A recent report by climate nonprofits Beyond Fossil Fuels and Climate Action Against Disinformation has found that 74% of claims made by technology companies regarding artificial intelligence’s potential to combat climate change lack verifiable evidence.
The analysis, released on February 17, examined 154 statements from industry and institutional sources asserting that AI would deliver net climate benefits. Energy analyst Ketan Joshi, the report’s author, determined that the purported environmental benefits cited by companies largely relate to older, leaner forms of machine learning rather than the generative AI tools currently driving data center expansion. The study found no instance where consumer-facing applications such as Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot produced a measurable, verifiable reduction in emissions.
Researchers reviewed claims from various sources, including an International Energy Agency (IEA) report that was vetted by industry giants. The analysis of the IEA report revealed an even split between academic sources, corporate materials, and unsubstantiated claims regarding AI’s climate benefits. Frequently cited industry projections, including the assertion that AI could mitigate 5% to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, were identified as “contested.”
Joshi characterized the narrative of “AI for climate” as a distraction from the increasing pollution caused by data centers. “What we see is companies veering wildly away from their climate targets,” Joshi wrote. “This focus on ‘AI for climate’ is a distraction from the decision to worsen the pollution of data centres through an unprecedented explosion of digital bloat.”
The report coincides with increased scrutiny regarding the environmental impact of AI investments by major technology firms. Google reported a 48% increase in greenhouse gas emissions between 2019 and 2023, attributing the rise primarily to data center energy consumption. Microsoft acknowledged a 29% increase in emissions since 2020, resulting from the construction of facilities “designed and optimized to support AI workloads.”
Recent research indicates that a single ChatGPT query consumes approximately ten times the electricity of a traditional Google search. The Goldman Sachs Group has projected that data centers will account for 8% of total U.S. power consumption by 2030, up from 3% in 2022, driven largely by the proliferation of AI.
The coalition behind the report, which includes Stand.earth, Friends of the Earth U.S., and the Green Web Foundation, is calling for increased transparency in energy use reporting and accountability for companies making unverified environmental claims.
