Tech giant Google’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 48% over the past five years. In an annual environmental report released Tuesday (July 2), Google said its greenhouse gas emissions totaled 14.3 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2023.
That’s 13% more than in 2022 and 48% more than in 2019. Google said the increase in emissions is primarily due to increased data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions.
“As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may prove challenging due to the growing demand for energy from increased AI computational intensity and the emissions associated with expected increases in our investments in technical infrastructure,” Google said in the report.
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In 2021, Google set a goal of achieving net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030. To achieve this goal, the tech giant aims to reduce its combined emissions by 50% and invest in nature- and technology-based carbon removal solutions to neutralize its remaining emissions.
Google has also formally committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to validate its absolute emissions reduction target.
That said, Google expects its total emissions to “increase before declining toward our absolute emissions reduction goal.”
“Achieving net-zero emissions by 2030 is an extremely ambitious goal, and we know it won’t be easy. Our approach will continue to evolve and require us to manage significant uncertainty, including the future environmental impact of AI, which is complex and difficult to predict,” Google said in the report.
“Furthermore, solutions to some major global challenges do not currently exist and will depend heavily on the broader transition to clean energy,” he added.
In early June, Google invested in new data centers in Singapore and MalaysiaIn Singapore, the tech giant announced the completion of its latest data center and expansion of the cloud region campus.
This brought the company’s total investment in the country’s technical infrastructure to US$5 billion (SG$6.7 billion), up from US$850 million (SG$1.1 billion) in 2018.
A statement by Google said the completed data centres meet the growing demand for cloud services locally and globally, helping to strengthen Singapore’s position as a data hub for the region.
“The expansion of our data center campus in Singapore reaffirms our commitment to helping organizations in Southeast Asia capitalize on digital opportunities, while ensuring growth is as sustainable as possible,” said Kate Brandt, Google’s chief sustainability officer.
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