Big Tech carbon emissions rise nearly 20% in a year, report says
8 reported
A new report shows that Microsoft, Amazon, and Google’s combined carbon emissions increased by nearly one-fifth over the past year, driven largely by datacentre construction. In the financial year ending March 2026, the three companies emitted 119 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, about a third of France’s emissions. The previous year, they emitted roughly 101 million metric tonnes, equivalent to Czechia’s 2024 emissions. The increases were documented in the companies’ annual sustainability reports released over recent weeks. Microsoft reported a 25% rise to 20 million metric tonnes, Google an 18% increase, and Amazon a 16% overall rise with a 20% increase in supply chain emissions. The companies still aim for net zero emissions by 2030 or 2040, but experts cited in the report say the carbon footprint growth is strongly correlated with AI investment.
What’s reported
Microsoft, Amazon, and Google’s collective carbon emissions rose to 119m mTCO₂e in the year ending March 2026, up from about 101m mTCO₂e the prior year.
This total is about a third of France’s emissions; the prior year’s total was roughly equivalent to Czechia’s 2024 emissions.
Microsoft’s emissions increased 25% to 20m mTCO₂e, driven primarily by datacentre infrastructure expansion.
Google’s emissions rose 18%, driven by supply chain activities supporting rapid business expansion.
Amazon reported a 16% overall emissions increase and a 20% rise in supply chain emissions, including datacentre construction.
The world’s biggest tech companies are on track to spend $765bn this year, mostly on building AI datacentres.
JLL expects about 1,200 datacentres to be built globally between now and 2030, driven by AI demand.
The Uptime Institute estimates big datacentre projects announced last year would consume 1.3% of the world’s electricity usage.
Key figures
Cecilia Rikap, economics professor at University College London
Shaolei Ren, professor of electrical engineering at University of California, Riverside
Sources: The Guardian
