Carbon leakage in AI-driven data center growth? | Umweltbundesamt

This study offers a comprehensive first assessment of the global carbon leakage potential associated with AI-driven data center operation and investment. The focus is on carbon leakage from costs imposed by emission trading systems (ETS) on data center electricity consumption. The study estimates AI’s current and near-future electricity consumption and evaluates the technological feasibility as well as plausibility of shifting compute loads. Additionally, it maps global compute capacity against carbon intensities and the presence of ETS.