🇬🇷 Greek, 30 October 2026, sustainability
AI's Environmental Footprint Grows as Data Centers Expand
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is driving up energy consumption, water usage, and resource demands, raising concerns about its environmental impact.
The development of computational power is accompanied by a unprecedented increase in energy needs. According to the International Energy Agency’s report, global electricity consumption from data centers reached 485 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2025.
The demand is not solely driven by the training of large language models. Every time a user produces text, creates an image, or uses a digital assistant with AI, a chain of computational processes is activated. Applications such as video production and complex reasoning can require multiple times the energy of a simple text query.
The European Union is attempting to shape a unified framework for accountability for digital infrastructure and the environment. In September 2026, the European Commission presented a new system for assessing the energy efficiency of data centers, covering installations with a power capacity above 500 kilowatts.