Happy New Year! As we step into 2026, it’s a crucial moment to reflect on the digital world we are building. This edition focuses on a critical intersection: the immense environmental footprint of our Internet infrastructure and the fight for a just digital transition, seen through the eyes of Asia-Pacific youth.
The Internet is not a cloud—it’s a network of energy-hungry physical infrastructure. The rapid expansion of data centers and AI in the Asia-Pacific, often powered by fossil fuels, creates a stark dilemma: our region is driving global digital growth while bearing the brunt of climate impacts. For youth, this isn’t an abstract policy issue; it’s about the future of our homes, our data, and our right to a healthy planet.
The Hidden Carbon Footprint of the Internet
The AI and data center boom is fueling an unprecedented demand for electricity. According to a PwC report, electricity consumption by data centers in Asia-Pacific is expected to skyrocket from 320 terawatt-hours in 2024 to 780 terawatt-hours by 2030. Alarmingly, only 32% of this future demand is projected to be met by renewable energy, creating what PwC calls a significant “clean energy gap.” For comparison, the IEA estimates renewables need to exceed 60% of power generation by 2030 to align with net‑zero pathways.
This growth is concentrated in a region where 49% of the total energy supply still comes from coal. In a region where nearly half of the total energy supply still comes from coal, this means much of the digital expansion is being locked into fossil‑fuel‑based systems—far from the global benchmarks needed to meet climate targets. AI, Climate & Energy Summit Asia 2025 noted that Southeast Asia alone could drive over 25% of global electricity demand growth by 2035, with AI’s energy needs being a major factor. This means the backbone of our digital lives is increasingly tied to the very fossil fuels exacerbating the climate crisis. Countries like India, Malaysia, and Indonesia are among the top growth markets, but this expansion faces critical challenges like water scarcity and strained power grids.
Beyond the “Tech for Good”: Fight against Digital Extractivism
The pursuit of climate solutions can sometimes perpetuate injustice. There is a growing call against “digital extractivism,” where environmental data from the Global South is collected by external actors but not controlled by local communities.
The Pacific Islands are leading the call for climate data sovereignty. At the 2025 Pacific Islands Forum, leaders strongly reasserted regional autonomy, insisting that global engagement must be “grounded in respect for its cohesion and leadership.” This stance is a direct response to being frontline nations facing existential threats—where climate data increasingly shapes decisions about funding, adaptation, and even future habitability.
True resilience comes from community-led, locally owned projects. Initiatives often cited as successful by adaptation agencies and local partners are in the Cook Islands and Federated States of Micronesia, funded through the Adaptation Fund’s “direct access” scheme, empower communities to manage their own adaptation—from building early warning systems to restoring marine ecosystems. As a local community representative from Mauke in the Cook Islands explained in a project evaluation, “The project gave us the tools, but more importantly it gave us the confidence to lead our own resilience.”
What Should “Green Internet Governance” Look Like in 2026?
The future of Internet governance must be ecologically literate. This means embedding climate impact assessments into digital policy and setting enforceable green standards for data centers, platforms, and service providers. While environmental sustainability has entered global digital policy discussions, climate justice—focused on inequality, responsibility, and participation—remains underdeveloped in forums like IGF, WSIS+20, and regional IGFs like APrIGF. This gap also represents an opportunity for youth voices to shape how climate concerns are framed in digital governance spaces.
Several emerging justice questions are increasingly intersecting with green Internet governance. These include how Indigenous and community knowledge is recognized in digital climate tools, how ‘solutions’ are defined by whom, and how environmental harms such as e‑waste dumping—often concentrated in Asia and Africa—are governed.
These shifts are starting to happen. At Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2025, multiple youth-led proposals surfaced calling for greener Internet frameworks, more just digital infrastructures, and climate accountability across the tech sector. But much more remains to be done.
Read more: UN Digital Cooperation Roadmap
We Code the Future
The next chapter of the Internet is being written not only in policy halls but in the lived experiences of young people across the Asia‑Pacific. As the generation that will inherit the consequences of today’s decisions, youth must insist that sustainability is inseparable from justice.
The future is not just connected; it’s collective. Let’s build it.
NetMission Digest – 2026: Issue #1 (Jan 14, 2026)
Written by Yukako Ban (Reviewed by Jenie Fernando)