Malaysia’s new data centres will add two million cars worth of emissions, think tank warns

• “We are concerned that the estimated emissions from activities in just one sector can drive a rise in emissions equivalent to those of entire countries,” said RimbaWatch director Adam Farhan.

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 8): Malaysia’s new data centres will release annual greenhouse gas equivalent to adding more than two million cars to the country’s roads, an environmental think tank warned.

Analysis finds that the data centres, once operational, will result in annual carbon emissions of nearly 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and rival the emissions of entire countries such as Papua New Guinea in 2023, RimbaWatch said in a statement.

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“We are concerned that the estimated emissions from activities in just one sector can drive a rise in emissions equivalent to those of entire countries,” said RimbaWatch director Adam Farhan. “The reason for this high figure is the high fossil fuel intensity of Malaysia’s grid reliant on fossil fuels.”

As of Jan 1, 2025, there are 14 new data centre projects in Malaysia, consisting of three which were completed between 2023 and 2024, two under expansion works, five which are currently under construction and four which are proposed, according to RimbaWatch analysis.

All in all, the projects will see 2.2 gigawatts of new data centre capacity, of which 1.7 gigawatts has no renewable energy plans, raising the demand on Malaysia’s primarily fossil fuel-powered grid by 12,920 gigawatt-hours per year.

“First and foremost, Malaysia must commit to a just and rapid fossil fuel phase out, and embed this phase-out in data centre expansion plans to promote overall sectoral synergy,” Adam said.

A boom in energy-guzzling data centres sweeping across Malaysia, however, has raised broad concerns in a country highly dependent on fossil fuels for energy generation.

Coal, crude oil and natural gas account for nearly 90% of its energy mix, and the government has committed to retiring coal-fired power plants by 2044 as part of its energy transition and climate change policy.

Malaysia should provide a “decarbonisation pathway” for data centres, RimbaWatch said, urging the government to ensure that all new data centres conform to a “carbon budget”, including limiting the approval of new projects to those committed to 100% renewable energy-powered operations.

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