Trump’s Anti-Environment Policies Will Clash With AI-Driven Green Energy Solutions

Key Takeaways

• President-elect Donald Trump’s fierce opposition to green policies could derail Big Tech’s push for green solutions to power AI development.
• Big Tech firms such as Google and Microsoft are exploring nuclear and geothermal power to run their data centers.
• In Trump’s previous four-year term, he rolled back a total of 112 climate policies.

The reelection of Donald Trump has raised uncertainty around the future of Big Tech’s AI-driven green energy solutions.

Famously bullish on fossil fuels, Trump has been vocal about his aggressive opposition to renewable energy policies, which he believes are hindering the U.S. from achieving dominance in the energy sector.

As Trump prepares to take office in January, some experts have labeled the President-elect’s anti-environmental policies a “dangerous gamble” and called for global policymakers to align on AI to serve the greater good.

Trump’s Anti-environment Policies

The reelected President made clear and bold promises during his 2024 campaign, many of which involved reducing renewable energy policies and boosting support for fossil fuels.

According to a document viewed by Reuters, Trump’s transition team has already recommended major cutbacks in support of electric vehicles and charging stations across the U.S.

If this goes through, it will push America’s EV industry further behind China’s, which is booming due to heavy subsidies and pro-EV regulation.

In addition, Trump has promised to roll back a number of major climate regulations again. In his last four-year term, Trump rolled back a total of 112 climate policies, including rules surrounding clean air, water, wildlife and toxic chemicals.

This bullishness on anti-environment is likely to affect the recent switches of Big Tech, which has been moving towards green solutions to meet their lofty AI goals.

Big Tech’s AI-driven Green Solutions

In May, new research from the Electric Power Research Institute found that AI data centers could use up to 9% of the total electricity generated in the U.S. by 2030.

According to the Institute, the annual growth rate of AI electricity usage could range from 3.7% to 15% through 2030, depending on the efficiency of newly built centers.

Data centers require enormous amounts of electricity to power the computational hardware and keep it cool, as the heat generated during intense computing can potentially become dangerous.

Big Tech companies’ climate goals are highly ambitious alongside their goals for AI development. For example, Google hopes to achieve net-zero emissions across its operations by 2030.

This is mirrored by Microsoft, which has pledged to be carbon-negative by 2030. Amazon has also pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2040 and use 100% renewable energy by 2025.

Many of these companies have signed agreements and partnerships to incorporate green energy plans into their AI development cycles to achieve this.

In October, Google announced it had signed a deal with Kairos Power, an atomic energy startup, to build and purchase nuclear energy from multiple small reactors (SMRs). The first of the seven SMRs will be online by 2030, followed by additional deployments until 2035.

Meta followed Google’s lead at the beginning of December, inviting proposals to build new nuclear infrastructure projects that could power its data centers.

“We believe that nuclear energy can help provide firm, baseload power to support the growth needs of the electric grids that power both our data centers,” the tech giant said in a blog post.

Trump’s Potential Impact

While AI-driven green energy solutions are making significant strides from Big Tech in the U.S., the upcoming administration’s policies favoring fossil fuels could challenge their continued growth.

A major policy shift could reduce federal incentives for renewable energy projects and transitions, potentially impacting the financial viability of going green for large tech companies.

Jonathan Costa, Head of AI & Sustainable Technologies at Tomorrow University of Applied Sciences, told CCN that Trump’s policies could weaken the U.S.’s role in global climate leadership.

“Trump’s climate policies represent a dangerous gamble—stalling progress in renewable energy optimization, emissions monitoring, and disaster forecasting,” said Costa.

“These policies will also disrupt Big Tech’s efforts to power data centers with wind and nuclear energy,” he explained, “this not only limits AI’s domestic impact but also weakens the U.S.’s role in global climate leadership.”

Costa believes that scientists and innovators need to call for AI to be guided by science, ethics and a true commitment to people and the planet.

“With Trump’s presidency threatening to derail AI’s potential to tackle the climate crisis, now is the time for global leaders to act,” Costa opined.