UN Chief Urges Tech Sector to Power AI Data Centers with 100% Renewable Energy by 2030

UN chief urges tech sector to power data centers with renewables

WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General António Guterres on Tuesday called on tech companies to power the build out of data centers with 100% renewable energy by 2030, even as the industry turns to gas and coal-fired power plants to meet surging demand. The secretary general made his case for why he believes energy-hungry data centers should lock in a future of clean energy, saying the transition to renewable energy is inevitable, even as some countries and companies still embrace fossil fuels. "The future is being built in the cloud," Guterres said in a speech at the United Nations' headquarters in New York. "It must be powered by the sun, the wind, and the promise of a better world." His appeal to technology companies comes a day before U.S. President Donald Trump unveils his administration's AI Action Plan, which is expected to contain a number of executive actions aimed at easing restrictions on land use and energy production to unleash artificial intelligence development. Trump has declared a national energy emergency to address the vast amounts of energy needed by data centers to power AI to compete with China and enable him to ease environmental restrictions to build more power plants fueled by gas, coal and nuclear. Top economic rivals, the U.S. and China, are locked in a technological arms race over who can dominate AI. At the same time, Trump has issued executive orders and signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that curtails the use of incentives for wind and solar energy, which dominate the queue of new power generation waiting to connect to the electric grid. Guterres also appealed to governments to ready new national climate plans to deliver the goals of the Paris climate agreement by September that will lock-in a transition away from fossil fuels. He said this moment is an opportunity for governments to meet all new electricity demand with renewables and use water sustainably in cooling systems. Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Susan Fenton Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Climate & Energy * Grid & Infrastructure * Coal * Clean Energy Valerie Volcovici Thomson Reuters Valerie Volcovici covers U.S. climate and energy policy from Washington, DC. She is focused on climate and environmental regulations at federal agencies and in Congress and how the energy transition is transforming the United States. Other areas of coverage include her award-winning reporting plastic pollution and the ins and outs of global climate diplomacy and United Nations climate negotiations.

UN leader makes data center plea amid new growth projections

Why it matters: It signals how AI's massive energy thirst is high on the climate world's radar as hyperscalers expand infrastructure for training and use of powerful AI tools. Driving the news: "By 2030, data centers could consume as much electricity as all of Japan does today. This is not sustainable -- unless we make it so," he said Tuesday. * "Today I call on every major tech firm to power all data centers with 100% renewables by 2030," Guterres said. The intrigue: The comments come as everyone's grappling with how much data centers' capacity will grow, how much power they'll need, and how much energy access will put the brakes on development. * The estimates vary a lot. * Morgan Stanley analysts, in a new note, project 23% annual growth in worldwide data center capacity through 2030 and lots of continued growth through 2035. * Contra the UN boss's goal, they see a mix of fuels powering it, including gas, renewables and nuclear. What we're watching: Whether new clean energy commitments and goals around data centers emerge at COP30 in November.

UN chief urges tech sector to power data centers with renewables - The Economic Times

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called on tech companies to power the build out of data centers with 100% renewable energy by 2030, even as the industry turns to gas and coal-fired power plants to meet surging demand. The secretary general made his case for why he believes energy-hungry data centers should lock in a future of clean energy, saying the transition to renewable energy is inevitable, even as some countries and companies still embrace fossil fuels. "The future is being built in the cloud," Guterres said in a speech at the United Nations' headquarters in New York. "It must be powered by the sun, the wind, and the promise of a better world." His appeal to technology companies comes a day before U.S. President Donald Trump unveils his administration's AI Action Plan, which is expected to contain a number of executive actions aimed at easing restrictions on land use and energy production to unleash artificial intelligence development. Trump has declared a national energy emergency to address the vast amounts of energy needed by data centers to power AI to compete with China and enable him to ease environmental restrictions to build more power plants fueled by gas, coal and nuclear. Top economic rivals, the U.S. and China, are locked in a technological arms race over who can dominate AI. At the same time, Trump has issued executive orders and signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that curtails the use of incentives for wind and solar energy, which dominate the queue of new power generation waiting to connect to the electric grid. Guterres also appealed to governments to ready new national climate plans to deliver the goals of the Paris climate agreement by September that will lock-in a transition away from fossil fuels. He said this moment is an opportunity for governments to meet all new electricity demand with renewables and use water sustainably in cooling systems.

AI should run on 100% renewable energy by 2030, UN Chief says

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urges major tech firms to power data centers with renewable energy by 2030, highlighting the immense energy consumption of AI. The UN report reveals that while renewable energy is advancing, its adoption is unequal, with developing nations lagging. Major tech firms should commit to fully powering data centers with renewable energy by 2030, said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. Big tech also must be responsible in its use of water for cooling, Guterres said Tuesday in New York City as he presented the UN's new report on the energy transition, Seizing the Moment of Opportunity, together with the International Renewable Energy Agency. "AI can boost efficiency, innovation and resilience in energy systems, but it is also energy hungry," Guterres said. "This is not sustainable -- unless we make it so." A typical AI data center consumes as much power as 100,000 homes, according to the UN, and the largest centers now being built will use 20 times that. By 2030, data centers could consume as much electricity as all of Japan today, the report finds. Although renewable energy is advancing exponentially across the world as costs fall, the transition away from fossil fuels is highly concentrated in advanced economies like the US and Europe, as well as China, the UN says. Much of the developing world is falling behind. That means clean energy is not replacing fossil energy at the pace and scale needed. Emerging geopolitical risks -- including tariffs -- could raise clean-energy costs in the short term, the report says. Adding vast amounts of renewable capacity will also make grids more volatile, and addressing that could bump up costs for a time. But long-term, the cost of clean power will continue to decline, the report predicts, as technology evolves and the supply chain matures. The energy transition has reached a point of no return, Guterres said in his speech. "The clean energy future is no longer a promise, it's a fact," he said. "No government, no industry, no special interest can stop it." Over 90% of new renewable projects produce electricity for less than the cheapest fossil-fuel alternative, according to new data from the International Renewable Energy Agency. Some $2 trillion was invested in clean energy in 2024, the UN says -- about $800 billion more than went into fossil fuels. But clean power adoption remains deeply unequal. Africa made up just 1.5% of global investment in renewables last year, despite accounting for 85% of the world's population without access to electricity. Less than one in every five dollars invested in clean power has gone to emerging markets outside China since the Paris Agreement came into force in 2016. World leaders committed to try to limit global warming to 1.5C when they signed the Paris accord. A decade later, with that goal in grave peril, nations are due to present their new emissions plans ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November. Countries in the Group of 20 produce the bulk of emissions so must lead in ambition, Guterres said. "The race for the new must not be a race for the few," he said. "It must be a relay -- shared, inclusive and resilient."