Google underreported carbon emissions by 14 percent

According to the research, Google's carbon emissions increased by 65 percent between 2019 and 2024, not 51 percent as the company claimed.

In 2021, Google set an ambitious goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. But the company has since broken that promise by investing in energy-intensive artificial intelligence technologies.

So much so that Google announced in its latest sustainability report that carbon emissions increased by 51 percent between 2019 and 2024.

According to The Guardian, a new study refutes even this high number announced by Google.

A report by the non-profit organization Kairos Fellowship found that Google's carbon emissions increased by 65 percent between 2019 and 2024.

Moreover, according to the report, total greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 1,515 percent since 2010, when Google first published carbon emission data.

The highest increase in this 14-year period was seen from 2023 to 2024. In just one year, emissions increased by 26 percent.

“The Google data clearly shows that the company is accelerating climate disaster,” said Nicole Sugerman, campaign manager at the Kairos Fellowship. “Given how much they emit, how much water they use, and how much that consumption is only increasing…the company is moving in the wrong direction for us and the planet.”

But Google criticized the report's findings in a statement. Spokesperson Maggie Shiels said:

“The Kairos Fellowship’s analysis distorts the facts. Our carbon emissions were calculated according to the universal Greenhouse Gas Protocol and verified by independent auditors. Our carbon reduction target was also approved by the industry-leading Science Based Targets Initiative.”

The authors of the report, titled 'Google's Ecological Failures' , attributed the discrepancy between their calculations and Google's sustainability report numbers to various factors, because different metrics are used.

For example, while Google uses market-based emissions, the researchers look at location-based emissions. 'Location-based emissions' are the company's average emissions based on local power grids, meaning how much carbon is released by generating electricity in the area.

' Market-based emissions ' also relate to how a company buys the energy it uses. For example, a company can offset its carbon emissions by purchasing renewable energy certificates or clean energy contracts. Therefore, a market-based calculation may show a lower carbon emission rate due to such 'offsets' or purchases.

“Google’s growth at this rate is simply not sustainable,” Sugerman said. “They need to grow their computing capacity within the planet’s boundaries. We don’t have enough green energy to meet Google’s needs. ”