Google has reported a 48 percent increase in its carbon emissions over the last five years, reaching 14.3 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2023. The rise in emissions is attributed to the energy consumption required by the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its products.
As big tech companies like Google continue to develop AI models and technologies, such as Gemini, they are also facing challenges associated with their high energy consumption and resulting carbon emissions. Despite efforts to integrate AI in a sustainable manner, Google saw a 48 percent increase in carbon emissions in 2023 compared to 2019.
To address these challenges, Google has set a goal to achieve net zero emissions across all operations by 2030. The company is implementing initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint, including building energy-efficient IT infrastructures and promoting responsible resource use.
One example of Google’s initiatives is the fuel-efficient routes function, which helps reduce emissions by suggesting the most efficient routes based on traffic, terrain, and vehicle engine performance. Through these efforts, Google has already helped reduce millions of metric tons of emissions, equivalent to taking hundreds of thousands of cars off the road.
Google recognizes that AI has great potential to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions and is committed to leveraging AI in key areas such as information organization, improved prediction, and optimization. The company aims to continue driving positive environmental change through the responsible use of technology and sustainable practices.
The increasing prevalence of AI has led many big tech companies like Google to develop their own models and technologies for new tools and functions in their services. However, this high energy consumption associated with using AI for various tasks has led to increased carbon emissions in data centers where AI is operated.
This poses challenges for climate change action as it exacerbates the problem caused by fossil fuels used for powering these data centers.
To address this issue, Google announced its goal to achieve net zero emissions across all operations by 2030. While this announcement shows progress towards sustainability goals, it also highlights how difficult it is for big tech companies like Google to balance innovation with environmental responsibility.
Overall, while AI has great potential to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions through more efficient processes and improved prediction capabilities