Inside the AI race: can data centres ever truly be green?

Inside the AI race: can data centres ever truly be green?

From the deserts of the United Arab Emirates to the outskirts of Ireland’s capital, the energy demands of AI applications and training running through these centres are driving the surge of investment into fossil fuels. This threatens to subvert global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which are the main driver of climate change. To limit rising temperatures, global emissions must fall by about half by 2030. Tech companies point to their record as big investors in clean energy in an effort to deal with their emissions, but much of this is backed by green power credits. This is a controversial form of investing in the build-out of clean energy because it is far from guaranteed to compensate for actual energy consumption.

Equal Earth projection

 

https://equal-earth.com/equal-earth-projection.html

'Responsabilitat dels Estats en Relació al Canvi Climàtic'

 https://www.pisfcc.org/

We seek accountability, a recognition of rights for those most affected by the climate crisis, and real protection from historical polluters.

We believe in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of all women and all men, and of all nations, large and small.

After 6 years of campaigning, the International Court of Justice has released the Climate Advisory Opinion on July 23, 2025. 

This Advisory Opinion shifts the course of climate justice by using existing international law to hold polluters accountable, and refine their legal duties to:

protect people and the planet, always.

UK Asks People to Delete Emails In Order to Save Water During Drought

 

https://www.404media.co/uk-asks-people-to-delete-emails-in-order-to-save-water-during-drought/

A U.S. A Government Accountability Office report from earlier this year estimated that 60 queries of an AI system consumed about a liter of water, or roughly 1.67 Olympic sized swimming pools for the 250,000,000 queries generated in the U.S. every day. The World Economic Forum has estimated that AI datacenters will consume up to 1.7 trillion gallons of water every year by 2027. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has disputed these estimates, saying that an average ChatGPT query uses “roughly one fifteenth of a teaspoon” of water. 

Psychological and contextual determinants of clean energy technology adoption

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44359-025-00075-9

#EcoWeb Report 2025: Benchmarking Digital Sustainability in the Climate Sector

 

https://climateaction.tech/blog/ecoweb-report-2025-benchmarking-digital-sustainability-in-the-climate-sector/

Apple and miner MP Materials are joining forces in a $500 million deal to develop a rare earth magnets recycling facility

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/15/apple-mp-materials-magnets-rare-earths.html

• 
  Apple and miner MP Materials are joining forces in a $500 million deal to develop a rare earth magnets recycling facility.
• The agreement is part of Apple’s $500 billion pledge to onshore production.
• Rare earth magnets are key components used in consumer electronics, cars and renewable energy systems.