Tech companies' AI data centers increase carbon emissions despite climate pledges

Major technology companies including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are producing more carbon emissions than expected, because of the rapid growth of AI data centres. These companies set climate targets around 2020, promising to reach net-zero emissions by 2030 or 2050, but AI has changed the situation considerably.

Data centres now use roughly 4.6% of all electricity in the United States, and this figure could nearly triple by 2028. Many of these facilities run on natural gas rather than renewable energy, because clean energy supplies have not grown fast enough to meet demand. Instead of cutting their actual energy use, companies are increasingly buying carbon credits and renewable energy certificates to balance their figures. A 2025 review of corporate climate performance found that leading tech firms are doing poorly on most measures, and some analysts believe real emissions are higher than the numbers companies officially report.