Even when faced with massive unimaginable climate disasters, technocrats and technologists see money-making opportunities, if one carbon footprint report holds true

According to research by Morgan Stanley, the data center industry is predicted to emit three times more carbon into the atmosphere due to the current rate of generative AI (GenAI) adoption and usage.

This could translate to a rise in carbon emissions from today’s 200m tons of carbon, to around 600m tons by the year 2030.

Ironically, the largest contributors to the increased carbon footprints are operators of hyperscale data centers, who in turn are supposedly committed to reforestation and net-zero initiatives also targeted at 2030.

There is money in decarbonization
According to the research, based on the financial service institution’s own model of the world’s data center carbon footprints and related metrics, total predicated global emissions across Scope 1, 2 & 3 hyperscale facilities are due to the skyrocketing demands for compute and storage power due to GenAI.

However, the focus of the research seems to be that this alarming prediction is a cue to attract investors of decarbonization solutions instead of catalyzing the uptrend. Apparently, suppliers of carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) tech could cash-in on the uptrend to the tune of tens of billions of US dollars. So, if you cannot and will not nip decarbonization, why not just make hay while the sun shines?

Turning emitted carbon into gold

So, just one development in technology can set the world back on its already lagging net zero commitments and achievements by five years, if the research cited above is accurate.

In the meantime, major tech giants have even cut back on their sustainability promises without any ramifications.

While there certainly are tough truths behind corporate net zero sustainability targets, the world may be setting itself up for many unpalatable realities when all the lip service, hypocrisy and disingenuous attempts at reducing damage to the Earth results in climate disasters and cascades of ecological, geopolitical and AI-linked consequences.