The Choice Between Data Centers and Carbon Emissions

Podcast
20 min listen
November 7, 2025
In this episode

We are in the era of data centers. They are being built with the speed and intensity of factories during the industrial revolution, and with the same sort of capital attraction. But their high emissions, which are under-reported by companies (we will tell you why!), have left both real estate and tech investors with a dilemma: take advantage of the data center boom or have a portfolio with low emissions. We explore this tension in this episode of Sustainability Now. 

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Desire for Data Centers Creates Carbon Dilemma for Property Investors

Despite renewable-energy sourcing and offsetting strategies, data centers are tied to an increase in carbon emissions, forcing investors to square these assets with their own climate goals.

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Energy-hungry data centers are the backbone of AI. And as big tech companies look to meet rising demand for AI capabilities, their emissions are ticking up. So, are net zero ambitions at risk? Or can they be saved by a decades-old energy source in a new guise?

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