Google’s 2024 Environmental Report reveals a substantial increase in greenhouse gas emissions, with a nearly 50 percent rise over the last five years. This significant uptick is attributed to the growing energy demands of data centers necessary for powering artificial intelligence (AI). In 2023, the company emitted 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, a 48 percent increase compared to 2019 and a 13 percent rise from the previous year.
The report highlights that the surge in emissions is primarily due to increased data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions. As Google integrates more AI into its products, managing and reducing emissions is becoming increasingly challenging due to the higher energy demands associated with AI technology and infrastructure investments. This trend reflects a broader issue within the tech industry, where AI’s energy requirements are contributing significantly to overall carbon footprints.
The impact of AI on the environment is further underscored by the fact that Google’s data centers are using more water than before to manage the heat generated by expanded AI workloads. In 2023, water consumption increased by 17 percent compared to the previous year, with data centers consuming 6.1 billion liters of water. This volume of water is sufficient to irrigate approximately 41 golf courses annually in the southwestern United States.
Google’s report also indicates that future emissions may continue to rise before eventually declining, as the company aims to meet its carbon neutrality goal by 2030. The challenge of predicting AI’s future environmental impact is complex, and the integration of AI across Google’s product portfolio complicates the distinction between AI-related and other types of workloads.
