UAE , ONE OF THE LEADING DATA CENTRE COUNTRIES IN THE GCC , IS AIMING TO REDUCE ITS CARBON EMISSIONS BY 31 % BY 2023 .
DATA CENTRE PREDICTIONS
Ashraf Yehia , Managing Director at Eaton Middle East
This upward trajectory is closely tied to the explosive growth of data creation and consumption , expected to reach a staggering 175 zettabytes globally by 2025 . However , this growth is not without its challenges .
The increased demand for data processing and storage is driving a massive 400 % increase in electricity consumption by 2030 , primarily for powering and cooling computational
hardware . Already accounting for between 1 – 4 % of global electricity use , data centres face mounting environmental and sustainability pressures .
Environmental concerns and sustainability initiatives
The environmental impact of data centres is a growing concern . The process of training AI models alone contributes to approximately 25 tons of CO 2 emissions , with an additional 25 tons generated during hardware production and ongoing operation , equivalent to 60 flights between London and New York . Acknowledging this ecological burden , data centre operators are committing to sustainability initiatives .
The European-based Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact , initiated in January 2021 , brings together over 40 companies and trade organisations with the shared goal of achieving climate neutrality for data centres by 2030 . Governments , too , are stepping in , proposing stricter regulations on energy efficiency and demanding sustainability reporting from data centre operators . UAE , one of the leading data centre countries in the GCC , is aiming to reduce its carbon emissions by 31 % by 2023 . Saudi Arabia is aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2060 .
Navigating supply chain disruption and geopolitical challenges
The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have cast a shadow on global supply chains , affecting the availability
UAE , ONE OF THE LEADING DATA CENTRE COUNTRIES IN THE GCC , IS AIMING TO REDUCE ITS CARBON EMISSIONS BY 31 % BY 2023 .
28 www . intelligentdatacentres . com