AI expansion vs. climate goals: Can companies achieve both?

Hundreds of companies have vowed to reduce their carbon emissions in recent years. But with AI on the rise, carbon-neutral goals are only getting more challenging to achieve.

In 2019, before AI made its way to the forefront, Amazon cofounded The Climate Pledge, which committed more than 500 companies to net-zero goals by 2040. The following year, another 90 companies joined The Better Climate Challenge, which proposed lowering emissions by 50% by 2030. While the goals are headed in the right direction, climate emissions are not, especially now that many of those same companies are focused on AI efforts.

Google, for instance, was once widely viewed as one of the leaders of the clean energy movement, but now its emissions are increasing rather than shrinking. The company revealed in a new report that it had vowed to go net-zero but that its emissions grew 13% in 2023. Compared to 2019, emissions soared even more—by a staggering 48%. “As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging,” the report reads.

The company says AI is the culprit, as it puts a greater demand on data centers that require a ton of electricity to keep up and running. The company is no longer claiming the “net-zero” label and says it plans to achieve this now by 2030.

Google isn’t alone. Microsoft’s emissions have grown by 29% since 2020 after constructing data centers to meet AI’s growing demand. In its 2024 sustainability report, the company addressed the rise in emissions, saying, “The infrastructure and electricity needed for these technologies create new challenges for meeting sustainability commitments across the tech sector.” And while Amazon’s carbon emissions dropped by 3% last year, the company said they expect challenges as they lean into AI.

And we’re only just seeing the beginning of those challenges. AI tools like ChatGPT require significantly more energy than a standard Google search. As technology continues to become more advance and we become more tech-reliant, more energy will be needed. A May 2024 Goldman Sachs report predicted that the carbon dioxide emissions of data centers could more than double between 2022 and 2030.

The transition to clean energy is massively important, as fossil fuels remain the biggest driver of climate change, impacting everything from extreme heat to ocean currents, air quality, certain cancers, and so much more. As parts of the country brace for yet another crushing heat wave, climate change feels like an issue we can’t afford to put on the back burner.

The surge in AI has done precisely that.

Now, tech companies trying to embrace technology while remaining accountable to the environment will have to reckon with their choices.