The rapid expansion of data centres worldwide is projected to generate approximately 2.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions by 2030, according to research by the multinational investment bank Morgan Stanley. This significant environmental impact is expected to drive a surge in investments aimed at decarbonisation efforts, suggests the research.

Hyperscalers, which include Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, are driving the swift proliferation of electricity-guzzling data centres to expand their artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies. At the same time, the companies are holding onto pledges to slash global warming emissions from their centres by 2030.