Data centres use four times more electricity than average

Data centres use four times more electricity than the average Keystone-SDA

The power consumption of data centres, used in particular for artificial intelligence (AI), is four times higher than average, warns the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

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Between 2020 and 2023, four of the main players will have seen power consumption explode by 150%, says the ITU.

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In a report, it unveils the figures for 2023. In the six years since 2017, data centre consumption has increased by 12% each year.

On a more positive note, however, more companies have set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, used renewable energy or aligned themselves with scientific frameworks. “More needs to be done,” said the UN agency’s secretary general, Doreeen Bogdan-Martin.

“We need a response to the challenges posed by these energy effects,” adds the ITU. The greenhouse gas emissions of some 160 of the largest digital companies accounted for 0.8% of the total in 2023. And they also absorbed 2.1% of electricity consumption, half of which is linked to just ten companies.

Among the companies, 41 have committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 and 51 even before then. Another indication is that 23 were running entirely on renewable energy, seven more than the previous year. In 2023, more than 100 companies published their indirect emissions linked to their entire sector, a figure that has risen by a third in one year.

The ITU is calling for greater efforts to be made, for even greater use to be made of renewable energies, for collaboration with energy companies and also for all AI-related emissions to be disclosed. This situation must be reflected in the national commitments of States, the UN agency added.

Translated from French by DeepL/mga

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