UN: AI expansion threatens water, land resources for billions by 2030

The UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health warned on Friday that artificial intelligence's rapid expansion is putting growing pressure on global electricity, water and land resources, saying the technology's environmental impact is being "systematically mismeasured" by assessments that focus primarily on carbon emissions while overlooking water and land footprints.

Resource consumption projections

By 2030, data centers powering AI are projected to consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity — if considered as a country, they would rank as the world's 11th largest electricity consumer. The report said global data centers consumed an estimated 448 TWh in 2025, while their water footprint could reach 9.3 trillion liters by decade's end, equivalent to the basic annual domestic water needs of 1.3 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Land use and 'not anti-AI'

The land footprint could exceed 14,500 square kilometers by 2030, roughly twice the size of the Jakarta metropolitan area. "This report is not a case against artificial intelligence," said Kaveh Madani, director of UNU-INWEH, adding that the study instead calls for responsible use and proactive action to address unintended impacts. The report warned that "low-carbon" does not necessarily mean "low-water" or "low-land."

Inference vs training

Public debate has focused too heavily on energy required to train large AI models, even though inference accounts for 80% to 90% of total consumption. ChatGPT alone processes around 2.5 billion prompts daily, requiring roughly 383 GWh annually, while a typical AI-generated image consumes about 1,450 times more energy than basic text classification and a short video can use as much electricity as 200,000 spam classifications. The report called for a responsible AI ecosystem based on transparency, efficiency by design and sustainable use.