AI's Dirty Secret: Artificial Intelligence Is Fueling a Global Energy Crisis, Says IEA

The rise of artificial intelligence is igniting more than just innovation—it's triggering a dramatic spike in world energy use. A groundbreaking report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) says energy consumption from data centers, those running AI included, will double within the next five years.

By 2030, they will account for an eye-watering 3% of global electricity. AI alone may be the cause of more than half that surge.

Climate Impacts of the AI Boom

AI’s Dirty Secret: Artificial Intelligence Is Fueling a Global Energy

Already, some of the newer, high-end data centers use as much power as 100,000 households. As AI models expand and become more sophisticated, the IEA cautions that hyperscale centers in the future might need as much as 20 times more power, creating huge pressure on power grids and climate targets.

The environmental cost of running AI isn't just hypothetical. No wonder, it's already occurring at this point. For the next five years, the IEA says that data centers will generate 1.4% of the world's combustion-based emissions, a number that approaches the carbon impact of the aviation sector. And that doesn't even begin to account for the embodied emissions of building new facilities and producing the equipment needed to build them.

Though the IEA indicates that by 2030 approximately 50% of data center power will be supplied by renewables, the balance will depend on coal, nuclear, and freshly constructed gas-fired power stations. Critics state the scenario is as far from being sustainable as one can get.

Can AI Assist in Solving the Problem That It's Contributing to?

IEA also says that AI holds great potential to spearhead energy efficiency and climate remedies despite its exorbitant power consumption. The Next Web enumerates what AI can do in such areas:

• Improve power grids
• Enhance solar and wind farm production through more accurate forecasts
• Identify infrastructure leaks
• Design efficient transport networks
• Find sustainable materials for batteries and technology

But the report warns that those gains will be "marginal" if governments do not establish pro-climate regulatory regimes and incentives. The net climate effect of AI will be all up to how it's designed and deployed.

Critics Say the IEA Isn't Doing Enough

While the IEA is cautiously upbeat, others state that the report underestimates the urgency of the situation.

Researcher Alex de Vries thinks the IEA is too low in its projections of future energy consumption by AI, noting that the current growth rate can seriously undermine world climate goals.

Luxembourg energy minister Claude Turmes went even further, accusing the IEA of downplaying its findings to appease political powers and tech giants. He criticized the agency for not providing clear regulatory guidance to governments on how to reduce the risks of mega data centers.

Ultimately, as AI becomes deeply embedded in everyday life, the focus must shift toward smarter, more conscious use of computing power. Without strategic oversight, AI's energy appetite could undo its potential as a climate solution.