A recent UN report highlights that indirect carbon emissions from Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta surged by an average of 150% from 2020 to 2023. Increased power demands for energy-intensive data centers, driven by rising artificial intelligence usage, are primarily responsible for this spike. Amazon reported the highest increase at 182%, followed by Microsoft (155%), Meta (145%), and Alphabet (138%). Although many digital companies have set emissions targets, substantial actual emissions reductions remain elusive as the energy demands of AI development continue to put pressure on existing infrastructure.
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is driving a sharp rise in global electricity demand, with electricity use by data centres increasing four times faster than the overall rise in electricity consumption.
As investment in AI increases, carbon emissions from the top-emitting AI systems are predicted to reach up to 102.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2) per year.
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