AI Datacenters Are Over 600% Worse for the Environment Than Tech Companies Admit

 

 

 

Tech Giants Understate AI Datacenter Emissions

Tech companies have publicly shared their energy use related to massive AI models, but recent reports suggest these figures are heavily underestimated. Their actual emissions could be 662% higher than what they officially report.

The Guardian conducted an investigation focusing on emissions from 2020 to 2022. This period only captures the start of the AI boom, which has since grown exponentially. Thus, the reported numbers might only reveal the tip of the iceberg.

Amazon’s Role and Carbon Neutrality Claims

Although Amazon was the largest emitter overall, data specific to its data centers was unavailable, so it was excluded from some statistics. Still, Amazon shares blame with other tech giants for masking their true environmental impact.

Interestingly, all five leading companies Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon have claimed carbon neutrality at various times. However, a spokesperson from the campaign group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice told The Guardian, “It comes down to creative accounting.”

The Problem with Market-Based Emissions and Energy Certificates

Many tech firms report “market-based” emissions. These numbers rely on the purchase of energy certificates called Renewable Energy Certificates (Recs). Companies claim that these certificates offset their dirty energy use by funding renewable energy production elsewhere.

However, the certificates do not require the buyer to produce or directly use renewable energy. Instead, a third party produces it and sells the certificate, often without verifying the actual environmental benefit.

In essence, this system resembles money laundering, but for energy bills.

Location-Based Emissions Offer a Truer Picture

A more honest measure is “location-based emissions.” This metric shows the actual CO2 emissions produced by each data center without offsets or certificates.

Yet, not all companies report location-based emissions consistently. Despite this, the available data reveals alarming discrepancies.

For example, Meta’s official report stated 273 metric tons of CO2 from in-house data centers in 2022. Yet, location-based data estimates this figure at 3.8 million metric tons a 19,000-fold increase.

Microsoft’s official data center emissions for 2022 were 280,782 metric tons. The location-based number? A staggering 6.1 million metric tons.

The Growing Environmental Toll of AI

Unfortunately, the trend of rising emissions looks set to continue. The Guardian’s report warns that if the five tech giants were combined into a single country, their 2022 location-based emissions would rank 33rd highest worldwide right between the Philippines and Algeria.

Clearly, AI’s expanding energy demand presents a serious environmental challenge.

Transparency and Accountability Are Critical

To address this issue, tech companies must adopt transparent reporting standards and move beyond creative accounting. Accurate data on emissions will help push for genuine sustainability and reduce AI’s environmental footprint.

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