Setting the scene

The report examines the surge in data centre development in Southeast Asia, highlighting how increasing electricity demand—particularly in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines—threatens climate targets due to reliance on fossil-fuel-dominated grids. It argues that without significant investment in solar and wind energy and improved energy efficiency, the digital boom will lead to a substantial rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

• The ICT sector is estimated to contribute between 2.1% and 3.9% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with data centres accounting for one-third (360 TWh) of the sector's total electricity use, which exceeded 1,000 TWh in 2023.
• Malaysia is projected to experience the most significant increase in power consumption among the region's hotspots, with demand rising sevenfold from 8.5 TWh in 2024 to 68 TWh by 2030, representing 30% of the country's total national demand.
• Data centre electricity demand is expected to grow sharply in Indonesia and the Philippines by 2030, rising from 6.7 TWh to 26 TWh and from 1.1 TWh to 20 TWh, respectively.
• Emissions from data centre power consumption are projected to surge 14 times in the Philippines, from 0.8 MtCO2e in 2024 to 10.5 MtCO2e by 2030, due to the heavy reliance of the Luzon-Visayas grid on coal.
• To power data centres sustainably and avoid increased fossil fuel dependence, the top five data centre-consuming countries in the region require an estimated $45 to $75 billion in solar and wind capacity investments by 2030.
• While major tech firms like Amazon Web Services, Meta, and Google have global renewable energy targets, progress in Southeast Asia is limited; for instance, only 0.15% of Google's 2.8 TWh electricity consumption in the region came from renewable sources in 2023.
• Singapore has transitioned to a more selective approval process for data centres via the Data Centre-Call For Application (DC-CFA) after a 2019 moratorium, focusing on projects that promote energy efficiency and green power.

APA

Ember (2025). Setting the scene. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/setting-the-scene/

Chicago

Ember. Setting the scene. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/setting-the-scene/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Setting the scene |date=27 May 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/setting-the-scene/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025setting, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Setting the scene}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/setting-the-scene/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }