Green Dreams vs. AI Reality: Google's Emissions Soar Amid Tech Expansion

Alphabet Inc. GOOGL GOOG- owned Google’s emissions have surged by nearly 50% over the past five years as the company races to catch up with the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) into its products. This reflects a tough path for it to reach its goal of eliminating carbon emissions by 2030.

According to a recent environmental report, Google reported greenhouse gas emissions of 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent for 2023.

Despite aiming to eliminate emissions by 2030, Google’s emissions in 2023 were 48% higher than in 2019 and 13% higher than in 2022.

The increase is primarily due to higher energy consumption at its data centers and supply chain emissions, exacerbated by the intensive energy demands of AI technology.

As of 2022, global data center electricity consumption ranged from 240 to 340 TWh, accounting for approximately 1-1.3% of global electricity demand.

In 2023, Google’s data centers consumed over 24 TWh, representing around 7-10% of global data center electricity consumption and about 0.1% of global electricity demand.

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In 2023, data center electricity consumption grew by 17%, despite maintaining a 100% global renewable energy match, highlighting the challenge of reducing emissions while increasing compute intensity and infrastructure investments for AI.

“We expect our Scope 3 emissions will continue to rise in the near term, in part due to increased capital expenditures and expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment to support long-term business growth and initiatives, particularly those related to AI,” the company stated.

The energy requirements for AI could disrupt the clean energy goals of both nations and trillion-dollar tech companies, reported Bloomberg.

In countries like Saudi Arabia, Ireland, and Malaysia, the energy needed for planned data centers surpasses available renewable energy supplies, according to Bloomberg analysis.

Google isn’t alone in this struggle. In May, Microsoft Corp. MSFT reported a 30% increase in carbon emissions since 2020 due to AI investments, complicating its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2030.

Alphabet stock has gained more than 54% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC and Vanguard Communication Services ETF VOX.

Price Action: GOOGL shares are trading higher by 0.05% at $185.34 in premarket at last check Wednesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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