Datacentres drive up big tech's carbon emissions to a third of those of France
4 hours ago
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- Microsoft, Amazon, and Google's combined carbon emissions rose by nearly a fifth to 119m mTCO₂e in the past year, driven by datacentre construction for AI.
- The surge reverses previous climate efforts, with Microsoft reporting a 25% increase, Google 18%, and Amazon 16%, largely due to supply chain and infrastructure expansion.
- Critics argue that claims of sustainable clouds are marketing, and cloud migration allows other companies to outsource their carbon footprints to these tech giants.
- The AI boom is fueling massive investment, with tech companies projected to spend $765bn this year on datacentres, leading to a potential shortage of carbon credits.
- Global datacentre construction is expected to accelerate, with 1,200 new facilities by 2030, doubling electricity demand and challenging net-zero goals by 2030 or 2040.