According to The Guardian, emissions from the in-house data centers of Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple may be 662% higher than what’s reported, largely due to the strategic use of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). These allow companies to claim carbon reductions without using actual green energy at their sites. With AI’s energy demand skyrocketing—up to 10 times higher than typical cloud services—this hidden pollution poses a major climate challenge. Chris Pickles walks you through the hidden costs of big tech.

 

 

The truth behind the numbers:

The Guardian’s investigation highlights a staggering gap between official emissions figures and location-based emissions, which reflect the real environmental toll of these data centers. For instance, Meta reported 273 metric tons of CO2 emissions for 2022, but the true figure was closer to 3.8 million metric tons when location-based accounting was applied—a 19,000-fold increase. Microsoft experienced a similar underreporting issue, with its data center-related emissions being 22 times higher in reality.

 

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AI’s role in the climate equation:

As AI continues to scale, its energy requirements are soaring. A single ChatGPT query consumes almost 10 times more electricity than a Google search. By 2030, data centers are projected to emit 2.5 billion metric tons of CO2, with emissions rising in parallel with the growing need for AI-driven processing power.

 

The carbon accounting war:

Big tech is split on how to address its carbon footprint. Google and Microsoft are pushing for location-based carbon accounting and time-based matching of renewable energy, aiming to run their facilities on 100% carbon-free energy by 2030. On the other hand, Amazon and Meta support the continued use of market-based accounting methods, which heavily rely on RECs that don’t accurately reflect their real carbon impact.

 

The road ahead:

With growing pressure on global power grids and mounting public scrutiny, tech giants are under the microscope. Can the industry innovate fast enough to meet its energy demands without accelerating the climate crisis?

 

 

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