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Boosted by baldur@toot.cafe ("Baldur Bjarnason"):
ketan@climatejustice.social ("Ketan Joshi") wrote:

It was nice to speak to China's The Paper about the climate consequences of fossil-fuel hungry software systems

https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail%5Fforward%5F33451501

Norwegian climate and energy analyst Ketan Joshi further explained the structural contradiction between increased electricity consumption from AI and the supply of green electricity: if tech companies only sign contracts with existing renewable energy projects without increasing the grid's green electricity supply, it could force the grid to fill the gap with coal and natural gas, pushing up total emissions. Even if companies fund new wind or solar power projects, in reality, the increased green electricity often only covers a small portion of the increased electricity consumption, with the remainder relying on hybrid power. He cited Texas as an example, where, despite its large installed capacity of wind, solar, and energy storage, grid carbon emissions have continued to rise since 2020, precisely because data center electricity consumption has grown faster than the expansion of new energy sources.