TLDR: The United Nations is urging major technology companies to power all data centers with 100% renewable energy by 2030. This call comes as the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly increasing global electricity consumption, with data centers projected to consume as much electricity as all of Japan by 2030.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued a strong appeal to the technology sector, urging them to transition all data centers to 100% renewable energy sources by 2030. This directive is a response to the escalating power demands driven by the booming artificial intelligence industry and the proliferation of data centers globally.
Guterres highlighted the alarming rate at which AI data centers consume electricity. A typical AI data center, he noted, uses the same amount of electricity as 100,000 regular homes. With AI development accelerating, these demands are rapidly expanding. The largest data centers currently under construction are projected to consume 20 times their current demand, and by 2030, data centers could collectively consume as much electricity as the entire nation of Japan does today.
This is not sustainable, Guterres stated during a speech at the United Nations headquarters in New York on July 22, 2025. He emphasized that the technology sector must lead the way in addressing this challenge. His call aligns with a new UN report, co-authored with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and titled “Seizing the Moment of Opportunity,” which indicates that data centers accounted for 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2024, using approximately 415 terawatt-hours (TWh). This figure is projected to more than double to 945 TWh by 2030.
While acknowledging AI’s energy-intensive nature, Guterres also pointed out its potential to contribute to energy system improvements. AI can boost efficiency, innovation, and resilience in energy systems, and we must make profit of it. But it is also energy-hungry, he remarked. The report also highlighted that renewable energy sources constituted 92.5% of new power capacity added globally in 2024, and clean energy is now more affordable than fossil fuels in most regions. However, progress remains uneven, with Africa receiving only 1.5% of the two trillion dollars invested in clean energy last year.
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This appeal comes amidst a global technological arms race, particularly between the U.S. and China, to dominate AI. Some countries and companies are still embracing fossil fuels to meet the surging demand, with reports indicating a turn towards gas and coal-fired power plants. Guterres also urged governments to prepare new national climate plans by September to align with the goals of the Paris climate agreement, emphasizing the opportunity to meet all new electricity demand with renewables and ensure sustainable water usage in cooling systems.
