The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is having a significant environmental impact, with tech giants facing scrutiny over their greenhouse gas emissions from data centers and AI operations. According to a recent United Nations report, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta have seen their indirect emissions rise by an average of 150% between 2020 and 2023, primarily due to increased power consumption required for data centers and AI processing.
Microsoft reported a 30% emissions rise in 2023 alone, while Google's emissions grew by 13% in 2023 and 48% since 2019. The energy consumption of data centers, cryptocurrencies, and AI is substantial, with these sectors consuming about 460 TWh of electricity worldwide in 2022, almost 2% of total global electricity demand.
The projected energy demand for data centers is expected to double by 2026, with AI technologies like ChatGPT contributing significantly to rising emissions. In response to growing concerns, tech giants such as AWS, Google, Meta, and Microsoft have signed an open letter urging data center suppliers to disclose their embodied emissions.
The lack of transparency hinders the companies' ability to mitigate emissions and achieve climate goals. The companies are working to develop standards for carbon reporting and investing in solutions like carbon capture and storage. As the world grapples with the challenges of climate change, the environmental impact of AI and data centers will likely remain a pressing issue.
