AI pushes Google's greenhouse gases up by 48% in under 5 years, Microsoft's up by 30% since 2020

Google’s greenhouse gas emissions have soared by nearly 50 per cent over the past five years, driven primarily by the energy-intensive demands of data centres needed to support artificial intelligence.

This significant increase was highlighted in Google’s 2024 Environmental Report, released on Tuesday. The annual report details the company’s progress towards its goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

In 2023, Google reported emitting 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, representing a 48 per cent rise since 2019 and a 13 per cent increase from the previous year.

The report attributes this sharp rise to the growing energy consumption of data centres and supply chain emissions. As AI becomes more integrated into Google’s products, reducing emissions is becoming increasingly challenging due to the heightened energy requirements of expanding technical infrastructure.

The report underscores the environmental impact of the AI boom. Major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Apple are heavily investing in AI, but training AI models and using AI features demand vast amounts of energy.

Research conducted in 2023 by AI startup Hugging Face and Carnegie Mellon University found that generating a single AI image can consume as much energy as charging a smartphone. Analysts at Bernstein have warned that AI could potentially double the rate of US electricity demand growth, possibly surpassing the current supply within the next two years.

In parallel, Microsoft, which has also committed to becoming carbon-negative by the end of this decade, reported a nearly 30 per cent increase in greenhouse gas emissions since 2020, largely due to the construction of data centres.

Google’s report also noted a significant rise in water usage by its data centres, necessitated by the cooling needs of expanded AI workloads. These workloads have included various applications, such as Google Search’s quirky suggestions and Gemini, the company’s AI-powered chatbot, producing controversial content.

In 2023, Google’s data centres consumed 17 per cent more water than the previous year, amounting to 6.1 billion litres. This volume is enough to irrigate approximately 41 golf courses annually in the southwestern United States. Google acknowledged in its report that the total greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise before eventually declining towards the company’s emissions reduction target.

However, the report did not specify the factors that would drive this anticipated decrease. It was noted that predicting the future environmental impact of AI is complex and evolving, and historical trends may not fully capture AI’s future trajectory.

As AI becomes more deeply integrated across Google’s product portfolio, the distinction between AI and other workloads might become less significant.