ICT sustainability
Electricity consumption continues to increase in the ICT sector
Key findings
Electricity consumption continues to grow in the sector, largely due to AI.
The adoption of renewables has slowed, leading to only a slight decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to last year.
ICT sector electricity consumption remains around 4 percent of the total, increasing in line with global consumption.
Electricity consumption increasing
Global ICT sector electricity consumption in the use stage was estimated to be nearly 1,100 TWh in 2024, up from about 940 TWh in 2020. About 40 percent of the total usage relates to user devices and IoT. The main growth is in the data center segment, where electricity consumption has grown about 9 percent yearly since 2020. This corresponds to about 90 TWh, compared to the rise of 25 TWh 2010–2020. The increase is largely related to AI. For the network segment, the increased electricity usage is about 2 percent per year since 2020, corresponding to about 23 TWh, and mainly relates to an increase reported by the three major Chinese service providers. Between 2010 and 2020 the network electricity usage increased by 88 TWh. The ICT sector’s electricity consumption remains about 4 percent of the global total, increasing in line with global consumption.
The total estimated GHG emissions for the entire lifecycle in 2024 were still about 750 million metric tons (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), reduced by about 1 percent since 2023. In 2020, it was about 780 Mt. The decrease in reported emissions in 2024 compared to 2020 relates to increased investments in renewables by ICT companies and less fossil fuels generally in electricity production. During 2024 however, investments in renewables grew more slowly compared to previous years.
Figure 8: ICT sector development up to 2024 and forecast to 2030
Looking forward to 2030
Up to 2030, it is forecast that electricity consumption will continue to rise gradually in all areas of ICT. The increase in electricity consumption has been greater in the last two years than in previous years, mainly due to the development and adoption of AI. In our current forecast, this increased growth rate is expected to continue during 2025, but thereafter fall back to the previous growth rate. However, this will depend on the future development of AI.
The carbon footprint of the sector is forecast to continue to decrease by 2030, due to an increased share of renewable energy used by networks and data centers, as well as generally in the global electricity grid. This will also reduce GHG emissions from device usage and production.
With the current AI impact, geopolitical situation and slower shift to renewable energy, both electricity usage and GHG emissions are expected to be higher compared to 2024’s forecast.[1]
Figure 9: ICT sector 2024 versus 2020
