GoKawiil
Tech News
A Sierra Club analysis, first reported by Bloomberg, projects that US grid emissions could reach 2.1 billion metric tons of CO2 by 2030 if currently planned AI data centers come online as scheduled. That would mark a 42 percent jump from 2025 levels, driven largely by gas-fired power plants built on or near data center sites to bypass grid bottlenecks.
The Sierra Club estimates that planned U.S. data center construction will push power-sector carbon emissions to 2.1 billion metric tons by 2030, a 42% jump from 2025 levels, according to Bloomberg. That figure, roughly equal to Mexico's total emissions, is two to four times higher than the group's earlier projections, and would effectively erase 15 years of U.S. emissions-reduction progress.
The UN Environment Programme's 2026 Emissions Gap Report concludes that limiting global warming to 1.5°C by 2100 is no longer achievable, even with no or limited overshoot. Current national climate pledges would cut emissions only 5-8% by 2030 versus the 18% reduction UNEP says is needed, meaning warming above 1.5°C is now considered imminent and inevitable. The report instead urges keeping warming below 2°C with a goal of returning to 1.5°C later this century.
The UN Environment Programme's latest annual report, released 21 October, finds global greenhouse-gas emissions were roughly unchanged between 2024 and 2025. Under current policies, scientists project warming of 2.6°C to 2.8°C by century's end, far above the Paris Agreement's 2°C ceiling, with even full implementation of existing pledges yielding 2.1°C. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the 1.5°C limit can no longer be avoided and urged faster cuts to fossil fuels alongside expanded clean electricity and reduced deforestation.
Researchers led by Haiwei Zhou at the University of Melbourne estimate that emissions from manufacturing lithium-ion batteries currently make up about 0.18 percent of global annual greenhouse gas output. Using International Energy Agency demand scenarios for electric vehicles and energy storage, they project this figure could grow more than tenfold by 2050 as battery use expands. The study compares demand-side strategies, such as reducing the number of batteries built, against supply-side fixes like efficient manufacturing, recycling, and sourcing less energy-intensive materials.
The US Environmental Protection Agency announced on September 14 that it is rescinding the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, which had required coal plants and new gas plants to capture 90 percent of their carbon emissions or close by 2039. The agency says the rollback will save industry $370 million in compliance costs, but has not disclosed the resulting public health toll.
The EPA finalized a rule dismantling most of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards for power plants, claiming the Clean Air Act doesn't authorize requiring pollution control technology it deems unproven. The agency also proposed eliminating all remaining greenhouse gas emissions requirements for power plants, asserting their emissions have no meaningful climate impact.
Researchers have identified additional greenhouse gas feedback loops, where rising temperatures themselves trigger further emissions, that are not fully accounted for in current climate models. Their analysis suggests these overlooked mechanisms could accelerate global warming by as much as 30% beyond existing projections.