Amazon and Alphabet's Google reported significant increases in their greenhouse gas emissions for 2025, driven by the intense energy demands of the artificial intelligence boom. Amazon’s emissions rose by 16% year-over-year to approximately 81 million metric tons, citing data center construction and delivery fuels as primary causes. [1, 4, 5] Similarly, Google’s emissions jumped 18%, with its electricity demand soaring by a record 37%. [1, 3, 10]
The surge in emissions underscores a growing conflict between the tech giants' ambitious climate pledges and the operational realities of scaling their AI infrastructure. [1] Google noted that achieving its 2030 climate goals is "getting harder," as the rapid buildout of data centers and hardware manufacturing currently outpaces the decarbonization of global power grids. [3, 9] For the first time since 2019, Amazon's carbon intensity—emissions relative to revenue—also increased. [4, 6]