Energy & Sustainability

Tech titans’ climate claims challenged

Tech titans’ climate claims challenged

As AI in particular drives more technology development, including data centre rollout in emerging markets, a new report is suggesting that some of the world’s best-known tech giants are emitting more while presenting climate targets that may be, at the very least, optimistic.

NewClimate Institute, a group that investigates corporate climate strategies, and Carbon Market Watch, an independent, not-for-profit watchdog and research organisation, have released the latest instalment of the 2025 edition of their Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor (CCRM)

This instalment evaluates the tech sector based on a number of key parameters measuring the effectiveness of their transition towards climate-friendly and sustainable business models: renewable electricity for data centres and in the supply chain; prolonging the lifespan of devices; and utilising more recycled components in hardware production.

The report suggests that, despite some efforts and isolated examples of good practice, the climate strategies of Amazon, Apple, Alphabet/Google, Meta and Microsoft, among others, may be failing to keep pace with their mushrooming energy demand.

Although these five companies in particular have held on to net zero targets that are presented on paper as compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement, only Apple, Google and Microsoft have further supported these pledges with specific emission reduction targets. However, even where they exist, the report suggests, emission reduction targets are undermined by two factors.

Firstly, they too often rely on what the report calls logic errors. One example of this is when companies use electricity sourced from a grid reliant on fossil fuels but compensate for this by buying electricity certificates from renewable generators not linked to those grids. These so-called market-based emissions appear low or falling, while their actual location-based emissions have soared exponentially since 2019.

This reliance on standalone renewable energy certificates (RECs) is significant because it may not bring about additional investment in renewables, undermining one of the most important principles of climate action: additionality.

To eliminate this problem, the report suggests, investment in renewable energy certificates should occur in a way that matches actual consumption in real time. Google and Microsoft have apparently taken some strides in this direction.

Secondly, the rapid expansion of AI, which is a voracious consumer of electricity and water, casts serious doubt on whether tech companies can actually deliver significant cuts in their emissions by 2030.

Fixing this situation, the report suggests, may require a major reboot of some companies’ climate strategies.



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