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Microsoft’s carbon emissions went up 25 percent last year
The Verge • • business
Key Points:
- Microsoft's 2026 sustainability report reveals a 25% increase in carbon emissions in 2025, reaching 34 million metric tons, mainly due to expanding datacenter infrastructure and stopping purchases of certain renewable energy certificates.
- The company aims to be carbon negative by 2030 but has faced repeated setbacks, with previous reports also showing rising emissions and challenges in scaling sustainability solutions to meet growing AI infrastructure demands.
- Google and Amazon also reported significant increases in emissions for 2025, with Google’s supply chain emissions rising by 25% and Amazon’s by 16%, highlighting industry-wide challenges in reducing environmental impact.
- Amazon disclosed that its data centers used 2.5 billion gallons of water in 2025, reportedly less than Microsoft’s consumption, underscoring the substantial resource demands of tech companies’ data infrastructure.
