Google is pumping out more greenhouse gas than ever before with its CO2 emissions surging by 48% in the past five years, writes Colin Fernandez.
The increased output stands in stark contrast to the tech giant's stated intention to produce net-zero emissions by the year 2030.
Its latest environmental report shows its greenhouse gas emissions were 13% higher in 2023 than 2022 - producing the equivalent of 14.3m 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.
Artificial intelligence, which uses vast amounts 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. '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.
They added: "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."
Google is not the only tech firm facing the challenge of feeding power-hungry AI data centres, while trying to curb climate changing greenhouse gases.
Microsoft said in its recent sustainability report that its greenhouse gas emissions last year were up 29% from 2020 as it continues "to invest in the infrastructure needed to advance new technologies."
Natalie Bennett, former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, commented on the rise in Google's emissions on X, saying: "AI does not exist in 'the cloud' - it is very much down to earth - it is very much down to earth and trashing the Earth."
She added: "We cannot keep treating this planet as a mine and a dumping ground."
Microsoft and Google have been in an AI race since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022. Both have pledged to be carbon neutral by the end of this decade.
A recent study by the International Energy Agency forecast that the amount of electricity used by the world's data centres in 2022 could double by 2026.
(Pic: Getty Images)
