UN chief urges tech sector to power data centres with renewables
WASHINGTON (REUTERS)UN Secretary General António Guterres on Tuesday called on tech companies to power the build out of data centres with 100% renewable energy by 2030, even as the industry turns to gas and coal-fired power plants to meet surging demand.The secretary general made his case for why he believes energy-hungry data centres should lock in a future of clean energy, saying the transition to renewable energy is inevitable, even as some countries and companies still embrace fossil fuels.'The future is being built in the cloud,' Guterres said in a speech at the United Nations' headquarters in New York. "It must be powered by the sun, the wind, and the promise of a better world."His appeal to technology companies comes a day before US President Donald Trump unveils his administration's AI Action Plan, which is expected to contain a number of executive actions aimed at easing restrictions on land use and energy production to unleash artificial intelligence development.Trump has declared a national energy emergency to address the vast amounts of energy needed by data centres to power AI and enable him to ease environmental restrictions to build more power plants fueled by gas, coal and nuclear.Top economic rivals, the US and China, are locked in a technological arms race over who can dominate AI.At the same time, Trump has issued executive orders and signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that curtails the use of incentives for wind and solar energy, which dominate the queue of new power generation waiting to connect to the electric grid.Guterres also appealed to governments to ready new national climate plans to deliver the goals of the Paris climate agreement by September that will lock-in a transition away from fossil fuels.
He said this moment is an opportunity for governments to meet all new electricity demand with renewables and use water sustainably in cooling systems.
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Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
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De Waal added that famine is unfolding in Gaza in "a wholly predicted manner". De Waal is executive director of the World Peace Foundation, affiliated with the Fletcher School of Global Affairs at Tufts University, and the author of Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine.
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- Gulf Today
UAE's foreign minister welcomes French stand on recognition of Palestine
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Sharjah 24
4 hours ago
- Sharjah 24
Guterres warns of ‘immoral humanitarian crisis' in Gaza
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