Microsoft emissions surge 27 per cent as AI buildout crimps climate goals

Microsofts greenhouse gas emissions jumped 27 per cent in its latest fiscal year the tech giant disclosed Thursday adding to a wave of worsening environmental reports from an industry racing to build AI infrastructureTotal emissions reached 211 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent mtCO2e in the fiscal year ending June 30 2025 up from 167 million the prior year according to the companys 2026 Environmental Data Fact SheetThe disclosure follows similar reports from Google and Amazon last week showing emissions surging 18 percent and 16 percent respectively as all three companies acknowledged that AI infrastructure expansion is outpacing their decarbonization effortsLike its rivals Microsoft now pollutes more for every dollar it generates in revenueIts emissions intensity rose to 750 mtCO2e per million dollars of revenue from 681 the prior year the first increase in at least six years even as revenue grew 15 percent to 2817 billionThe spike was driven in large part by a tenfold surge in Scope 2 marketbased emissions those tied to purchased electricity which ballooned from 259090 mtCO2e to 27 million mtCO2eMicrosoft attributed the jump partly to its decision in February 2025 to stop purchasing spot energy attribute certificates and carbon removal credits instruments that had previously been used to offset emissions in the companys accountingThe company said the policy shift reflected a commitment to highintegrity climate action acknowledging it would temporarily move us out of a carbonneutral positionWater consumption climbed 22 percent to 8170 megaliters with half of all water withdrawals coming from areas classified as having high or extremely high water stressThe reports from Microsoft Google and Amazon underscore warnings from the United Nations which found earlier this month that data centers worldwide use so much energy that only 10 countries each consume moreUN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres launched an AI Environmental Transparency Initiative during London Climate Week on June 23 and urged every major AI company to commit to powering all data centers with renewable energy by 2030If AI is to help build a better future it must be honest about what it costs us now Guterres saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever