AI-driven Datacenter Builds Increased Microsoft's Emissions 25% In One Year

Microsoft's 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report reveals a 25% increase in greenhouse gas emissions, driven by AI-related datacenter construction and reduced renewable energy certificate purchases, despite matching electricity consumption with renewables. The company's emissions rose from 13 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020 to 20 million tons in 2025, though Microsoft estimates reductions initiatives prevented a rise to 34 million tons.

Microsoft released its 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report showing that last year it matched its entire electricity consumption with renewable energy, reports The Register. "The bad news is it also increased greenhouse gas GHG emissions by 25%" — mostly due to datacenter construction and a decision to stop purchasing some renewable energy certificates: In 2020, Microsoft set itself the goal of becoming "carbon-negative" by 2030. Its own figures show emissions heading only upwards, from 13 million tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020, to 20 million tons in 2025. However, Microsoft estimates that without the carbon reduction initiatives it has already put in place, emissions would now stand at 34 million tons... For the first time, Microsoft claims to have replenished more water than it withdrew during 2025, returning 14,278 million liters 3,771 million gallons . Elsewhere, the corporation says its Circular Centers program reused 92% of decommissioned servers and their components. Read more of this story https://slashdot.org/story/26/07/11/1944220/ai-driven-datacenter-builds-increased-microsofts-emissions-25-in-one-year?utm source=rss1.0moreanon&utm medium=feed at Slashdot.