Carbon emissions from Big Tech soar with the growth of AI
The accelerated growth of artificial intelligence is causing a significant increase in carbon emissions from tech giants. Companies like Amazon and Google face a dilemma: how to balance their sustainability goals with the growing energy demand driven by AI? In 2025, Amazon's emissions rose by 16%, reaching about 81 million tons of CO2, equivalent to the emissions of 19 million gasoline-powered cars. The increase was driven by the construction of data centers and the fuel used in deliveries.
Google also saw its "ambitious" emissions rise by 18% in 2025. Emissions from its operations, excluding purchased electricity, increased by 20%, partly due to the expansion of its data centers. While Amazon plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, Google's target is 2030. However, even with these goals, the reality is that Google's electricity usage increased by 37% last year. The company achieved a slight reduction in purchased electricity emissions thanks to clean energy. Meanwhile, Amazon experienced a 34% increase in emissions related to electricity purchases.
Other tech giants also face similar challenges. Microsoft has pledged to match 100% of its electricity consumption with clean energy by 2030, but may reconsider due to the expansion of data centers. In their latest reports, Microsoft and Meta reported emission increases of 23% and 64%, respectively. Meta has set a net zero emissions target for 2030 across its entire value chain.
The energy appetite of data centers is driving up electricity bills and fueling investments in fossil fuel infrastructure in the U.S. SpaceX, for example, uses gas turbines to operate its AI data centers in Tennessee and Mississippi. Additionally, the production of hardware, concrete, and steel for these facilities also consumes a lot of energy. In Google's new report, there was a 25% increase in supply chain emissions, primarily attributed to hardware manufacturing and data center construction.
Critics argue that the industry should do more to reduce its carbon footprint. Sasha Luccioni, co-founder of the Sustainable AI Group, states that we are in a climate crisis and that the growth of emissions is unacceptable. Amazon and Google maintain their commitment to sustainability goals but acknowledge that the path to zero emissions will not be linear.
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