Google's Emissions Surge Nearly 50% Over Five Years, Threatening 2030 Net-Zero Goal Amid AI Expansion

Jul 2, 2024, 07:10 PM

Google's greenhouse gas emissions have surged nearly 50% over the past five years, primarily due to the expansion of data centers needed to support its artificial intelligence (AI) systems. This significant increase in emissions casts doubt on Google's commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2030. The rise in emissions is attributed to the growing power demands of AI technology, which has also impacted other tech giants like Microsoft, whose emissions have risen by a third since 2020. Google's supply chain emissions, which represent 75% of its total emissions, also rose by 8% and are expected to continue rising in the near term as the company builds out infrastructure for AI systems. Rather than declining, Google's emissions grew 13% in 2023 over the year before, according to its latest environmental report. This surge comes during the company's Gemini AI era.