AI integration escalates Google’s energy use

Google’s annual sustainability report reveals a nearly 50% increase in greenhouse gas emissions from 2019 to 2024, primarily due to its data centres and supply chain. The 2024 Environmental Report indicates that Google emitted 14.3 million tons of CO2 equivalent last year, raising concerns about its goal to be net zero by 2030. The company expects emissions to rise further before declining, attributing this trend to the growing energy demands of AI integration and increased investment in technical infrastructure.

Efforts to make data centres more efficient, such as using a new generation of tensor processing units (TPUs), have been offset by the rising energy consumption required for AI. Scope 2 emissions, mainly from data centre electricity use, increased by 37% compared to 2022. The rise outpaced the company’s ability to implement carbon-free energy projects, particularly in the United States and Asia-Pacific region. Differences between Google’s global approach to carbon-free energy and the regional guidelines of the GHG Protocol have also contributed to this mismatch.

Scope 3 emissions, which account for 75% of Google’s overall emissions, rose by 8% year-on-year. These indirect emissions from the supply chain are expected to continue increasing due to capital expenditures and investments in AI-related infrastructure. A single generative AI query consumes nearly ten times the power of a regular Google search, highlighting the significant energy demands of AI technology.

Why does it matter?

Additionally, Google’s data centres consume more than three times the amount of water that Microsoft does to remain cool, underscoring the environmental challenges posed by the tech giant’s operations. The report suggests that while Google is making strides in efficiency, the rapid growth of AI and its associated infrastructure presents significant sustainability challenges.