Google Environmental Report: Emission trends paint a mixed picture

Google has released its annual environmental report for the year 2025. The tenth “Environmental Report” focuses on the key topics of energy, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and resilience. Despite the increased energy consumption of Google’s data centers, energy-related emissions decreased. However, the vast majority of emissions, primarily from hardware manufacturing and logistics, continued to rise.

Development of Energy Demand and Emissions

According to its latest Environmental Report, Google recorded a significant increase in energy consumption in its data centers in 2024, which rose by 27 percent compared to the previous year, while the increase in the year before had been 17 percent. The increased energy demand is not solely attributable to AI but also to the accelerated growth of Google Cloud, continuous investments in Search, and the expanded reach of YouTube. Despite this growth, Google apparently managed to reduce its data center emissions by 12 percent in 2024. Google describes this as a success of “intelligent scaling,” resulting from over a decade of intensive work and an effective strategy.

Total Emissions Increased by 11 Percent

Google’s total performance-related emissions in 2024 amounted to approximately 11.5 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e). This represents an 11 percent increase from 2023 and a 51 percent increase compared to the 2019 baseline year. Direct emissions (Scope 1) from sources such as building heat, refrigerant leaks, emergency generators, and vehicles were reduced by 8 percent to 73,100 tCO2e in 2024. They account for less than 1 percent of the total performance-related carbon footprint. Market-based Scope 2 emissions, mainly from purchased electricity for data centers and offices, fell by 11 percent to 3.1 million tCO2e, attributable to the procurement of clean energy. These make up 26 percent of the total footprint. However, indirect emissions from the value chain (Scope 3) increased by 22 percent to about 8.4 million tCO2e, thus representing the largest share, 73 percent, of total performance-related emissions. This increase is mainly due to the supply chain for technical infrastructure, including the manufacturing and logistics of hardware for AI applications. Without the measures for clean energy procurement, hardware efficiency improvements, and Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) enhancements, performance-related emissions in 2024 would have been an estimated 66 percent higher.

Impacts of Artificial Intelligence and Data Centers

AI is seen by Google not just as a tool, but as a catalyst for profound change. It is intended to help people make faster and smarter decisions. According to Google, AI also has the potential to significantly reduce emissions in key sectors such as transportation and energy. Google has set a goal to help individuals, cities, and partners save one gigatonne (GT) of carbon equivalent emissions annually by 2030 with its AI products. According to Google, five of its AI-powered products—namely Nest thermostats, Google Earth Pro, Solar API, fuel-efficient routing in Google Maps, and Green Light—helped avoid an estimated 26 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 alone.

However, the use of AI also increases energy demand, especially in data centers. Google is pursuing a “full-stack approach” to AI innovation to optimize efficiency at all levels: from the physical infrastructure in data centers and chip design to the development of AI models. For example, the seventh generation of the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), Ironwood, is nearly 30 times more energy-efficient than the first Cloud TPU from 2018. Internal AI solutions like AlphaEvolve directly improve data center efficiency and have recovered an average of 0.7 percent of Google’s global computing resources.

Developments in Renewable Energy

Google has established itself as one of the largest corporate buyers of “clean” energy in the world. Between 2010 and 2024, over 170 contracts were signed to procure more than 22 GW of such energy. In 2024 alone, contracts for an additional 8 GW of clean energy were added, marking the largest annual increase in the company’s history. This is intended to help stay ahead of growing energy demand. However, Google also controversially counts nuclear energy as clean energy. The company aims to operate on 100 percent carbon-free energy (CFE) 24/7 by 2030. In 2024, the 24/7 CFE share was increased from 64 percent to 66 percent, and nine out of 20 grid regions with Google-owned and operated data centers achieved at least 80 percent CFE. Regional progress, however, varies significantly: while North America and Latin America have high CFE shares of 70 percent and 92 percent, respectively, the figure in the Asia-Pacific region is only 12 percent. Germany, according to the report, stands at 68 percent.

To promote clean energy in the supply chain, Google has introduced the “Clean Energy Addendum” (CEA), an agreement requiring suppliers to source 100 percent of the electricity they use for manufacturing Google products from clean energy by the end of 2029. Many key suppliers have already signed this agreement. Google also invests directly in projects: for example, a partnership with BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure Business was announced to facilitate the construction of 1 GW of new solar energy in Taiwan. In total, over $3.7 billion has been invested in clean energy projects and partnerships from 2010 to 2024, which are expected to generate around 6 GW of clean electricity. To increase grid flexibility, Google uses an intelligent platform that shifts computing tasks based on the local carbon intensity of the grid.

Developments in Nuclear Power and Biomass

In addition to renewable energy, Google is increasingly focusing on nuclear power. This is exemplified by the 2024 partnership agreement with Kairos Power to purchase electricity from small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). This agreement aims to feed up to 500 MW of so-called clean energy into the U.S. grids by 2035, with the first reactor expected to be operational by 2030. In addition to nuclear power, Google is investing in electricity generation from biomass. A partnership with PacificLight Energy and Rexus Bioenergy in Singapore supports the construction of a plant to convert waste wood into energy. This plant, expected to begin commercial operation in 2026, will continuously generate clean energy from waste and will include a pilot project for carbon capture.

Planned Projects and Forecasts

Google aims to operate on 100 percent carbon-free energy in every grid where it operates by 2030. In parallel, there is a goal to reduce absolute Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions by 50 percent by 2030 compared to the 2019 baseline. Remaining emissions are to be neutralized through carbon removal solutions. Given the projected growth in AI, Google will continue its investments in technical infrastructure, including servers, networking equipment, and data centers.

To decouple growth from emissions, a focus is placed on procuring clean electricity for the supply chain and on building low-carbon data centers. The increased use of low-carbon concrete and steel is planned. In the area of AI products, Google plans to expand the “Green Light” traffic optimization tool from the current 20 to hundreds of cities, covering tens of thousands of intersections. Expansions are also planned in the field of geothermal energy, including in Taiwan, with the goal of feeding 10 MW of carbon-free electricity into the grid around the clock.