Tuesday, July 29, 2025 - The United Nations is calling for a rapid shift to renewable energy to meet the escalating power demands of AI and data centers, emphasizing that this transition is crucial for both climate action and economic security. UN Secretary General António Guterres, in a speech outlining the UN Energy Transition report 2025, urged major tech firms to power all data centers with 100% renewables by 2030.
The call comes as the energy consumption of the technology
sector, particularly driven by AI development and data centers, continues to
surge. The International Energy Agency (IEA) reported in 2024 that data centers
consumed 1.5% of global electricity, a figure that is rapidly growing. A
typical AI data center can consume as much electricity as 100,000 homes, and
the largest centers currently under construction are projected to use 20 times
that amount. By 2030, data centers could consume as much electricity as all of
Japan does today. Google, a prominent AI developer, reported a 51% rise in its
overall carbon emissions since 2019, and a 27% increase in its annual
electricity consumption, despite a 12% decrease in data center emissions in
2024.
Guterres stressed that while AI can enhance efficiency,
innovation, and resilience in energy systems, its energy intensity demands a
sustainable approach. He asserted that the clean energy future is "no
longer a promise; it is a fact," noting that US$2 trillion was invested in
clean energy in 2024, US$800 billion more than in fossil fuels and a nearly 70%
increase in 10 years. New data from the International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA) indicates that solar energy is now 41% cheaper than fossil fuels, and
offshore wind is 53% cheaper. Over 90% of new renewables worldwide produced
electricity for less than the cheapest new fossil fuel alternative.
The UN report, developed with support from IEA, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), IRENA, the OECD, and the World Bank,
highlights that renewables now nearly match fossil fuels in global installed
power capacity. Last year, almost all new power capacity came from renewables,
with every continent adding more renewable capacity than fossil fuels.
Despite this progress, the transition is not fast or fair
enough. OECD countries and China account for 80% of global renewable power
capacity, while Africa, with 60% of the world's best solar resources, received
just 2% of global clean energy investment last year. Guterres called on
governments to use new national climate plans (NDCs), due in months, to align
with the 1.5°C limit; to integrate energy, climate, and sustainable development
priorities; and to deliver on global promises to double energy efficiency and
triple renewables capacity by 2030. These plans must be backed by long-term
roadmaps for a just transition to net-zero energy systems by 2050. He also
urged an end to subsidies and international public finance for fossil fuels,
which still enjoy a 9-to-1 advantage in consumption subsidies globally.
The Secretary General further emphasized the need to invest
in 21st-century energy systems, including modern, flexible, and digital grids,
massive energy storage scale-up, and charging networks for electric vehicles.
For every dollar invested in renewable power, only 60 cents go to grids and
storage, a ratio that should be one-to-one.
The UN also highlighted the potential of AI in enabling the
energy sector, through solutions that improve grid performance, responsiveness,
forecasting, and the integration of variable renewable energy. IRENA notes that
AI-enabled asset management can improve operational efficiency across renewable
assets, with AI algorithms used for congestion forecasting, coordinating
distributed energy resources, and optimizing dispatch.
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