The exact text we saved

This is the version exactly as it was saved, character for character. The SHA-256 hash below is a 64-character code worked out from that text. Run the same text through SHA-256 and you get the same code; change a single letter and the code comes out completely different. Each version also stores the previous version’s hash, which chains them together so no version can be swapped out quietly.

TRUVACE RECORD VERSION
record: TRV-2026-2878
version: 1
kind: certified
reason: Certified into the record
timestamp: 2026-11-13T00:02:42.762479Z
status: published
lens: p_space
sector: climate
headline: Artificial intelligence raises operational carbon emissions from data centers
dek: Artificial intelligence is expanding computing demand, yet how this expansion affects the operational carbon emissions that arise from purchased electricity at data centers remains poorly quantified. Existing work has not systematically isolated this operational-phase outcome or examined the mechanisms, thresholds, and spatial patterns that shape it. Here we show that artificial intelligence development raises operational carbon emissions from data centers. A bottom-up accounting of 1,090 data centers across 162…
gain_title: (none)
problem_title: A study of 1,090 data centers in 162 Chinese cities from 2015 to 2024 found that a one-standard-deviation rise in an AI index was associated with an extra 68.82 million tonnes of operational carbon emissions.
trace_subject: (none)
gain_reading: (none)
gain_evidence: (none)
problem_reading: A study of 1,090 data centers in 162 Chinese cities from 2015 to 2024 found that a one-standard-deviation rise in an AI index was associated with an extra 68.82 million tonnes of operational carbon emissions.
problem_evidence: a one-standard-deviation increase in a multidimensional artificial-intelligence index is associated with an additional 68.82 million tonnes of these emissions
quick_read: A bottom-up accounting of 1,090 data centers across 162 cities in China from 2015 to 2024 found that AI development is associated with higher operational carbon emissions from purchased electricity. A one-standard-deviation increase in a multidimensional AI index was linked to an additional 68.82 million tonnes of emissions.

Local green data-center policies and stronger green-technology cooperation between cities both weakened the link once they passed estimated thresholds. Neither reversed it, so AI growth still pushed emissions up under those conditions.

The effect also varied by distance. Spatial spillovers were negative between roughly 150 and 650 km and positive at longer distances, so one city's AI growth was tied to emissions elsewhere in a non-uniform pattern.
limitation: The 68.82 million tonne figure is an association rather than a proven causal effect, and the data cover only Chinese cities from 2015 to 2024.
tag: Evidence-backed problem
key_points: The dataset covers 1,090 data centers in 162 Chinese cities between 2015 and 2024. | A one-standard-deviation rise in the AI index is associated with 68.82 million additional tonnes of operational emissions. | The emissions measured come from purchased electricity used during operation. | Local green data-center policies weaken the association once they exceed an estimated threshold, but do not reverse it. | Higher inter-city green-technology cooperation also weakens the association past a threshold without reversing it. | Spatial spillovers are negative between about 150 and 650 km and positive at longer distances.
rundown: Researchers built a bottom-up account of operational carbon emissions from purchased electricity at 1,090 data centers across 162 Chinese cities, covering 2015 to 2024. They related it to a multidimensional index of AI development. The authors say earlier work had not isolated this operational-phase outcome or its mechanisms, thresholds and spatial patterns.

The headline estimate is an association: a one-standard-deviation increase in the AI index goes with an additional 68.82 million tonnes of emissions. Two mitigating factors were examined, local green data-center policies and green-technology cooperation between cities. Each weakened the association only after passing an estimated threshold, and neither reversed it.

The spatial analysis found non-monotonic spillovers. Effects on other cities were negative at distances of roughly 150 to 650 km and positive beyond that. The authors say the results identify the conditions under which AI growth raises operational emissions from computing infrastructure.
sources:
- peer_reviewed | Environmental Science and Ecotechnology | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ese.2026.100789 | 2026-11-01
prev: 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

SHA-256 hash

70867cdadc468f9093e5e973b669830034e3101cb9ac049972b37d7b40fbc417

Previous version’s hash

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000