![Google’s push into generative AI also comes with steep energy and emissions costs [File]](https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/9gkdgp/article68362195.ece/alternates/LANDSCAPE_1200/California_AI_Regulations_66403.jpg "Google’s push into generative AI also comes with steep energy and emissions costs [File]")
Google’s push into generative AI also comes with steep energy and emissions costs [File]
| Photo Credit: AP
Google shared that its greenhouse gas emissions last year came to a total of 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which was a 13% year-over-year increase and a 48% increase when compared to 2019.
The results came in the company’s 2024 environment report, where Google also defended the use of its AI technology for mitigating disasters and tackling climate change through predictive use cases.
However, the search giant acknowledged a rise in emissions and said it foresaw future difficulties in reducing the volume. In particular, it pointed to the impact of developing AI technologies and integrating them in other products.
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“This result was primarily due to increases in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions. As we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute, and the emissions associated with the expected increases in our technical infrastructure investment,” said Google in the report.
Generative AI chatbots require huge amounts of energy to power their computing processes, but Google said that practices were already in place to vastly reduce both energy and associated emissions when training its AI models.
Google said that its target was to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where it operates, by 2030.
