{"id":69241,"date":"2026-09-17T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/?p=69241"},"modified":"2026-09-17T11:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T03:23:10","slug":"greenpeace-east-asia-warns-at-gastech-2026-ai-energy-surge-cannot-justify-fossil-gas-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/press\/69241\/greenpeace-east-asia-warns-at-gastech-2026-ai-energy-surge-cannot-justify-fossil-gas-expansion\/","title":{"rendered":"Greenpeace East Asia Warns at Gastech 2026: AI Energy Surge Cannot Justify Fossil Gas Expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>BANGKOK, THAILAND (17 September 2026) <\/strong>\u2014 As energy majors, hyperscalers, and ministers gather in Bangkok for the AixEnergy Summit at Gastech 2026, Greenpeace East Asia warns that using fossil gas to fuel the artificial intelligence boom is a high-risk gamble threatening global climate targets and frontline communities.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With global AI-driven data center capital expenditure expected to top US$700 billion in 2026 [1], tech corporations and utilities are using surging energy demand as a pretext to lock in multi-decade fossil gas and LNG infrastructure. Throughout Gastech 2026, industry leaders have pushed a dangerous narrative: framing gas as an &#8220;indispensable baseline&#8221; to prevent an AI power crisis.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greenpeace\u2019s analysis of AI and energy discussions at Gastech 2026 highlights critical flaws in the industry\u2019s approach to powering next\u2011generation compute capacity:<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Panic\u2011Driven Decision-Making:<\/strong> Industry leaders at Gastech 2026 have openly described an urgent, \u201cfear of missing out\u201d mindset driven by AI data center demand, with regulators urged to accelerate reforms to keep pace [2]. Greenpeace warns that operating from a crisis mindset leads to premature investments in fossil gas infrastructure that endanger long-term grid stability and affordability while locking countries into volatile LNG markets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gas as \u201cBaseload\u201d for AI: <\/strong>Panels at Gastech have framed natural gas, and gas equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS), as the only viable 24\/7 solution for AI data centers, arguing that intermittent renewables alone cannot meet compute demand. Greenpeace stresses that this narrative ignores rapidly falling costs for wind, solar, batteries, demand response, and grid upgrades, treating gas as a permanent fixture rather than a phase-out target.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>AI\u2011Justified LNG Build\u2011Out: <\/strong>Gastech 2026 is explicitly linking AI growth to new LNG terminals, cross-border pipelines, and long-term gas contracts. Baker Hughes\u2019 CEO similarly pointed to AI and data-center growth as key drivers of robust demand for natural gas and power generation, signaling continued investment in gas infrastructure despite higher borrowing costs [3]. Greenpeace warns that using AI as a justification for multi-decade gas deals risks stranded assets and higher consumer bills as renewables and storage become cheaper.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greenpeace demands that hyperscalers, chipmakers, energy developers, and governments immediately stop using AI expansion as an excuse for new gas infrastructure. Tech companies must enforce strict 100% renewable energy requirements across their entire supply chains and data networks.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Yeonho Yang, Senior Climate &amp; Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Asia cannot afford to let its digital growth pull the plug on its energy transition. Tech giants like Nvidia, Microsoft and Google claim to be climate leaders and point to their net\u2011zero targets, yet they are turning a blind eye as their suppliers and data center hosts construct massive gas plants to fuel compute power. From East Asian semiconductor hubs to Southeast Asian data center clusters, powering AI with fossil gas is a total climate failure. This is no longer a matter of voluntary targets. Policymakers must mandate 100% renewable procurement across big tech&#8217;s supply chains, and block energy suppliers from exploiting AI power demand to lock in new LNG infrastructure.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Manun Wongmasoh, Climate and Energy Campaigner at Greenpeace Thailand, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cIn Thailand and across Southeast Asia, communities are already suffering the frontline impacts of extreme weather, facing severe flood and heat impacts driven by the climate crisis. Watching utility companies and tech firms lock our energy systems into decades of gas under the badge of AI progress is deeply frustrating. Gas is not a transition fuel\u2014it drives climate disruption. Southeast Asia has abundant solar and wind potential that can power our digital future safely. The energy for tomorrow\u2019s technology must be built on 100% clean, renewable systems.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Joe Rafalowicz, Head of Climate and Energy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cThe impacts of the climate crisis are escalating: As Australia takes the reins of global climate negotiations at COP31, it should be leading the region in phasing out coal and gas exports so we have a chance at avoiding the most extreme impacts of a hotter world \u2014 not opening up new gas projects to power hyperscale data centres running AI applications. Prolonging the life of polluting fossil fuels simply puts the profits of big tech and gas corporations ahead of communities and the natural world. It is indefensible. AI data centres should run on 100% renewable energy no matter where they are located, not serve as an excuse to fast-track new gas and keep polluting.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Additional Materials &amp; Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Greenpeace Asia Pacific Joint Statement:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/press\/69218\/gastech-2026-asias-growing-energy-needs-cannot-justify-fossil-gas-expansion\/\"> Gastech 2026: Asia&#8217;s Growing Energy Needs Cannot Justify Fossil Gas Expansion<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Greenpeace &amp; Thai Local Community Gastech Opening Press Release: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/press\/69245\/greenpeace-thailand-calls-out-anutins-government-at-gastech-2026-stop-prioritizing-carbon-majors-over-peoples-lives\/\">Greenpeace Thailand Calls Out Anutin\u2019s Government at Gastech 2026: Stop Prioritizing Carbon Majors Over People\u2019s Lives<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Greenpeace Reactive Statement:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/press\/69232\/greenpeace-east-asia-slams-japans-gas-push-and-outdated-auto-strategy-at-gastech-2026-as-a-dangerous-climate-trap\/\">Greenpeace East Asia Slams Japan\u2019s Gas Push and Outdated Auto Strategy at Gastech 2026 as a \u201cDangerous Climate Trap\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Notes to Editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Regional context: Asia Pacific at the Epicenter of Global AI Expansion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Asia Pacific sits at the center of the world\u2019s AI infrastructure boom. East Asia accounts for about three\u2011quarters of global semiconductor manufacturing capacity, with Taiwan and South Korea dominating advanced nodes, while Southeast Asia\u2014led by Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines\u2014has also attracted tens of billions of dollars in new data center investment [4]. The push for fossil gas to meet AI energy demands presents severe risks to local environments, air quality, and livelihoods across multiple key markets:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>East Asia: <\/strong>Surging power demand for AI chip production has been used by governments and utilities to fast-track new LNG terminals and plants. Greenpeace Seoul&#8217;s health impact assessment on South Korea\u2019s largest semiconductor mega-cluster reveals that proposed gas plants supplying power to chip fabs would release substantial air pollution, directly endangering regional public health, with impacts potentially totaling up to 1,161 cumulative deaths over the projects\u2019 30-year lifespan and annual socio-economic costs from premature deaths projected at US$22.5 million to US$59.4 million [5], while Greenpeace research on Taiwan\u2019s technology sector similarly shows that heavy reliance on fossil-fueled electricity for electronics manufacturing degrades local air quality and could result in nearly US$500 million in health-related economic damages across nearby communities by 2030 [6].<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Southeast Asia: <\/strong>Rapid data center construction in countries like Thailand and Malaysia risks entrenching power grid reliance on fossil gas. A regional synthesis by Greenpeace Southeast Asia highlights how large-scale compute hubs place severe stress on local resources through massive daily water usage for evaporative cooling and continuous noise pollution in neighboring communities [7].<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Australia Pacific:<\/strong> Expanding gas exports to feed data centers is hurting communities across the gas supply chain, driving climate-fuelled disasters, coastal habitat destruction, local pollution, and displacing local fishing and tourism-dependent communities. A recent Greenpeace Australia Pacific report showed that soaring data center power demand threatens to consume up to 13% of Australia&#8217;s total electricity supply by 2040, extending national reliance on gas and fossil fuels [8].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[1] PwC, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwc.com\/gx\/en\/news-room\/press-releases\/2026\/global-investment-in-ai-infrastructure.html\"><em>Global Data Centre Outlook<\/em> <\/a>(September 2026)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[2] Energy Connects, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energyconnects.com\/opinion\/features\/2026\/september\/regulators-urged-to-move-faster-as-ai-surge-now-shapes-energy-markets\/\"><em>Regulators Urged to Move Faster as AI Surge Now Shapes Energy Markets<\/em><\/a> (September 2026)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[3]Yahoo Finance, <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/energy\/articles\/baker-hughes-ceo-sees-no-233006391.html\"><em>Baker Hughes CEO Sees No \u2018Slowdown\u2019 in Energy Projects, Says High Prices Could Spur New Supply: \u2018Full Steam Ahead\u2019<\/em> <\/a>(September 2026)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[4] Arizton, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openpr.com\/news\/4611036\/southeast-asia-data-center-market-investment-to-reach-usd-35-08\"><em>Southeast Asia Data Center Market Investment to Reach USD 35.08 Billion by 2031<\/em><\/a> (August 2026)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[5] Greenpeace Korea, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/korea\/report\/37273\/report-yongin-health-impact-assessment\/\"><em>Health Impact Assessment of the Proposed Yongin Semiconductor Cluster LNG Power Plant<\/em><\/a> (April 2026)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[6] Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) &amp; Greenpeace East Asia, <a href=\"https:\/\/energyandcleanair.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CREA_Greenpeace_HIA_Taiwan-EM-emissions-2026-updated.pdf\"><em>Health Impact Assessment of Electronics Industry Electricity Consumption in Taiwan<\/em><\/a> (March 2026)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[7] Greenpeace Southeast Asia, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/malaysia\/press\/83760\/civil-society-calls-for-ban-on-data-centres-near-residential-areas\/\"><em>Civil society calls for ban on data centres near residential areas<\/em><\/a> (July 2026)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[8] Greenpeace Australia Pacific, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org.au\/greenpeace-reports\/ai-data-centres-draining-energy-australia\/\"><em>Energy Vampires: The AI Data Centres Draining Australia<\/em><\/a> (May 2026)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Media Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yujie Xue, International Communications Officer, Greenpeace East Asia, +852 5127 3416, <a href=\"mailto:yujie.xue@greenpeace.org\">yujie.xue@greenpeace.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As energy majors, hyperscalers, and ministers gather in Bangkok for the AixEnergy Summit at Gastech 2026, Greenpeace East Asia warns that using fossil gas to fuel the artificial intelligence boom is a high-risk gamble threatening global climate targets and frontline communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":69245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/press\/69241\/greenpeace-east-asia-warns-at-gastech-2026-ai-energy-surge-cannot-justify-fossil-gas-expansion\/","p4_seo_meta_title":"","p4_seo_meta_description":"","p4_campaign_name":"Global Gas","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[6,22,100],"p4-page-type":[14],"class_list":["post-69241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate-energy","category-protect-nature","tag-climate-impacts","tag-reduce-air-pollution","tag-renewable-energy","p4-page-type-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69241"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69275,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69241\/revisions\/69275"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69241"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/eastasia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=69241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}