"Malaysia’s new AI data centres could release 10 million tonnes of climate pollution: study", 12 August 2025

Malaysia’s plan to grow its data centre capabilities to power artificial intelligence (AI) could result in the equivalent of adding two million cars to the road, according to environmental non-profit RimbaWatch, which is calling for the government to block approvals for data centres that do not commit to be fully powered by renewable energy.

RimbaWatch’s new study found that 14 AI data centres – either newly completed or in the pipeline – in the Southeast Asian country will require 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of energy. This infrastructure could drive annual emissions of 9.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) due to the tech sector’s reliance on a grid that is 81 per cent powered by fossil fuels, according to the analysis.

… Malaysia is already the world’s second largest AI hub after the United States, with investments worth RM3.29 billion (US$777 million) pumped into new infrastructure in the first half of this year alone, as the likes of Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google, TikTok owner Bytedance, and Oracle have taken advantage of low electricity prices, cheap land, and tax breaks.

… Electricity demand from data centres in Malaysia is expected to exceed 5GW by 2035, according to estimates from national electricity firm Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). TNB has received applications for supply exceeding 11GW, which represents more than 40 per cent of Peninsular Malaysia’s existing installed power-generation capacity…

Some of the tech firms planning to build data centres have made commitments to use clean energy. The largest project, the 500-MW YTL Green Data Centre Park in Johor, has committed to be powered entirely by on-site solar farms. Data centres built for Australian hyperscaler AirTrunk and American firm EdgeConneX in Selangor have made similar commitments.

In its report, RimbaWatch recommended that Malaysia’s investment, trade and industry ministry (MITI) develops a sectoral-level carbon budget and decarbonisation pathway for data centres that is aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree warming ceiling…