07/20/2026
AI data centres are being planned throughout Canada. According to a recent poll by Leger, 62% of respondents indicated that they were aware of the plans to introduce AI data centres in Canada. Of these same respondents, 81% indicated fears of spiked energy bills as a result and 79% shared their worry about the centres' impacts on the environment.
So, how do AI data centres impact the environment? Here's what the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has to say on the matter:
1. "... [T]he microchips that power AI need rare earth elements, which are often mined in environmentally destructive ways..."
2. "... [D]ata centres produce electronic waste, which often contains hazardous substances, like mercury and lead. "
3. The third concern relates to intense water consumption needed to first build, then cool, the centres. "Globally, AI-related infrastructure may soon consume six times more water than Denmark, a country of 6 million, according to one estimate."
4. "Finally, to power their complex electronics, data centres that host AI technology need a lot of energy, which in most places still comes from the burning of fossil fuels, producing planet-warming greenhouse gases. A request made through ChatGPT, an AI-based virtual assistant, consumes 10 times the electricity of a Google Search, reported the International Energy Agency."
For more details on AI's global impacts, including ways to curb the environmental impact, please follow the attached link.
The sprawling data centres that house AI servers churn out toxic electronic waste and are voracious consumers of electricity, which in most places is still produced from fossil fuels.
