Officials hugely underestimated impact of AI datacentres on UK carbon emissions
Revised figures increase fears about energy-intensive datacentres worsening climate emergencyThe UK government vastly underestimated the climate impact of artificial intelligence, it has emerged, after officials raised their estimate of carbon emissions from AI by a factor of more than 100.According…
By · April 24, 2026 · 1 min read
This article was originally published by
The Guardian World
and is republished here under license.
Revised figures increase fears about energy-intensive datacentres worsening climate emergency
The UK government vastly underestimated the climate impact of artificial intelligence, it has emerged, after officials raised their estimate of carbon emissions from AI by a factor of more than 100.
According to new data quietly published this week, energy use by AI datacentres in the UK could cause the emission of up to 123m tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) – about as much as generated by 2.7 million people – over the next 10 years.
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