Big Tech's Carbon Footprint Surges Amid Cloud Boom
Microsoft, Amazon, and Google's combined carbon emissions have increased by nearly 20% in the past year, driven by datacentre construction. This accounts for a third of France's emissions, highlighting the environmental impact of cloud services and AI development.
Key points
- The three tech companies emitted 119m mTCO₂e in the financial year ending March 2026, up from 101m mTCO₂e the previous year.
- This increase is largely attributed to the growing demand for cloud services, such as storing data and training AI models.
- Cecilia Rikap, an economics professor, argues that companies' claims of cloud sustainability are a marketing strategy, and governments should consider their expanding carbon footprints.
- The companies' carbon footprint is outsourced to cloud giants, allowing other corporations to obscure their environmental impact.
The rapid growth of cloud services has led to a significant increase in carbon emissions from big tech companies. Microsoft, Amazon, and Google's collective emissions have surged by nearly 20% in the past year, driven largely by datacentre construction. This accounts for a third of France's emissions, highlighting the environmental impact of cloud services and AI development.
According to the companies' annual sustainability reports, their combined emissions have reached 119m mTCO₂e in the financial year ending March 2026. This is a stark contrast to the previous year's emissions of 101m mTCO₂e, which was roughly equivalent to the 2024 emissions of Czechia.
The increase in emissions is attributed to the growing demand for cloud services, such as storing data and training AI models. As companies migrate to the cloud, they outsource their digital and AI carbon footprint to cloud giants, allowing other corporations to obscure their environmental impact.
Cecilia Rikap, an economics professor at University College London, argues that companies' claims of cloud sustainability are a marketing strategy. She believes that governments should remember these expanding carbon footprints when the same companies offer solutions to the ecological crisis using AI technology.
Sources
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