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Google and Amazon Report Higher 2025 Carbon Emissions in Sustainability Updates
Google’s emissions rose 25% and Amazon’s rose 16% to 81 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. Both companies tied the increases mainly to data-center construction and AI-driven energy use.
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Google and Amazon released their 2025 sustainability reports this week, showing total carbon emissions up 25% at Google and 16% at Amazon from 2024 levels. Amazon emitted approximately 81 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, equal to the annual output of 19 million gas-powered cars.
TechCrunch reported that both companies attributed most of the emissions growth to Scope 3 sources, including capital goods and data-center construction.
Google’s Scope 3 emissions alone rose 2.1 million metric tons and are now double their 2019 level. Amazon added more than 1.2 gigawatts of new data-center capacity globally in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Both companies reported significant increases in energy consumption tied to rising AI usage. Their direct purchases of renewable power kept emissions from energy use relatively contained, but construction and equipment demands drove the overall rise.
TechCrunch reported that the companies will need to expand renewable purchases, invest in low-carbon materials, and acquire millions of tons of carbon removal credits to meet their net-zero targets.
