NEW YORK — A boom in data centers is expected to produce about 2.5 billion metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide (CO2)-equivalent emissions globally through the end of the decade and accelerate investments in decarbonization efforts, according to Morgan Stanley research.

Hyperscalers, which include Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon, are driving the swift proliferation of electricity-guzzling data centers to expand their artificial intelligence and cloud computing technologies. At the same time, the companies are holding onto pledges to slash global warming emissions from their centers by 2030.