Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Data centre · United States · 2007–2026

Big Tech data-centre emissions accounting (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta)

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Disputed
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 2 insufficient · 1 not measured · 5 disputed See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
How much water does an AI query use?
  • Company or project Google: A median Gemini prompt uses 0.24 Wh and 0.26 mL of water, cooling only. PCWorld
  • Researchers Researcher Ren, cited by PCWorld: About 50 mL when indirect water is included. PCWorld
  • Company or project Mistral AI: A 400-token response used 45 mL of water in its life-cycle analysis (July 2025).

Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta report data-centre emissions using accounting rules that count purchased renewable certificates. Company reports, press and researchers give differing pictures of what those figures show about electricity, emissions and water.

258,217 t to about 2.7 MtMicrosoft market-based Scope 2 emissions, FY2024 as reported and FY2025 when unbundled certificates were no longer counted
Company-reported figures as described by ESG Dive on 13 July 2026; the two years differ and electricity use rose in between, so the figures are not a like-for-like comparison.

Status As of August 2026: the GHG Protocol's Scope 2 consultation is under way; the companies' reported emissions rose over the period; no court case is on record.

What?
Large technology companies report data-centre emissions with market-based accounting and annual renewable matching; the sources compare these with location-based and hourly measures and with reported totals. ESG Dive
Where?
Global, with company reporting from the United States; water cases in Chile and Uruguay, among others.
When?
2019 to 2026.
Who?
Gained
  • Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft — Report electricity as matched with renewable certificates; their reported totals nonetheless rose (Microsoft 23.4% above 2020; Google 51% above 2019; Amazon 80.9 Mt in 2025) DatacenterDynamics
Lost
  • Electricity customers in the PJM region — Data-centre demand was listed as USD 29.4 billion of USD 63.6 billion in the last four capacity auctions, according to the market monitor
  • General utility customers — A Harvard review of about 50 regulatory filings found that the cost of discounts given to big technology companies is spread across them; Microsoft's name was redacted in the filings. Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program
Harmed
  • Communities in water-scarce areas — 62 of 632 data centres of Amazon, Microsoft and Google are in water-scarce areas SourceMaterial
Why?
Growing electricity demand from data centres and artificial intelligence, and accounting rules that allow certificates to be counted against electricity use. ESG Dive
How?
Market-based Scope 2 accounting, annual matching with renewable energy certificates, and choice of boundary for targets and water figures. Argus Media
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Large technology companies report the emissions of their electricity use in two ways. Market-based Scope 2 accounting counts renewable energy certificates the company has bought. Location-based accounting uses the average emissions of the grid where the electricity is used. Unbundled certificates are certificates bought separately from the electricity itself, sometimes in another grid.

Microsoft reported total emissions of 20.29 million tonnes in fiscal 2025, up 25% in a year, and emissions 23.4% above 2020, while its energy use rose 168% over the same period and Scope 3 accounted for more than 97% of the total (ESG Dive; DatacenterDynamics). In its fiscal 2025 report Microsoft stopped counting unbundled certificates and disclosed facility-level data for the first time. Its market-based Scope 2 emissions rose from 258,217 tonnes in fiscal 2024 to about 2.7 million tonnes once those certificates were left out, and Scope 2's share of the total rose from 2% to 13% (ESG Dive; the figures cover different years). Microsoft's stated target is to be carbon negative by 2030. Between January and mid-July 2026 its carbon-removal purchases fell 80% to 8.55 million tonnes against the same period a year earlier (BNEF data, via Let's Data Science).

Google reported 2024 emissions 51% above 2019, against a goal of a 50% cut by 2030; its goal boundary was 11.5 million tonnes and its total including emissions outside the boundary was 15.2 million tonnes (Trellis). Its 2026 report showed electricity up 37%, Scope 1 and 2 emissions down 2% and Scope 3 up 25% (ESG Today). It reported 66% hourly carbon-free energy in 2024 while reporting that 100% of consumption was matched with renewable energy on an annual basis. Google dropped, from 2023, the operational carbon-neutral claim it had held since 2007 through offsets (Bloomberg Law).

Amazon reported 80.9 million tonnes in 2025, up 16%, with Scope 2 up 34%, and a third year of claiming 100% matching with renewable energy (ESG Dive). An employee group, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, said 68% of its certificates were unbundled. Meta's location-based Scope 2 emissions rose by about 150% between 2019 and 2024, according to a shareholder filing by As You Sow and partners; its market-based Scope 1 and 2 emissions for 2024 are listed as 48,826 tonnes.

The GHG Protocol's 2025 to 2026 consultation on Scope 2 drew 909 responses, 70% of which opposed hourly matching. A new standard is expected at the earliest at the end of 2028. In 2025 Amazon, Meta, Google and Microsoft signed 49% of the 55.9 GW of corporate clean-energy purchase deals recorded by BNEF.

A Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program review of about 50 regulatory filings found that the cost of discounts given to big technology companies is spread across general utility customers; Microsoft's name was redacted in the filings.

  1. 2007Google begins maintaining an operational carbon-neutral claim through offsets
  2. 2019Baseline year for Google's 2030 goal and for the reported Meta location-based Scope 2 rise
  3. 2020Baseline for the reported Microsoft emissions increase of 23.4%
  4. 2023Google stops claiming carbon neutrality; Google and BCG say AI could help cut 5–10% of global emissions by 2030 (November)
  5. 2024Google emissions 51% above 2019; Amazon employee group disputes renewable claim (July)
  6. 2025DatacenterDynamics: Microsoft emissions up 23.4% on 2020 (May); Microsoft fiscal-2025 total of 20.29 Mt; Amazon 80.9 Mt; four large technology companies sign 49% of global corporate clean-energy purchase deals
  7. 2026White House pledge on household electricity costs (March); GHG Protocol consultation: 70% of 909 responses oppose hourly matching (July); BNEF: Microsoft carbon-removal purchases down 80% (August)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Do market-based reports and annual matching show the electricity actually used?
Company or project
Microsoft

Left unbundled certificates out of its fiscal 2025 market-based Scope 2 figure and reported facility-level data.

ESG Dive
Company or project
Amazon

Reported a third year of 100% matching with renewable energy.

ESG Dive
Communities and civil society
Amazon Employees for Climate Justice

68% of Amazon's certificates were unbundled; certificates from Canada and Arizona were used for Virginia consumption; the group put the real renewable share at close to 22%.

Engadget
Company or project
Google

Matched 100% of consumption annually; its hourly carbon-free energy share was 66% globally in 2024, 15% in the Taiwan cloud region and 2% in Hong Kong in 2025.

Google Cloud
Standard-setters and registries
GHG Protocol consultation

70% of 909 responses opposed hourly matching; a new standard is expected at the earliest at the end of 2028.

Argus Media
Company or project
More than 60 companies including Apple and Amazon

Asked that revisions to Scope 2 reporting be optional; Meta leads the Emissions First coalition.

Engadget
How much water does an AI query use?
Company or project
Google

A median Gemini prompt uses 0.24 Wh and 0.26 mL of water, cooling only.

PCWorld
Researchers
Researcher Ren, cited by PCWorld

About 50 mL when indirect water is included.

PCWorld
Company or project
Mistral AI

A 400-token response used 45 mL of water in its life-cycle analysis (July 2025).

Has a climate benefit from artificial intelligence been shown?
Company or project
Google and BCG

AI could help reduce 5% to 10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030.

Google
International bodies
International Energy Agency

Applications could cut about 1,400 Mt by 2035, but there is no momentum guaranteeing wide uptake.

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Carbon negative by 2030 (target)
    Microsoft · ESG Dive
  • 100% renewable-energy matching, claimed for a third year
    Amazon · ESG Dive
  • 100% of consumption matched with renewable energy on an annual basis
    Google · Trellis
  • Artificial intelligence could help reduce 5% to 10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030
    Google and BCG, November 2023 · Google
  • 0.26 mL of water for a median Gemini prompt, cooling only
    Google · PCWorld
  • More water replenished than withdrawn in fiscal 2025 and a water use effectiveness of 0.27 litres per kWh
    Microsoft · Microsoft
  • An operational carbon-neutral claim, held from 2007 and dropped from 2023
    Google · Bloomberg Law
  • A net-zero 2030 goal with a 50% cut against 2019
    Google

Recorded

  • Microsoft total emissions 20.29 Mt in fiscal 2025 (up 25%); 23.4% above 2020.
    ESG Dive
  • Google emissions in 2024 were 51% above 2019; hourly carbon-free energy share 66% globally; Taiwan 15% and Hong Kong 2% (2025).
    Trellis
  • Amazon emissions 80.9 Mt in 2025 (up 16%).
    ESG Dive
  • Amazon employee group: 68% of certificates unbundled; certificates from Canada and Arizona used for Virginia consumption.
    Engadget
  • Of 632 data centres of Amazon, Microsoft and Google, 62 are in water-scarce areas (38 active, 24 planned).
    SourceMaterial
  • Data centres were about 180 Mt of CO2, 0.5% of emissions from fuel combustion, and 1.5% of global electricity, per the International Energy Agency as listed.
  • Microsoft's energy use rose 168% against 2020; its market-based Scope 2 was 258,217 t in fiscal 2024 and about 2.7 Mt in fiscal 2025 without unbundled certificates.
    DatacenterDynamics
  • Microsoft's carbon-removal purchases from January to mid-July 2026 were 8.55 Mt, 80% below the same period a year earlier.
    Let's Data Science
  • A Harvard review of about 50 regulatory filings found that the cost of discounts given to big technology companies is spread across general utility customers.
    Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: . All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • microsoft (24 June 2026): Said it replenished more water than it withdrew in fiscal 2025 and that its water use effectiveness was 0.27 L/kWh. · Microsoft
  • google (July 2026): Said its 2030 climate goals are getting harder to reach, while reporting that it cut operational emissions; publishes hourly carbon-free energy shares by cloud region. · ESG Today
  • google (September 2024): Redesigned its Cerrillos, Chile, data centre to use air cooling after the Environmental Court questioned its groundwater use of at least 7.6 million litres a day. · CNN Chile
  • amazon (2025): Reported a third year of 100% matching of electricity with renewable energy. · ESG Dive
  • meta (2024): Among the large companies, reports indirect (power-plant) water use; the figure for 2024 is listed as more than 20 times its direct water use.
  • microsoft (FY2025 report, covered 13 July 2026): Its fiscal 2025 report left out unbundled certificates and disclosed facility-level data for the first time. · ESG Dive
  • google (2023): Dropped its operational carbon-neutral claim from 2023. · Bloomberg Law

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Microsoft total emissions, fiscal 2025
20.29 Mt
Up 25% in a year; 23.4% above 2020
Google emissions, 2024
+51%
Against 2019; goal boundary 11.5 Mt, total 15.2 Mt
Amazon emissions, 2025
80.9 Mt
Up 16%; Scope 2 up 34%
Data centres in water-scarce areas
62 of 632
Amazon, Microsoft and Google, 2025
Ecological assessment
Not on record
The sources reviewed report emissions and water figures, not effects on ecosystems.

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court caseKey earnings undisclosedUnder standard-setter reviewNo independent ecological evaluation

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
  • Disputed How much water does an AI query use?

Court

Figures

  • Insufficient Location based to reported ratio: Guardian analysis of Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple data centres 2020 to 2022, republished by eceee; not independently verified.

Accounts

  • Disputed Do market-based reports and annual matching show the electricity actually used?
  • Disputed Has a climate benefit from artificial intelligence been shown?

Record

  • Disputed How much of Microsoft's reported Scope 2 emissions was offset by unbundled certificates in years other than the two compared is not given in the sources reviewed; the two years differ.
  • None on record Amazon's own response to the employee group's 68% figure is not in the sources reviewed.
  • Not disclosed OpenAI, Google and Anthropic are among 10 foundation-model companies listed by Stanford's 2025 Foundation Model Transparency Index as not disclosing environmental data (xAI scored 14 of 100); Anthropic had not published Scope 1 to 3 emissions as of March 2026.
  • None on record Where the leaked 2022 Amazon Web Services note was published is not stated in the sources reviewed.
  • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that data-centre emissions of Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple in 2020 to 2022 were 7.62 times the reported figure on a location-based basis (a Guardian analysis republished by eceee).
  • Disputed Reported but not independently verified: the attribution of some outcomes to data centres in specific locations, such as a Quilicura wetland loss and Batam water cuts, where the cause is disputed.
  • None on record The sources reviewed give no emissions figure for Google's data-centre electricity on a location basis.

Did the harm stop?

Not as such. Microsoft stopped counting unbundled certificates in fiscal 2025; the sources reviewed do not report the other companies changing their accounting, and each company's reported totals rose over the period.

Who paid?

No allocation of costs is established in the sources reviewed. The PJM market monitor attributed USD 29.4 billion of USD 63.6 billion in the last four capacity auctions to data-centre demand. A Harvard Environmental and Energy Law Program review of about 50 regulatory filings found that the cost of discounts given to big technology companies is spread across general utility customers.

Sources

Voices on record: ✓ Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

Company or project

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

  1. Notice of Exempt Solicitation - Meta Platforms (PX14A6G)
    As You Sow and partners, filed with the SEC · 2026-05

Researchers

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Carbon and conservation finance

Baseline
The projected scenario of what would have happened without a project, such as an expected rate of deforestation. Credits are issued for the difference between the baseline and what actually happened, so an inflated baseline produces more credits.
ESG
Environmental, social and governance criteria that investors and insurers use to screen companies and projects.
Offset
Using carbon credits to balance emissions released elsewhere, so that a buyer can claim lower or zero net emissions.
Standard-setter and registry
An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.

Science and environment

Air cooling and evaporative cooling
Two ways of cooling data centres: evaporative systems consume water, air cooling uses far less water but more electricity.
Groundwater
Water held underground in soil and rock, drawn through wells.
Wetland
Land that is saturated or covered with water for long periods, such as marshes, swamps and peat bogs.

Law and courts

Environmental Court (Chile)
Chile's specialised courts that review environmental permits and decisions.

Institutions

SEC
The US Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates securities markets and what companies tell investors.
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