Center For Biological Diversity: How the AI Boom Threatens to Entrench Fossil Fuels and Compromise Climate Goals

Surging electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence is putting humanity’s climate goals out of reach, extending the life of fossil fuels and driving up emissions in the U.S. power sector while contributing to deadly extreme weather, according to two new reports. With power- and water-hungry data centers forecasted to come online at staggering speeds to serve big tech companies’ seemingly bottomless appetite for AI infrastructure, utility companies have turned to fossil fuels to help meet the explosion in demand for power. The projected AI surge, set to be powered primarily by fracked gas, could account for 10% of the economy-wideemissions and 44% of the power sector emissions allowable to meet the U.S. 2035 climate target. DETAILS.