Indirect carbon emissions of top tech companies increased by 150% between 2020 and 2023 due to high energy consumption for AI

An ITU report shows that the indirect carbon emissions of Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta have risen significantly, mainly due to high energy demand for data centers, accelerated by the development of artificial intelligence. Amazon saw the largest increase, at 182%, followed by Microsoft (155%), Meta (145%) and Alphabet (138%). Although many companies have set targets to reduce emissions, progress is limited and data center energy consumption is growing rapidly, putting pressure on energy infrastructure.