AI push sparks emissions risk in ASEAN as data centre growth soars

Time of India

28-05-2025

New Delhi: A rapid surge in data centre growth across Southeast Asia, driven by AI and digitalisation, could push power demand to account for up to 30 per cent of national electricity use in countries like Malaysia and lead to a 14-fold rise in emissions in the Philippines by 2030, a new report released on May 27, 2025, has warned.
The report, titled From AI to Emissions: Aligning ASEAN's Digital Growth with Energy Transition Goals, highlights that data centres could consume 360 TWh of electricity globally by 2030, with ASEAN nations at the epicentre of the next big spike in demand, potentially doubling their 2024 levels.
In ASEAN's major economies—Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam—over 2.9 GW of data centre capacity is already in the pipeline. Malaysia's data centre electricity use is projected to increase from 9 TWh in 2024 to 68 TWh in 2030, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the country's power demand.
Emissions from Malaysia's data centre electricity use alone are expected to jump from 5.9 MtCO₂e in 2024 to 40 MtCO₂e in 2030. Similarly, Indonesia is projected to see a rise from 5 MtCO₂e to 19 MtCO₂e, while the Philippines' emissions could rise from 0.8 MtCO₂e to 10.5 MtCO₂e over the same period.
The report warns that this data centre boom risks undermining the region's energy transition goals due to its heavy reliance on coal and gas-based grids. In contrast, Singapore and Thailand are projected to experience only modest increases in emissions.
'ASEAN's booming data centre industry risks derailing energy transition goals without urgent action,' the report states. 'Prioritising solar and wind power, as well as energy efficiency, supported by strong policies, a national framework for data centres and collaboration, would help ensure data centres drive
sustainable digital growth
rather than deepen reliance on fossil fuels.'
Data centres are estimated to account for up to one-third of the ICT sector's electricity use. The study stresses that energy efficiency in design and operations, supported by modern cooling technologies and smart software, could significantly reduce power consumption.
On the renewable front, the report finds that up to 30 per cent of data centres' electricity demand in 2030 can be met through solar and wind via national grids—without requiring storage—provided robust procurement mechanisms such as power purchase agreements (PPAs), green tariffs and unbundled renewable energy certificates (RECs) are in place.
However, the availability of these procurement tools remains limited. Indonesia, for example, lacks a green tariff mechanism entirely, hampering companies' ability to secure clean power.
Citing RE100 data, the report notes that over 30 per cent of the global corporate PPA capacity is attributed to technology companies operating data centres, yet Asia remains heavily reliant on RECs due to restricted access to PPAs.
The study also highlights a new focus on energy-efficient designs from the outset of data centre development. 'Once data centres are operational, implementing energy efficiency improvements becomes significantly more challenging,' it states.
Finally, it calls for urgent investment in grid decarbonisation, especially in Indonesia's JAMALI grid and Malaysia's Peninsular Grid, to align with tech companies' sustainability goals, many of whom have pledged 100 per cent renewables for their operations globally.
Amazon, Meta and Google have made long-term commitments to power their facilities with renewable energy, but in Southeast Asia, progress has lagged due to limited renewables availability. In 2023, only 4.1 GWh of Google's 2.8 TWh regional power use came from renewables—just 0.15 per cent .
The report concludes that Southeast Asia's data centres could either become key enablers of clean energy investment or major roadblocks to decarbonisation, depending on how governments and industry act over the next five years.