Google’s greenhouse gas emissions have surged 48 per cent in the past five years due to the expansion of its data centres that underpin artificial intelligence systems, leaving its commitment to get to “net zero” by 2030 in doubt.
Chief sustainability officer Kate Brandt said the company remained committed to the 2030 target but stressed the “extremely ambitious” nature of the goal. In May, Microsoft admitted that its emissions had risen by almost a third since 2020, in large part due to the construction of data centres. However, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates last week also argued that AI would help propel climate solutions.
Google’s supply chain emissions – its largest chunk, representing 75 per cent of its total emissions – also rose 8 per cent. Google said they would “continue to rise in the near term” as a result in part of the buildout of the infrastructure needed to run AI systems.