Google’s carbon emissions have surged 51% since 2019 as artificial intelligence drives massive increases in datacenter energy consumption, derailing the tech giant’s climate commitments. The company reported a 27% year-over-year increase in electricity consumption, with AI’s power demands growing faster than Google can deploy clean energy solutions to offset them.
The big picture: AI’s explosive growth is creating an unprecedented energy challenge for tech companies, with datacenters projected to consume as much electricity as Japan by 2026.
- The International Energy Agency estimates datacenter electricity consumption could double from 2022 levels to 1,000TWh by 2026, roughly equivalent to Japan’s total electricity demand.
- Research firm SemiAnalysis calculates that AI will drive datacenters to consume 4.5% of global energy generation by 2030.
- Google’s scope 3 emissions—those from its supply chain—increased 22% in 2024, primarily driven by datacenter expansion needed to power AI models like Gemini.
Key challenge: Clean energy deployment is lagging behind AI’s voracious appetite for power, creating a widening gap between environmental goals and technological ambitions.
- Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), touted as a potential solution for carbon-free datacenter power, remain “behind schedule” according to Google’s report.
- The company cited “slower-than-needed deployment of carbon-free energy technologies at scale” as a critical obstacle to meeting 2030 climate targets.
- Google acknowledged that rapid AI evolution may drive “non-linear growth in energy demand,” making future emissions trajectories increasingly unpredictable.
What Google is doing: The company continues aggressive clean energy procurement while hoping AI applications will eventually offset their own carbon footprint.
- Since 2010, Google has signed over 170 agreements for more than 22 gigawatts of clean energy, with 8GW in new contracts signed in 2024 alone.
- The company brought 2.5GW of new clean energy online in 2024, marking a record year for clean energy deals.
- Google aims to help reduce 1 gigaton of carbon-equivalent emissions annually by 2030 through AI applications that optimize energy use and solar panel placement.
Important stats: Google’s total emissions reached 11.5 million tons of CO₂-equivalent gases, representing an 11% year-over-year increase.
- The 51% increase since 2019 was “primarily driven by increases in supply chain emissions” related to datacenter infrastructure.
- Despite the surge in AI-related emissions, Google did achieve one environmental milestone early: eliminating plastic packaging from all new products launched in 2024.
Why this matters: Google’s struggle illustrates the broader tension between AI innovation and climate commitments across the tech industry, highlighting the urgent need for breakthrough clean energy technologies to power the AI revolution sustainably.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...