Noel Walsh, the head of Microsoft's development department, sent an internal email this week to reassure employees, addressing their concerns about the energy consumption, water usage, carbon emissions, and local community impacts of data centers. He acknowledged that the AI business has made it more challenging to meet carbon emission commitments, but also pointed out that hardware energy efficiency and water usage indicators have improved. Microsoft also plans to build renewable energy projects on a scale of tens of gigawatts, emphasizing that data center construction must adhere to strict guidelines and maintain transparency to continuously reduce negative impacts and amplify social benefits.