Google, Microsoft underreporting data center emissions by 662%: Report
What's the story
The actual greenhouse gas emissions, from company-owned data centers of tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple are approximately 662% higher than officially reported, says The Guardian.
Their analysis covers a period from 2020 to 2022.
The report also highlights Amazon as the largest emitter among these tech companies in 2022, with its emissions surpassing those of Apple by more than double.
Energy demands
Data centers' energy consumption and AI's impact
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that data centers were responsible for 1-1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2022.
This figure was recorded before the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), which significantly increased energy demands.
Goldman Sachs estimates that a ChatGPT query needs nearly 10 times as much electricity as a Google search, predicting a surge in data center power demand by 160% by 2030.
Carbon neutrality
Tech giants' carbon neutrality claims and Amazon's stance
Despite the rising emissions, all five tech firms have claimed carbon neutrality.
Google abandoned this claim last year to improve its carbon accounting standards.
In July, Amazon announced that it had achieved its target seven years ahead of schedule and implemented a 3% gross emissions reduction.
However, an advocacy group called Amazon Employees for Climate Justice has criticized the company's approach to calculating its emissions.
Emissions accounting
The role of renewable energy certificates in emissions accounting
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) play a crucial role in the emissions accounting process for data centers.
These certificates indicate that a company is purchasing electricity generated from renewable sources, to offset part of its consumption.
However, the actual location of these renewable energy production sites can be anywhere, leading to discrepancies between "market-based" and "location-based" emissions figures.
Emissions ranking
Tech giants' emissions would rank them as 33rd highest-emitting country
If the five tech companies were considered a single country, their combined "location-based" emissions in 2022 would place them as the 33rd highest-emitting nation.
This is according to data center industry experts who believe that location-based metrics provide a more accurate picture of emissions.
Jay Dietrich, Research Director of Sustainability at Uptime Institute, supports this view stating, "Location-based [accounting] gives an accurate picture of the emissions associated with the energy that's actually being consumed to run the data center."
REC controversy
Debate over the use of RECs in official reporting
The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, a carbon accounting oversight body, permits the use of RECs in official reporting.
This has sparked a debate among tech companies leading to a lobbying battle over GHG Protocol's rule-making process.
Amazon and Meta advocate for retaining RECs in the accounting process irrespective of their geographic origins, while Google and Microsoft argue for matching renewable production and energy consumption based on time and location.
Renewable goals
Google and Microsoft's goals for renewable energy use
Google has set a goal to have all its facilities run on renewable energy 24/7 by 2030, a target it refers to as its "24/7 goal."
Similarly, Microsoft aims for all its facilities to operate on 100% carbon-free energy all the time, making zero carbon-based energy purchases by 2030. This is known as its "100/100/0 goal."
Both companies are moving away from using RECs in their emissions accounting.
Third-party partnerships
Partnership with 3rd-party data center operators
Tech companies also lease a significant portion of their data center capacity from third-party operators. According to Synergy Research Group, large tech companies represented 37% of global data center capacity in 2022, with half of that capacity coming via third-party contracts.