Overview

• The Cambridge Minderoo Center’s July 10 report labels simultaneous AI growth and net zero achievement as “magical thinking” and urges governments to embed AI’s energy footprint in decarbonization plans.
• U.S. power utilities have requested $29 billion in electricity rate increases for the first half of 2025, a 142 percent rise over early 2024, attributing the surge to AI data center loads.
• A London Economics International study for the Southern Environmental Law Center highlights significant uncertainty in datacenter load forecasts and a prevailing bias toward overestimating future demand.
• Data centers currently contribute about 1.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and could account for 8 percent by 2040 without stricter efficiency standards or regulatory intervention.
• Tech firms are securing long-term baseload power through nuclear and gas agreements, and the Minderoo report calls for mandatory reporting of data center energy and water consumption.