Airlines warn the explosive growth of artificial intelligence could stall aviation’s green transition by consuming the renewable energy needed to produce cleaner jet fuel.
In a new report, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) points to two issues:
Data centers are “adding strong and rising demand for electricity, both renewable and other, to the already supply-constrained electricity and renewable-energy markets, pushing up prices.”
At the same time, they’re increasing CO2 emissions as AI expands faster than renewable-energy supply.
“Hence, this sector is causing double trouble,” IATA said. “Pushing up energy prices, and secondly by increasing CO2 emissions as it expands faster than renewable-energy supply.”
SAF is made from sources such as used cooking oil and crops