Data centers are driving a surge in carbon emissions across the U.S. because their massive, round-the-clock energy demand is largely met by fossil fuels. Instead of supporting climate progress, rapid data center expansion is keeping coal and gas plants online longer, driving new fossil fuel construction, and undermining state climate goals. These impacts are felt locally through air pollution, water stress, and public health harms — especially in frontline communities.
Key Facts
- Energy Intensity: "Proof-of-Work" computing for cryptocurrency is described as an "Energy Bomb," worsening the climate crisis by repurposing old fossil-fuel plants to run nearly full-time (Mandy DeRoche, Jeremy Fisher, Nick Thorpe, Megan Wachspress).
- Grid Pressure: Data centers threaten clean energy transitions by consuming vast amounts of power that could otherwise decarbonize the broader grid (Union of Concerned Scientists).
- Underestimated Use: Global data centers used an estimated 560 billion liters of water in 2023. AI systems alone may consume as much water as the total global annual consumption of bottled water (Alex de Vries-Gao; Pengfei Li et al.).
- Carbon emissions worsen local air quality, increasing health risks for nearby communities (Union of Concerned Scientists).
- Toxic Pollution: There are rising alarms regarding PFAS ("forever chemicals") used in the cooling and fire suppression systems of data center infrastructure, which risk contaminating local water supplies (Tom Perkins).
- AI-driven growth risks locking in decades of fossil fuel dependence (Union of Concerned Scientists).
- Environmental Justice: Nearly half of U.S. data centers are located in census tracts with above-median environmental burdens, disproportionately impacting disadvantaged communities (Halt the Harm; North Carolina Environmental Justice Network).
- Legislative Action: States like Minnesota are introducing requirements for environmental reviews and "large water appropriation permits" for data centers using over 100 million gallons per year (Minnesota Legislature).
- Global Context: The "Carbon Bomb" database identifies over 2,300 fossil fuel extraction projects that, if fully realized, would exceed the world’s remaining carbon budget by eleven times (CarbonBombs.org).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Q. Why do data centers increase carbon emissions?
A. They require constant, high levels of electricity, which is often supplied by coal and gas power plants.
- Q. Aren’t data centers powered by renewable energy?
A. Many claim renewable sourcing, but most still rely on fossil-fuel power when clean energy isn’t available.
- Q. How do data centers affect climate goals?
A. Their demand keeps fossil fuel plants running longer and forces utilities to build new gas-fired power plants.
- Q. Do data centers affect air quality and health?
A. Yes. Increased fossil fuel generation raises pollution levels, worsening asthma, heart disease, and heat-related illness.
- Q. How is water connected to climate impacts?
A. Data centers and the power plants serving them use large amounts of water, increasing stress during heat waves and droughts.
- Q. Who is most affected by these impacts?
A. Frontline and environmental justice communities experience the greatest health and climate harms.
Resources/ Sources
- Halt the Harm: Carbon Emissions Explosion. Documents the rapid rise in carbon emissions driven by data center expansion.
- Alex de Vries-Gao: The Carbon and Water Footprints of Data Centers. Explains how data centers intensify climate and water stress.
- Clean Water Action: Data Centers: A Threat to Minnesota's Water. Connects climate impacts to water depletion and pollution risks.
- Dr. Shaolei Ren: Unpaid Toll – Health Impacts of Data Centers. Details pollution-related health harms linked to fossil-powered infrastructure.
- Minnesota Legislature: MN Large Water Appropriation Permits for Data Centers. Describes increased environmental review for high-impact projects.
- Mandy DeRoche, Jeremy Fisher, Nick Thorpe, Megan Wachspress: The Energy Bomb. Explains how energy-intensive computing worsens the climate crisis.
- HOPE for Heat Resilience Project: Highlights community responses to rising climate stress.
- Union of Concerned Scientists: Data Center Power Play. Shows how data centers threaten clean energy transitions.
- The People's Justice Council: Climate Justice Resources. Focuses on community-led responses to fossil fuel expansion.
- Sierra Club: State Policy – Data Centers. Tracks state-level climate and energy policy responses.
- RMI: Flaring Risk Map Webinar. Examines environmental justice risks tied to fossil fuel infrastructure.
- Helena Volzer: A Finite Resource. Explores competing climate, water, and energy demands.
- Tom Perkins: Advocates Raise Alarm Over PFAS Pollution. Highlights toxic pollution risks linked to data center infrastructure.
- North Carolina Environmental Justice Network: The Costs of Data Centers to Our Communities. Connects climate, health, and economic harms into one framework.
- Jenny Ahn & Nick Gibbons: Coal, Crypto, and False Branding: Inside TeraWulf's Greenwashing Machine. An investigative report shows TeraWulf's claims of zero-carbon energy for its bitcoin mining and data center operations are misleading.
- Shar Narasimhan: Beyond 'Data-Driven': How Energy-Efficient Computing for AI Is Propelling Innovation and Savings Across Industries. NVIDIA explains that advanced computing technologies like GPUs and accelerated computing improve energy efficiency and performance across sectors.
- Pengfei Li, Jianyi Yang, Mohammad A. Islam & Shaolei Ren: Making AI Less "Thirsty": Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models. This research uncovers the substantial and often overlooked water footprint of AI model training.
- CarbonBombs.org: CarbonBombs.org projects. This open-source global database maps the world's largest fossil fuel extraction "carbon bomb" projects.