Google’s emissions have jumped by nearly half in five years as AI surges

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Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) carbon emissions have surged nearly 50% in the past five years due to the increase in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions driven by power demands of artificial intelligence systems, the company said this week in its annual environmental report.

Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) said its emissions rose to 14.3M metric tons of carbon equivalent in 2023, up 48% from its 2019 baseline and a 13% increase from the previous year, which would appear to threaten its commitment to reach “net zero” by 2030.

The company said its 2023 energy-related emissions, which come primarily from data center electricity consumption, rose 37% Y/Y and overall represented 25% of its total greenhouse gas emissions.

The impact of AI on electricity demand is well documented, as electricity demand is forecast to grow as much as 20% by 2030, with AI data centers alone expected to add ~323 TWh of electricity demand in the U.S., CNBC has reported.

Analysts at Bernstein said recently that AI would “double the rate of U.S. electricity demand growth and total consumption could outstrip current supply in the next two years.”

Renewables are expected to play an important role in meeting AI energy demands, but Wells Fargo analyst Roger Read told CNBC that early implementation will be difficult due to factors such as the time needed to build the power lines that transport resources to the data centers.

Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) is not the only tech titan to acknowledge rising emissions due to AI demand; Microsoft said in May that its emissions rose nearly a third since 2020 largely due to the construction of data centers.

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