Negative Environmental Aspects of Cloud Computing
What are potential negative aspects of cloud computing in terms of environmental implications?
See also: Cloud Computing Sustainability
Carbon Emissions
Data centers require a lot of energy. Despite the claims of the hyperscalers to be climate neutral or to be carbon negative in the near future, a large proportion of energy is still generated using fossil fuels.
- 170MW gas power plant for Microsoft — Posetiv Cloud Ltd 2023
- Clouding the issue: Are Amazon, Google, and Microsoft really helping companies go green? | Insights & Sustainability | Climatiq
- Datacenters to emit 3x more carbon dioxide because of genAI • The Register
Water
To ensure a good PUE, hyperscalers (especially Google) use large quantities of water for cooling, which causes other environmental problems.
See also Water consumption of data centers.
Waste
Heat
Waste heat is usually not used sensibly. Leafcloud, for example, does better by using existing buildings and putting the waste heat to good use on site.
E-Waste
The service life of IT components in hyperscalers is comparatively short at 3-5 years. At Scaleway, for example, IT components are used for up to 10 years.
Rebound Effect
The easy accessibility of (infinite) cloud resources ensures that more is used overall.
See also Digital Rebound Effect.
Support of oil and gas companies
Cloud Computing Companies - Contracts with oil and gas companies