Server electricity, country by country
Carbon intensity of electricity generated in 2025, life cycle, in gCO2e/kWh
Server electricity, country by country
Sources
Source: Ember, 2026, via Our World in Data. projetcelsius.com/en/ai · CC BY 4.0
The analysis
- The same calculation emits 14 times more in Poland than in France, and 21 times more than in Norway.
- The United States, which hosts more than half of the world's AI data centres according to GreenIT, emits 9 times more per kWh than France.
- The map of carbon intensity, country by country, is in "AI in maps".
The figures
- Norway: 28.1 gCO2e per kWh.
- France: 41.4 gCO2e per kWh.
- United States: 384 gCO2e per kWh.
- World: 458 gCO2e per kWh.
- Poland: 589 gCO2e per kWh.
Assumptions
- Electricity generated, emissions in life cycle assessment.
- Intensity of electricity generated in the country, not of that purchased by a specific data centre.
- The annual average hides hour-to-hour variations.
More on climate
The whole Climate topic →Charts and maps
Chart
ClimateAI emissions, compared99MtCO2eAI in 2025, as much as BelgiumChartClimateThe digital sector in global emissions1.4 to 3.9%of global emissions, according to estimatesChartClimateThe digital sector in France, in 3 categories4.4%of France's carbon footprintChartClimateGoogle and Microsoft emissions58 to 81%rise in emissions since the baseline year
ClimateAI emissions, compared99MtCO2eAI in 2025, as much as BelgiumChartClimateThe digital sector in global emissions1.4 to 3.9%of global emissions, according to estimatesChartClimateThe digital sector in France, in 3 categories4.4%of France's carbon footprintChartClimateGoogle and Microsoft emissions58 to 81%rise in emissions since the baseline yearAnalyses
AnalysisClimate12 November 2026Why do estimates of AI's impact differ?Calculated with French electricity, one question to an AI emits 0.012 gram of CO2e; Mistral AI publishes 1.14 gram, more than 90 times as much. Its water use ranges from 0.26 to 45 millilitres depending on the published measurements. These figures are accurate; they do not cover the same scope.
Where does this figure come from?Climate20 October 2026"Meta's electricity emits only 1,358 tonnes of CO2e"In 2024, Meta reports 1,358 tonnes of CO2e for the electricity it buys, the annual footprint of 170 people in France. The same report also gives 5.97 million tonnes. Both of the 2 figures are accurate.Tools
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Uses
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