- Google's electricity consumption surged from 31 TWh in 2024 to 43 TWh in 2025, marking the largest increase ever and surpassing Microsoft.
- The exponential growth in energy use is driven by generative AI systems, causing emissions to rise faster than grid decarbonization.
- Google's climate report includes misleading claims, such as 'avoided emissions' from products like Google Earth and efficiency metrics that mask absolute consumption increases.
- The company's focus on per-query energy efficiency distracts from the overall climate impact, with AI infrastructure accelerating beyond renewable energy capacity.
- Google's water consumption for data centers is compared to golf courses, highlighting resource use for few, similar to generative AI's environmental burden.
- Despite clean energy deals, Google's power consumption emissions are climbing, with scope 3 emissions largely excluded from headline figures.
- The article criticizes Google's 'AI solutionism' and greenwashing, noting that previous claims about AI reducing global emissions have been toned down but remain problematic.