A Scheme Shell (1994)

Google's emissions are up 50 percent

Google’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 48 percent since 2019, according to its 2024 environmental report. The company released 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023 alone.

This sharp rise directly contradicts Google’s 2020 pledge to achieve net-zero emissions across its operations by 2030. The primary driver is the explosive energy demand of its data centers, which are essential for powering artificial intelligence.

AI is the primary driver

The report explicitly links the increase to AI. “This result is primarily due to increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions,” Google states. The company notes that “predicting the future environmental impact of AI is complex and evolving.”

Training and running large AI models requires immense computational power. This has led to a surge in energy use and associated emissions across the entire tech sector.

• Google's data center electricity consumption grew 17% in 2023.
• Total data center energy use now accounts for 7-10% of global electricity, a figure expected to rise with AI.
• Microsoft's emissions are also up 30% since 2020, driven by similar AI infrastructure demands.

Renewable energy progress is not enough

Google has made significant investments in renewable energy. In 2023, it matched 64 percent of its electricity use with carbon-free energy on an hourly basis, a key metric for clean operations.

However, the sheer growth in total energy demand is outpacing these clean energy additions. The company admits that “the future environmental impact of AI” is a significant challenge to its climate goals.

Tech giants face a reckoning

Google’s report highlights a broader industry crisis. The race to develop and deploy AI is colliding with public climate commitments. Microsoft has similarly reported a 29 percent increase in emissions since 2020.

Both companies are investing heavily in carbon removal technologies and next-generation clean energy like geothermal and advanced nuclear to bridge the gap. Google says it is “actively working” on ways to make AI computing more efficient.

Yet the current trajectory shows a clear trend: the AI boom is making the tech industry’s climate targets much harder to reach. The 2030 deadline for net-zero operations is now just six years away.