AI Surge in 2025 Generated As Much CO2 As NYC

Researchers published a report on AI that should worry anyone who cares about our planet’s future.
While tech companies celebrated AI’s breakthrough year, research by Dutch academic Alex de Vries-Gao, the founder of Digiconomist, revealed that AI systems generated as much carbon pollution in 2025 as the entire city of New York.
The numbers show that AI’s carbon footprint could reach 80 million tonnes this year, equivalent to more than 8% of global aviation emissions. But carbon isn’t the only crisis. AI systems consumed up to 765 billion liters of water in 2025, surpassing the entire global bottled water industry’s annual demand. These figures mark the first time researchers have isolated AI’s specific environmental impact rather than lumping it with general data center operations.
Industry analysis shows that AI water usage alone exceeds previous estimates for all data center water consumption by more than a third.
The hunger
AI’s electricity appetite has reached unprecedented levels that are fundamentally reshaping global energy demand. Global power consumption for AI hit 23 gigawatts this year – officially surpassing Bitcoin mining’s 2024 consumption and showing no signs of slowing down.
The scale becomes intriguing when examining individual facilities. The largest AI-focused data centers now consume as much electricity as two million households each, transforming entire regional power grids. Six US states already dedicate over 10% of their electricity supply to data centers, with Virginia leading at a staggering 25%.
The US dominates this energy explosion, accounting for 45% of global data center electricity consumption, according to International Energy Agency research. Data center electricity demand worldwide is projected to more than double by 2030, reaching 945 terawatt-hours annually. Meanwhile, the largest planned UK data center at a former coal power station in Blythe, Northumberland, will emit over 180,000 tonnes of CO2 annually – equivalent to adding 39,000 cars to the road.
Northern Virginia’s data centers alone will require enough energy to power six million homes by 2030, forcing utilities to delay coal plant decommissioning plans precisely when rapid decarbonization is most critical for addressing climate change.
Water crisis
While carbon emissions grab headlines, AI’s water consumption represents an equally shocking environmental challenge.
Researchers discovered that AI could use between 312.5 and 764.6 billion liters of water this year. This massive consumption stems from two primary sources: cooling systems that prevent servers from overheating and power generation facilities that supply electricity to energy-hungry AI operations.
The cascading effect multiplies AI’s environmental footprint in ways experts are just beginning to understand. As companies rush to build new data centers for generative AI, they’re simultaneously driving construction of new power plants, which further increases water usage and greenhouse gas pollution. Data centers gulp massive water volumes to prevent overheating and operate steam turbines, creating a hidden crisis that’s straining water resources worldwide.
This water usage occurs at precisely the moment when climate change is intensifying droughts and water scarcity across multiple continents, creating a fundamental conflict between technological advancement and environmental sustainability.
Our climate future
Major tech companies are already feeling the impact on their sustainability commitments. Google’s greenhouse gas emissions rose 48% since 2019, largely due to AI-driven data center expansion, while Microsoft’s emissions grew 29% since 2020. Both companies have abandoned or significantly modified their carbon neutrality commitments as AI demands continue escalating beyond all previous projections.
The crisis is forcing a fundamental reckoning with energy infrastructure planning. This surge in electricity demand occurs at the exact moment when the world needs rapid decarbonization to address climate change, creating an unprecedented tension between technological innovation and planetary survival.
The question isn’t whether AI will transform our world – it’s whether our planet can survive the transformation.
Environmental activists delivered Congress the most aggressive ultimatum yet against America’s AI revolution.
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