Data centers used more electricity than all but 10 countries in 2025, U.N. report finds

A new United Nations University report reveals that global data centers consumed 448 trillion watt-hours of electricity last year, more than all but 10 countries. That energy use produced about 208 million tons of carbon dioxide, roughly equal to Argentina's emissions. The report warns that as AI grows, data center energy use could double by 2030, reaching nearly 3% of projected global electricity consumption. The study highlights that AI queries are far more energy intensive than standard computing tasks, and that efficiency gains often lead to increased total usage rather than savings. The authors call for greater transparency from tech companies about data center locations, energy use, and water consumption for cooling. They also suggest users can reduce AI's energy footprint by being more concise in their prompts.