UN report calls for moratorium on data center construction: “We have embarked on a suicide mission”.
Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and drinking water sees the sector’s lack of transparency and its significant impact on energy and water consumption as global threats.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrencies is exploding, leading to a rapid increase in the number of mega-data centers. “This growth is generating significant and worrying demands for water, as well as a dramatic increase in electricity consumption,” which “poses serious risks for aquatic ecosystems and presents unsustainable prospects for the future.” This is according to the report “The Water-Energy Nexus ,” prepared by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. The document, which will be presented this Friday at the UN General Assembly, calls for a moratorium on the construction of these facilities until their true effects on the planet are known.
Read the full article in El Pais (Spanish) or in the English Google translation
