Computing, and AI in particular, is a large and fast-growing source of electricity demand and carbon emissions
#00163
Data centres consumed ~415 TWh in 2024 (~1.5% of global electricity), growing ~12%/year, with AI the primary driver. The IEA projects demand more than doubling to ~945 TWh by 2030. Computing is one of the few sectors where emissions are set to grow, straining grids and climate go
#00164The carbon footprint of software and AI compute is rarely measured, so it cannot be managed
Running software and AI models consumes electricity whose CO2 cost varies by grid and workload, but the default toolchain reports latency, cost and accuracy and almost never emissions. Invisible to the people who could reduce it, the footprint goes unmanaged and unoptimised.