--- title: "New Data Centers in the US Set to Wipe Out 15 Years of Greenhouse Gas Reductions" description: "If the AI industry has its way, US carbon emissions will rise 42 percent by 2030, a new Sierra Club analysis found." date: "2026-11-01" modified: "2026-11-01" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/data-centers-us-greenhouse-gas-reductions-emissions" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Environment" - "Ethics" - "Pollution" - "Science & Energy" --- # New Data Centers in the US Set to Wipe Out 15 Years of Greenhouse Gas Reductions ![A color-treated photo of a data center under construction.]() Nearly 15 years worth of hard-won pollution reduction efforts are set to be undone in the United States, as a wave of data centers powered by gas plants enters construction. That's according to a new analysis by the Sierra Club, first reported [by *Bloomberg*](), which notes that the US energy grid is expected to belch out 2.1 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030, assuming the country's currently-planned AI developments enter operation as scheduled. That's a massive rise compared to even 2025 — itself a [near-record year]() for US carbon emissions. If the AI industry and its data center developers get their way, the analysis found, emissions will likely skyrocket by 42 percent over the five-year period, an expected increase of 618 million tons compared to 2025. "The numbers continue to sort of boggle our minds," the Sierra Club's principal advisor for climate and energy Jeremy Fisher told *Bloomberg*. Due to major bottlenecks in the electrical grid, many data center developers have opted for on- or near-site power plants, which are overwhelmingly fueled by noxious fossil fuels. Projects like Elon Musk's 1.2 gigawatt data center near Memphis are already [choking out residents]() with fleets of methane generators, which [legal experts say]() flaunt all kinds of local permitting and federal environmental regulations. Still, for anybody banking on having clean air to breathe, there is some hope. The number of data center projects at risk of cancellation is rising precipitously as time goes on — driven by [grass roots organizing]() and [increasing financial pressures](). So if you're one of the [many activists]() mounting opposition to data centers in your community, just know that the benefits of a cancelled hyperscale facility extend far beyond your backyard. **More on data centers:** *[Thieves Are Making a Fortune Heisting AI Data Center Equipment]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [Data Center Operator Slapped With $1 Million Fine for Belching Noxious Gas Into Surrounding Community]() - [Oracle Forced to Cancel Incredibly Polluting Natural Gas Plant to Power AI Data Center]() - [The Pollution Being Churned Out by AI Data Centers Is So Severe That It’s Almost Incomprehensible]() - [Almost Half of US Data Centers That Were Supposed to Open This Year Slated to Be Canceled or Delayed]() - [AI Data Centers Are Skyrocketing Regular People’s Energy Bills]() - [Just 11 AI Data Centers Could Belch More Fumes Than Entire Countries]() - [The AI Data Center Boom Is Causing a Gigantic Spike in Smog-Spewing Gas Power Plants]() - [Amazon’s New AI Data Center Is So Enormous That It Appears It Will Become the Largest Single Source of Pollution in the United States]()