But that pledge has disappeared from the main page<\/a>, which now highlights the company\u2019s commitment to artificial intelligence. The subpage was renamed “our operations.”<\/p>\n Google maintains that it is still aiming for a 2030 goal, though executives have acknowledged<\/a> that the growth of AI makes it challenging.<\/p>\n Still, the change<\/a> to the sustainability page is an example of how tech companies are being a bit quieter about their climate goals as they expand their use of AI. <\/p>\n The explosive growth of data centers to support the AI surge is \u201ccalling into question\u201d whether the major tech companies\u2014Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon\u2014can meet their pledges<\/a> to reduce emissions, according to a 2025 corporate responsibility report from the NewClimate Institute.<\/p>\n Already, companies are reporting emissions increases in their annual sustainability reports. <\/p>\n Along with complicating their climate goals, the AI push seems to be changing how Big Tech talks about, and even considers, the climate.<\/p>\n These companies are \u201cjust in a rush to build out as much as they can, and to stay ahead of the competition with new trends with AI,\u201d \u200b\u200bsays Thomas Day, one of the report’s authors, who analyses such commitments for the NewClimate Institute. \u201cClimate appears to be the last thing that they’re thinking about.\u201d<\/p>\n When that NewClimate report came out in June 2025, it warned that tech companies\u2019 emissions targets \u201cappear to have lost their meaning and relevance.\u201d<\/p>\n It did note that some companies, like Microsoft and Google, had \u201cpromising\u201d strategies for how to power data centers with renewable electricity. But already, that outlook is out of date.<\/p>\n \u201cThose [companies] that we identified before as having more constructive or ambitious positions have gone relatively quiet,\u201d Day says, \u201cwhile those pushing for more problematic approaches really doubled down.\u201d<\/p>\n Microsoft\u2019s emissions could surge 44% due to just one West Virginia data center that will run entirely on natural gas, according to Stand.earth research. <\/p>\n Google also recently announced it will use natural gas to power a massive Texas data center, which could emit, according to one calculation<\/a>, as much as 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide a year\u2014more than the entire city of San Francisco. <\/p>\n In 2023, Amazon\u2019s operational carbon emissions grew 182% compared to three years prior, according to a 2025 United Nations report, due to higher energy demands to power data centers. Amazon continues to announce new data center investments.<\/p>\n The five major tech companies all have net zero or carbon neutral commitments by either 2030 or 2040.<\/p>\n These companies maintain that they\u2019re committed to those goals and working on sustainability. <\/p>\n A Microsoft spokesperson said the company is still committed to being carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030, and that it continues to expand its clean energy portfolio.<\/p>\n A Meta spokesperson said “We’re working towards our goal to achieve net zero emissions across our value chain in 2030.” <\/p>\n But online, its language has changed: Meta’s sustainability page previously said<\/a> the company “commit[s] to reaching net zero emissions” by 2030. Now<\/a>, the page says “we have set a goal to achieve net zero emissions” by then.<\/p>\n And as Big Tech talks about sustainability, it often does so in conjunction with AI.<\/p>\n \u201cWe remain committed to our ambitious moonshot of reaching net-zero emissions across our operations and value chain,” a Google spokesperson said without specifying a timeline. “Reaching this moonshot will be non-linear and has become increasingly complex. We\u2019re working to build efficiency into every layer of our infrastructure, catalyzing new energy sources like nuclear, geothermal and battery storage, and using AI itself to accelerate climate solutions. \u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRather than viewing AI as a barrier to sustainability, we see it as an opportunity to pioneer solutions at scale,\u201d an Amazon spokesperson said. \u201cWe’re harnessing the power of AI to help us find science-based solutions at a rapid pace while remaining committed to our goal of net-zero carbon by 2040.”<\/p>\n The spokesperson added that Amazon is \u201cdiversifying its carbon-free energy portfolio, including our first investments in nuclear energy.\u201d<\/p>\nEmissions targets have ‘lost their meaning’<\/h2>\n
Big Tech says AI will help climate goals<\/h2>\n
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