Climate killer data centers: High CO₂ emissions from data centers in the USA

Fossil energy production for new data centers in the USA produces almost as much greenhouse gas as Germany. This is the result of a study by the renowned US environmental organization Sierra Club. According to this, energy production alone for the data centers currently planned in the United States from 2025 to 2030 is expected to cause 618 million tons of CO2. Germany caused 649 million tons last year. The additional emissions from the planned data centers would increase the emissions of the entire US energy sector by 42 percent by 2030, analyzes Sierra Club - and thus eat up all the savings in greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector since 2011.

The data centers' hunger for energy is huge, the numbers are "still unbelievable," says Jeremy Fisher, climate and energy head of the Sierra Club, according to the Bloomberg news agency. Due to the large energy requirements of the data centers planned for AI applications in the USA and the overloaded networks, gas power plants are being built on site to supply them with electricity. These new plants alone could increase emissions by 460 million tons of CO2 by 2030, according to the Sierra Club - roughly the same as Mexico's annual emissions.

According to energy consulting firm electricchoice.com, more than 4,500 computer centers are currently operating in the United States, with over 700 under construction. Because of their resource consumption, the windowless, huge facilities have become a top political issue ahead of the midterm elections.

US President Donald Trump is in favor of it. Trump demanded that the USA must maintain its technological advantage against China. He denounced AI skeptics as “conspiracy theorists” and “traitors.” However, 60 percent of voters reject the construction of the facilities in their region. According to surveys, 53 percent of Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the impact of data centers on the environment. The Democratic Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, has now ordered a one-year construction ban on large data centers, similar to her Republican counterpart Greg Abbott in Texas.

Three centers run by SpaceXAI, an AI company owned by Elon Musk, in Memphis caused great criticism. The civil rights organization NAACP protested against emissions from gas generators used to power electricity, which exceeded local and national limits. The company has since promised a remedy. You want to be a “good neighbor”.

The competition for space with agriculture and the enormous water consumption of the data centers also lead to criticism. Residents in many places are complaining about the facilities. As the datacenterwatch.org association determined, the protests blocked or delayed at least 45 projects worth $68 billion in the second quarter of 2026, and at least 75 projects in the first quarter.

As the New York Times reported, data companies are increasingly targeting indigenous reservations, sparsely populated regions. But the centers there are also controversial. According to the Native News Online information service at the beginning of August, the Cherokee decided on a moratorium after several months of investigation. There are "grave concerns" about what the centers would do to the land, resources and cultural way of life, said High Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.

The Cherokee are one of the largest indigenous peoples in the United States. The Seminole have also spoken out in favor of a moratorium. But here too, the profit from the data centers is attractive. The National Congress of American Indians called on the White House to invest in AI infrastructure on reservations at the end of 2025.

A study by the Democratic-affiliated Brookings Institution concluded that fewer new data centers would not slow demand for computing. Legal restrictions on operations must be enforced, especially more transparency in planning. (with agencies)