State of the Fossil-Free Internet Report

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State of the Fossil-Free Internet 2026

The Dirty Data Centre Edition

April, 2026 — In this first annual briefing by the Green Web Foundation, we examine the biggest obstacles to a fossil-free internet. This year’s focus: the rise of too many dirty data centres controlled by unaccountable companies. If you work in tech or on climate, this report will help you navigate this vital topic and highlights meaningful pathways to a just and sustainable internet.

Sign up for our free public briefing event online on Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

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950,718 unique websites were checked using Green Web Checks in a 24-hour period in December 2025. The dots on the globe represent web host locations. Green means checked websites show evidence of green energy use. Unverified means no evidence was found. Source: Green Web Foundation, 2026

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People care how the internet is powered. Every day, 7-15 million Green Web Checks are run to verify whether websites run on green energy. The gases released by fossil fuels used to generate electricity—including carbon dioxide (CO2)—are a leading driver of climate change and harms to human health, which is why many businesses choose to use greener web hosts.

Green Web Foundation works towards a fossil-free internet by 2030—and we’re not alone. A broad spectrum of technologists, businesses, community activists, and governments collaborate on energy and climate goals for the internet. Progress used to be within reach with Google, Microsoft, and Amazon each announcing bold commitments and advances towards matching their energy consumption with 100% clean energy by 2030. Now, the companies that dominate the internet’s infrastructure are polluting the planet more than ever.

This first State of the Fossil-Free Internet is an introductory status update on the 2030 goal. We describe how a massive expansion of fossil-fuelled data centres is putting it at risk, and why it’s so urgent to hold internet and artificial intelligence (AI) companies accountable for their harms. Finally, we share promising pathways—especially for technologists—to spark change.

Data centres and their runaway energy demands

Perhaps somewhere near you, there’s already a massive data centre? Depending on where you live, there soon could be. With the rise of generative AI, the number and scale of data centres is rapidly growing. New data centres worth an estimated $3.2 trillion are planned worldwide.

Ideally, data centres would use fossil-free energy—like solar, wind, and hydropower—to power their facilities. Regrettably, they often rely on fossil fuels—like coal, diesel, oil, and natural gas—instead. Most often, this is determined by what’s available via the local energy grid, but for many it’s also a matter of choice for what new energy infrastructure to build at their sites.

More than half of the anticipated growth in energy demand in the US is coming from data centres. In Europe, too, where data centres currently use an estimated 2% of total electricity, anticipated growth could mean a rise to 5% by 2030.

In India, data centre expansions appear to be derailing clean energy commitments, and similar concerns are rising in Malaysia, Mexico, and many other countries, too.

How many data centres are there? This depends on what gets counted as a data centre. There is no comprehensive global definition based on size, energy, or other attributes. Many, many thousands operate privately, on a small scale, or for secret government and military uses.

Data Center Map tracks at least 10,852 large, publicly known data centres in 174 countries. In comparison to this number, the expected growth is immense. At least 7,250 new data centre projects are planned. Two-thirds are in North America, followed by Europe and then Latin America.

How many more data centres do we need?

There are at least 10,852 large, publicly known data centres in 174 countries. Source: Data Center Map © 2026 (used with permission). Map made with Natural Earth.

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Data centre size is a real game changer. The current wave of generative AI products, like ChatGPT and Claude, use much more computing power and therefore electricity than other software. So, the companies that dominate the internet—and are competing to dominate AI—are investing in much bigger and more energy hungry data centres.

The biggest are called hyperscale data centres and there are at least 1,297 of them worldwide. Their sites (often called campuses) can be as big as dozens of football fields. They can require as much electricity and water as entire towns or cities. In addition, they are driving hardware supply shortages of RAM, disk storage, CPUs and chips across the tech sector, for which mining, manufacturing, and waste disposal also cause environmental harm.

Over the last seven years, the number of hyperscale data centres has tripled. In the next three years, their total global operational capacity...