UN Report Warns AI Data Centres Could Consume Power Equivalent to 1.3 Billion People by 2030

A new United Nations report highlights the rising energy needs of artificial‑intelligence data centres. It estimates that by 2030 these facilities could consume electricity comparable to the demand of 1.3 billion people. The projection reflects accelerating AI model training and inference workloads worldwide. Such a scale of power use would make AI data centres one of the largest electricity consumers globally. The report warns that unchecked growth could strain power grids and increase carbon emissions. It calls for coordinated policy action to improve energy efficiency in AI infrastructure. Industry leaders are urged to adopt greener hardware and renewable‑energy sourcing. Observers will watch how governments and companies respond as the 2030 horizon approaches.