If there’s one thing the modern digital world runs on, it’s data centres. From streaming video to cloud apps and AI services, these massive facilities keep the internet alive.
But, the big issue we’re running into now is that they also consume a lot of electricity. And where that electricity comes from – clean sources like wind and solar or fossil fuels like coal and gas – directly affects how much carbon these facilities emit.
In 2026, the question of which countries have the largest data centre carbon footprints isn’t just a curiosity. Rather, it’s a question about how the digital economy intersects with global climate efforts.
Data Centres and Carbon: What Do We Know?
Data centres aren’t physical emitters in the way that factories or vehicles are, becausethey don’t burn fuel on site. It’s a lot more complicated than that.
They do, however, need power, and a lot of it. And powering that infrastructure is where carbon emissions come in. Electricity generation still makes up the majority of data centre carbon footprints, and the mix of generation sources in a country’s grid strongly influences how large that footprint is.
According to a comprehensive review of data centre energy use by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global data centre electricity consumption was estimated at around 360 terawatt‑hours in recent years, with the largest shares of that consumption located in a handful of major markets.
Because the United States and China host significant portions of global data centre capacity, they also account for a large share of the energy consumed by those facilities. According to the IEA’s 4E Data Centres report, the U.S., China and Europe combined made up roughly 85 % of total data centre electricity use.
That doesn’t automatically translate into exact carbon emission figures (since those depend on how clean each grid is), but it does mean these regions are the most relevant when considering global data centre footprints.
The United States: Big Infrastructure, Big Footprint Potential
The United States is home to some of the largest data centre clusters in the world – Northern Virginia, Dallas, Chicago and the Bay Area are all major hubs. And because of this scale, the U.S. likely continues to top the list in absolute data centre energy use.
In 2026, there isn’t an official, globally authoritative ranking of data centre carbon emissions by country, but multiple energy studies point to the U.S. as a leader in data centre electricity consumption. And this, in countries where fossil fuels still make up a significant share of the grid, tends to correlate with a large carbon footprint.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy and industry sources, efforts are underway to improve efficiency and increase renewable sourcing, but the overall picture remains one of high electricity demand with a mix of generation sources.
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China: A Fast‑Growing Market With Heavy Grid Dependence
China’s data centre market has grown rapidly as cloud services, AI and digital platforms expand across the Asia‑Pacific region. This has made it one of the world’s biggest consumers of data centre energy. According to analyses of regional energy demand, China accounts for a significant share of global data centre electricity consumption.
Now, carbon intensity matters here. While China is making major investments in renewables, its electricity mix still includes coal and other fossil fuels at a higher proportion than many Western and Nordic grids. That means data centre electricity in China generally has a higher carbon intensity per unit of energy consumed compared to countries with cleaner grids.
Europe: Heavy Use, (Slightly) Cleaner Grids
Europe’s data centre footprint is also substantial, with hubs in cities like Frankfurt, London and Amsterdam. According to industry research, these clusters together use tens of terawatt‑hours per year. The carbon impact of that energy varies across the continent because the electricity grids differ widely.
Countries in Northern and Western Europe – particularly those with high shares of wind, hydro or nuclear – tend to have lower grid carbon intensity, which means data centres in those regions produce less carbon per unit of electricity consumed. In contrast, parts of Eastern and Southern Europe with more reliance on fossil fuels will see higher relative footprints.
So, Europe is complicated in carbon terms: high usage overall, but varying emissions profiles depending on national energy mixes.
Smaller Countries With a Disproportionate Load
There are also smaller countries where data centre energy demand forms a large share of total electricity use. A well‑reported example is Ireland, where data centre electricity demand has historically been a significant portion of national consumption. According to reporting on national grid impacts, this kind of disproportionate share can make data centre footprints especially visible in small grids – even if total emissions are lower than in larger markets.
These dynamics illustrate that looking purely at total emissions can miss part of the story – in some countries, data centres are an energy presence that shapes national grid decisions and climate planning.
Asia and Beyond As Emerging Markets
Emerging economies, especially in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, are seeing rapid digital infrastructure growth. Data centres are being built quickly, often near economic hubs and in pursuit of cloud capacity for local markets.
At the moment, detailed data on emissions from these regions is more difficult to pinpoint with the same precision as for the U.S., China and Europe. But, there’s no doubt about the fact that the pattern is clear – as these markets scale, their data centre carbon footprints will rise unless paired with strong renewable energy commitments and efficiency measures.
Why Does This Matter Beyond Numbers?
So, what does all this mean for tech leaders, policymakers and sustainability watchers in 2026?
First, it reinforces that data centre carbon impacts are tied to electricity systems, not just information, communication and technology (CIT) itself. A data centre in a region powered largely by renewables will tend to have a much lower carbon footprint than one in a fossil‑heavy grid.
Second, focusing on the countries with the highest data centre energy use helps highlight where climate and tech policy intersect most strongly. If grid decarbonisation accelerates in the U.S. and China, global data centre emissions will see a proportionally bigger decline.
Finally, it shows that data centre emissions are not just a tech problem – they’re an energy‑policy problem, and a major one at that. As the world continues to digitise, the connection between grid clean‑up and digital infrastructure becomes harder to ignore.
In a world increasingly shaped by cloud services, AI processing and always‑on connectivity, understanding which countries carry the biggest data centre carbon footprint isn’t just a numbers game – it’s about spotting where decarbonisation efforts will have the biggest impact on the digital future.
