Google’s latest sustainability report reveals a concerning trend: carbon emissions are on the rise, fueled by the company’s aggressive push into artificial intelligence. The 2025 report indicates an 11% jump in ambition-based emissions, totaling 11.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution. This setback jeopardizes Google’s commitment to halving its emissions by 2030.
The report attributes the surge in emissions to the burgeoning energy demands of AI development. While Google has managed to reduce carbon emissions from its data centers, they still remain above 2019 levels. The rapid evolution of AI technologies is making accurate future projections more challenging.
Google is not alone in facing this challenge. Microsoft and Meta, other major players in the AI space, are also grappling with escalating energy consumption. The industry is actively exploring strategies to develop more energy-efficient AI models, but the current trajectory suggests a significant and growing environmental impact from AI technologies.