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.