Washington researchers and energy experts warned that the environment in AI era is under pressure as AI data centers across the US drive power use and pollution, based on new public energy and climate studies.
Warnings about the effects of AI on environment are increasing as companies build bigger data centers to run chatbots, cloud tools, and advanced AI services. AI promises faster work but also brings heavy demand for power, water, and land.
How Bad Is AI for the Environment?
Almost every expert agrees that AI is bad for the environment as it needs to constantly run on grids powered by fossil fuels.
The Union of Concerned Scientists believe US electricity demand could rise by up to 80% by 2050, with data centers driving much of that growth, showing the climate impact of AI, especially as more servers come online every year.
“It sends a chilling signal to the industry, and efforts to power data centers and meet electricity demand. We need to build as much as we can, as fast as we can,” warned Steve Clemmer, who led the UCS study.
So, how is AI contributing to climate change? The problem lies in the massive servers that train and run AI models.
The environment in AI era suffers from systems demanding constant cooling and steady power, which means burning more gas and coal when clean energy is not available. For example, the UK has faced water drainage because of AI data centers.
That leads to carbon AI emissions, even when companies claim they are trying to be greener.
This is why critics claim that AI is bad for the environment, unless clean energy is scaled up much faster. Without new wind, solar, and battery projects, the AI boom will keep adding to pollution from power plants.
Is AI Killing the Planet?
Researchers warn that the scale of data centers now being built points to AI planet pollution on a global scale. Alex de Vries-Gao, the founder of Digiconomist, who tracks digital energy use, said the AI boom in 2025 released as much carbon as New York City.
“The environmental cost of this is pretty huge in absolute terms,” he said. “At the moment society is paying for these costs, not the tech companies. The question is: is that fair? If they are reaping the benefits of this technology, why should they not be paying some of the costs?”
Is AI causing global warming?
When AI relies on grids that still run mostly on fossil fuels, the answer is somehow yes. That is why many say AI is bad for the environment, not because of the software itself, but because of the way it is powered.
At the same time, the effects of AI on environment go beyond air pollution and can cause water crisis. Data centers are thirsty for water and use vast amounts of water for cooling and need large areas of land, adding to local stress on nature.
This heavy AI high energy consumption makes it harder for countries to cut their overall emissions.
However, hope has not left the environment in AI era. Clean energy is becoming cheaper, and some utilities are adding more wind, solar, and batteries to their grids.
For now, experts say strong rules, better power planning, and more clean energy are needed to protect the environment in AI era and to limit how much AI adds to global warming and local pollution.
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