Increase from 2020 to 2023 highlights challenges of meeting climate goals while investing in infrastructure
The nearly 30 per cent increase in emissions was in large part due to the construction of the data centres that AI and cloud computing systems run on, Microsoft said. Photograph: PA Microsoft ’s emissions have risen by almost a third since 2020, as the push to build out the infrastructure behind artificial intelligence threatens its climate goals.
“Our challenges are in part unique to our position as a leading cloud supplier that is expanding its data centres,” Microsoft said. The company is in a race against competitors including Amazon and Google to invest in building out the infrastructure to support generative AI.Microsoft’s direct and energy-related emissions fell by 6.3 per cent in 2023 compared with its 2020 baseline. However, emissions from its supply chain – which comprise the vast majority of its total emissions – jumped by 30.
However, those goals have been imperilled by the race to build generative AI, which is power-intensive with large energy and water demands. In a bid to address its ballooning supply chain emissions, Microsoft on Wednesday said it would require certain “high volume” suppliers to use 100 per cent “carbon free” electricity for goods and services delivered to the Seattle-based company by 2030.
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