TY - JOUR AU - Deenadayal Thirunahari PY - 2025 DA - 2025/07/05 TI - Carbon Emission Reduction through AI-Based Energy Optimization in Data Centers JO - Global Journal of Engineering Innovations and Interdisciplinary Research VL - 5 IS - 3 AB - Data centers are at the heart of today’s digital infrastructure, supporting everything from cloud computing to enterprise applications. However, their rapid growth has led to increasing energy consumption and a substantial carbon footprint. This research proposes an AI-based framework for real-time energy optimization in data centers, aiming to significantly reduce power usage and associated carbon emissions. The framework integrates machine learning for workload prediction, decision-tree algorithms for thermal-aware workload scheduling, and deep reinforcement learning for intelligent cooling control. Implemented and validated in a simulated environment using CloudSim and realtime data emulation, the system demonstrated a total energy saving of 22.5% and a carbon emission reduction of approximately 972 kg CO₂e over a one-week test cycle. Comparative analysis against baseline methods confirmed significant improvements in server utilization, cooling efficiency, and IT power consumption. The results illustrate that AI can be a transformative tool for sustainable data center operations, offering a practical pathway toward greener and more efficient digital ecosystems. SN - 3066-1226 UR - https://dx.doi.org/10.33425/3066-1226.1148 DO - 10.33425/3066-1226.1148