Google points to artificial intelligence and the pressure it puts on energy-guzzling data centers to fuel emissions growth.
Three years ago, Google laid out an ambitious plan to tackle climate change by becoming “net zero,” meaning that by 2030 the company would no longer emit more climate-changing gases into the air than it took out.
But a report from the company on Tuesday showed it is still a long way from achieving that goal.
Instead of falling, emissions rose by 13 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. Compared to the base year of 2019, emissions increased by 48 percent.
According to Google, artificial intelligence was the reason for last year’s growth, as was the huge demand for data centers it requires.
When you generate electricity by burning coal or natural gas, you release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. These gases heat up the planet and cause more extreme weather conditions.
The company has made one of the most significant climate commitments in the industry and is seen as a leader.
Google should do more to partner with cleaner companies and invest in the electric grid, according to Lisa Sachs, director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment.
“The reality is that we are far behind what we could be doing right now with the technology that we have, with the resources that we have, in terms of advancing the transition,” she said.
Kate Brandt, Google’s chief sustainability officer, told the Associated Press: “Reaching this net zero target by 2030 is an extremely ambitious goal.
“We know this won’t be easy and our approach will need to continue to evolve,” Brandt added. “We’re going to face a lot of uncertainty in doing so, including uncertainty about the future of AI’s environmental impacts.”
Demand for AI electricity
Some experts said the rapidly expanding data centers needed to power AI threaten the entire transition to clean electricity, a key part of addressing climate change. That’s because a new data center could delay the closure of a fossil-fuel power plant or spur construction of a new one. Not only are data centers energy-intensive, they require high-voltage power lines and consume significant amounts of water to stay cool. They’re also noisy.
They are often built in places where electricity is cheapest, rather than in places where renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, are a major source of energy.
Global demand for electricity from data centers and AI could double by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency.
Other big tech companies are also facing sustainability challenges due to the proliferation of data centers. They caused Microsoft’s emissions to grow 29 percent above its 2020 baseline, the company said in a May environmental sustainability report.
Tech companies claim that AI not only contributes to climate change, but also helps tackle it.
In Google’s case, that could mean using data to predict future flooding or to help traffic flow more efficiently to save gas.
Amanda Smith, a senior scientist at the climate nonprofit Project Drawdown, said those using AI — whether big companies or individuals making memes — should do so responsibly. That means using the energy only when it benefits society.
“It’s up to us as a people to look at what we’re doing with it and ask ourselves why we’re doing it,” Smith added. “If it’s worth it, we can make sure those demands are met by clean energy sources.”
Google’s emissions grew last year in part because the company used more energy — 25,910 gigawatt-hours more, up from the year before and more than double the hours of energy used just four years earlier. A gigawatt-hour is roughly the amount of energy a power plant serving hundreds of thousands of homes produces in one hour.
On the positive side, as Google’s consumption grows, so does its use of renewable energy.
The company said in 2020 that it would meet its massive electricity needs using only clean energy, every hour of every day, worldwide by 2030. Last year, Google said, it averaged 64 percent carbon-free energy for its data centers and offices around the world. The company said its data centers are on average 1.8 times more energy efficient than others in the industry.
Sachs praised Google for its ambition and honesty, but said she hopes “Google will join us in a deeper conversation about how we can accelerate clean energy” amid the climate crisis, “so that things don’t get much worse before they get better.”