Google’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 were 48% higher than in 2019, driven by the increasing energy needs of its data centers, exacerbated by the growth of artificial intelligence (AI). The tech giant’s latest environmental report highlights the substantial energy consumption of AI-powered services, which require significantly more computer power and electricity compared to standard online activities. Despite Google’s goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2030, the company acknowledged in its 2024 Environmental Report that integrating AI into its products will make reducing emissions challenging.
The report reveals that data centers, essential for AI operations, consume vast amounts of energy, with AI systems like ChatGPT using around 33 times more energy than task-specific software. Google also notes significant regional disparities in the energy sources for its data centers, with those in Europe and the Americas primarily using carbon-free energy, while centers in the Middle East, Asia, and Australia rely more on carbon-based sources. Overall, about two-thirds of Google’s energy comes from carbon-free sources.
Tom Jackson, a professor at Loughborough University, emphasizes the hidden environmental impact of cloud storage and the importance of reducing “dark data,” which is stored but rarely used. He commends Google’s ambitious net zero target for its data centers but warns that achieving this goal will be extremely difficult due to the high energy demands of AI and the prevalence of dark data.
