The United Nations’ Secretary-General has challenged the world’s technology giants to power the rapidly expanding data centre industry with 100% renewable energy by 2030.
“AI is energy hungry,” António Guterres said during the launch of the UN’s new energy transition report. “A typical artificial intelligence data centre eats up just as much electricity as 100,000 homes, and the largest one in current construction eats up 20 times that.”
The report claims that global data centres consumed around 415 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2024 – roughly 1.5% of worldwide consumption. That figure is projected to more than double by 2030, reaching 945 TWh, equivalent to Japan’s entire annual power use.
“It is not sustainable unless we make it so,” the Secretary-General said in his speech in New York. “I call on every major tech firm to power all data centres with 100% renewables by 2030.”
While digital technologies like AI are driving demand, the report notes they can also be part of the solution.
It writes that AI can help with enhancing grid forecasting, supporting decentralised electricity networks, and improving access mapping for renewable deployment.
The report also calls on governments to meet all new electricity demand with renewables, noting that clean energy sources accounted for 92.5% of new global power capacity in 2024. With their lower lifetime costs, renewables are not only the greenest but also the most economical path forward, the UN said.
It also advocates for a just energy transition, with targeted support for vulnerable communities, retraining for displaced workers, and access to clean electricity and cooking for all by 2030.
“The future is being built in the cloud,” the Secretary-General concluded, “but it must be powered by the sun, wind, and the promise of a better world.”
