Google is pumping out more greenhouse gas than ever before – with its CO2 emissions surging by 48 per cent in the past five years.
This is despite the tech giant’s intention to producer net-zero emissions by 2030.
Google’s latest environmental report shows that its greenhouse gas emissions were 13 per cent higher in 2023 than 2022 – producing the equivalent of 14.3 million tonnes of CO2.
That is a similar amount of CO2 as would be generated in a year by around 29 gas-fired power stations.
The main reason was increased energy use from data centre consumption and its supply chain, the report said, as well as artificial intelligence (AI).
Google’s latest environmental report shows that its greenhouse gas emissions were 13 per cent higher in 2023 than 2022 – producing the equivalent of 14.3 million tonnes of CO2
AI – which uses a lot of computing power and in turn electricity – is pushing up the firm’s energy use and will make cutting emissions ‘challenging’, the company said.
The increase in emissions came even though Google has been increasing its use of solar and wind generated clean energy, which don’t belch out emissions like fossil fuels (such as coal and gas).
‘In spite of the progress we’re making, we face significant challenges that we’re actively working through,’ chief sustainability officer Kate Brandt and senior vice president Benedict Gomes said in the report.
‘As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute, and the emissions associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment.’
In January, Google committed to investing $1 billion dollars (£788 million) in the UK to build a new data centre in response to demands around AI.
Prompted largely by the success of rival ChatGPT, Google has investing hugely in AI as part of its Gemini chatbot tool, as well as software on its smartphones.
Google is pushing AI on its smartphones and search tools including Gemini, its version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT
Google is not the only tech firm facing the challenge of feeding power-hungry AI data centers, while trying to curb creation of climate-changing greenhouse gas.
Microsoft said in its recent sustainability report that its greenhouse gas emissions last year were up 29 percent from 2020 as it continues ‘to invest in the infrastructure needed to advance new technologies.’
Microsoft and Google have been front runners in an AI race since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022.
AI has been a theme for the rivals in blockbuster earnings performances quarter after quarter.
Meanwhile, Google and Microsoft have each pledged to be carbon neutral by the end of this decade.
Microsoft has an added goal of being carbon-negative, taking climate-harming gas out of the air, by 2050.
Amazon, also an AI contender with its AWS cloud computing division, has said it is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2040.