24 million cars, raising concerns about the environmental cost of the AI and cloud computing boom.
By Edward Beaumont · 4 min read
Data centres now being built around the world will collectively emit as much carbon dioxide as 24 million cars once they are fully operational, according to a new analysis. The finding underscores the growing environmental toll of the digital economy, as demand for cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and streaming services continues to drive a global construction boom in server facilities.
The analysis highlights that beyond the well-documented consumption of water used to cool computer equipment, data centres draw enormous amounts of electricity. That power, much of it still generated from fossil fuels, translates directly into significant CO2 output. With hundreds of new facilities in the pipeline, the cumulative effect on global emissions is becoming a major concern for policymakers, utility companies, and the technology sector itself.
Industry figures have long pointed to efficiency gains, noting that modern data centres are far more energy-efficient per unit of computing than the server rooms they replaced. However, the sheer scale of new construction is outpacing those improvements. The rapid expansion of AI services, which require vastly more computational power than traditional web hosting or data storage, has accelerated the trend. Training a single large language model, for instance, can consume as much electricity as hundreds of homes use in a year.
The environmental impact is not limited to carbon emissions. Data centres also require vast quantities of water for cooling systems, placing strain on local water supplies in regions already facing drought. In some areas, utilities have struggled to keep up with demand, leading to delays in grid connections and concerns about energy reliability for surrounding communities.
Tech companies have responded with pledges to achieve net-zero emissions and to power their operations with renewable energy. Several major firms have signed long-term power purchase agreements with wind and solar farms, and some are investing in next-generation battery storage to smooth out the intermittency of renewables. Yet the pace of new construction continues to test those commitments, and critics argue that voluntary targets are no substitute for binding regulation.
The analysis comes at a time when governments in Europe, North America, and Asia are weighing how to balance the economic benefits of the data centre boom against its environmental costs. Some jurisdictions have introduced stricter energy efficiency standards for new facilities, while others are exploring tax incentives for those that use low-carbon power sources. The outcome of those policy debates will help determine whether the digital transition can be reconciled with climate goals.
For now, the numbers are stark. The emissions from the current pipeline of data centres are comparable to adding millions of petrol-powered cars to the world's roads. As the construction cranes continue to rise over new server campuses, the industry faces mounting pressure to show that it can deliver the computing power of the future without compromising the planet's ability to sustain it.
