The AI “Climate Strategy Crisis” As Apple And Amazon Kill Green Promises

As few as two years ago, almost no one had any idea that AI server farms would become the most electricity-hungry business in the world. As time passes, the forecast total continues to rise. This has led to what is known as a “climate strategy crisis.” The big tech companies, which promised net-zero energy consumption, have completely walked away. These, more than any other companies, have become AI energy hogs. 

In its new Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2025, The New Climate Institute reports that the “overall climate integrity” of Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon is “poor.” For Apple and Google, it is “moderate.” The companies were to be the champions of corporate green energy use. 

“Since the majority of the tech sectors’ emissions footprint derive from  electricity use in data centres and energy use for hardware production upstream, we identify  renewable electricity for data centres and renewable electricity in the supply chain as key  transitions for the sector,” the report says.

Money Over Green

The tech sector is part of a larger trend where financial considerations have taken precedence over environmental responsibility. More governments, particularly the US and several in Europe, have either dropped or watered down their green plans. The fossil fuel companies briefly said that they would become greener despite the level of their emissions. They walked away, led by BP.

AI will quickly move to the top of the sectors that cause greenhouse gas emissions due to the power source required to power their server farms. The need is so great, they may even need to move back to coal, at least temporarily.

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