The Record Highs: 2025 Data

The most recent figures, reported by Axios in June 2026, show three key metrics hitting new peaks :

• Electricity demand surged 37% year-over-year, roughly 3.5 times higher than in 2019 .
• Greenhouse gas emissions rose 18% year-over-year, which Axios described as the largest annual increase on record .
• Water consumption climbed 34% to 10.9 billion gallons, more than double the 2021 level .

These increases accelerated sharply. The previous year’s data showed a 27% rise in electricity demand and an 11% rise in emissions . Google’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 (reported in the 2025 Environmental Report) were 51% higher than the 2019 baseline .

What Google Says Caused the Increases

Google attributed the rising resource consumption to the explosive growth of AI and the corresponding expansion of its data center infrastructure . The company has previously linked rising emissions to the increasing energy needs of its data centers, which have been intensified by AI computing demands . Axios reported that the record levels came as Google “raced to build more AI infrastructure” . A significant portion of the emissions increase in 2025 was driven by the manufacturing of AI hardware, including chips and servers .

Mitigation Steps Google Reported

Despite the overall growth in resource use, Google reported several mitigation achievements :

• Reduced data center energy emissions by 12% in 2024, even as electricity demand for its data centers grew by 27% . The company attributed this to new clean energy projects coming online and a 6x increase in computing power per unit of electricity over five years .
• Replenished over 7 billion gallons of water in 2025 through 165 projects across 97 watersheds . This is part of a goal to replenish 120% of its freshwater consumption by 2030 .
• Signed contracts for over 8 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy in 2024, its largest annual total .
• Developed more efficient AI chips, with Google claiming its new Ironwood TPU is nearly 30 times more power efficient than previous generations .

Broader Industry Context

Google’s environmental pressures mirror a wider struggle across the tech industry as AI deployment accelerates.

Rising Emissions Across Big Tech: A wave of sustainability reports published in mid-2025 showed that AI-driven energy demand was making it harder for major technology companies to meet their net-zero climate goals . The NewClimate Institute’s Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor noted that “emission targets seem to lose meaning as actual emissions surge” .

Investor and Community Pressure: More than a dozen investors have pressed Amazon, Microsoft, and Google for detailed information on water consumption and energy use at their U.S. data centers . Local community opposition, driven by concerns over water, energy, pollution, and land use, has led to the halting of several multibillion-dollar data center projects for these companies .

Rising Climate Litigation: Data centers are becoming a growing target of climate-related legal cases globally. A review of roughly 3,600 climate-related legal actions by the London School of Economics found an increase in cases contesting the energy sources, water usage, and air pollution associated with data centers .

Scrutiny of Emissions Accounting: Google’s own emissions figures have been challenged. A report by the nonprofit Kairos Fellowship claimed Google’s emissions actually rose by 65% from 2019 to 2024, not the 51% the company reported, and that total emissions have surged 1,515% since 2010 . The discrepancy centers on how companies account for renewable energy credits and supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions .

The Record Highs: 2025 Data

The most recent figures, reported by Axios in June 2026, show three key metrics hitting new peaks :

• Electricity demand surged 37% year-over-year, roughly 3.5 times higher than in 2019 .
• Greenhouse gas emissions rose 18% year-over-year, which Axios described as the largest annual increase on record .
• Water consumption climbed 34% to 10.9 billion gallons, more than double the 2021 level .

These increases accelerated sharply. The previous year’s data showed a 27% rise in electricity demand and an 11% rise in emissions . Google’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 (reported in the 2025 Environmental Report) were 51% higher than the 2019 baseline .

What Google Says Caused the Increases

Google attributed the rising resource consumption to the explosive growth of AI and the corresponding expansion of its data center infrastructure . The company has previously linked rising emissions to the increasing energy needs of its data centers, which have been intensified by AI computing demands . Axios reported that the record levels came as Google “raced to build more AI infrastructure” . A significant portion of the emissions increase in 2025 was driven by the manufacturing of AI hardware, including chips and servers .

Mitigation Steps Google Reported

Despite the overall growth in resource use, Google reported several mitigation achievements :

• Reduced data center energy emissions by 12% in 2024, even as electricity demand for its data centers grew by 27% . The company attributed this to new clean energy projects coming online and a 6x increase in computing power per unit of electricity over five years .
• Replenished over 7 billion gallons of water in 2025 through 165 projects across 97 watersheds . This is part of a goal to replenish 120% of its freshwater consumption by 2030 .
• Signed contracts for over 8 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy in 2024, its largest annual total .
• Developed more efficient AI chips, with Google claiming its new Ironwood TPU is nearly 30 times more power efficient than previous generations .

Broader Industry Context

Google’s environmental pressures mirror a wider struggle across the tech industry as AI deployment accelerates.

Rising Emissions Across Big Tech: A wave of sustainability reports published in mid-2025 showed that AI-driven energy demand was making it harder for major technology companies to meet their net-zero climate goals . The NewClimate Institute’s Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor noted that “emission targets seem to lose meaning as actual emissions surge” .

Investor and Community Pressure: More than a dozen investors have pressed Amazon, Microsoft, and Google for detailed information on water consumption and energy use at their U.S. data centers . Local community opposition, driven by concerns over water, energy, pollution, and land use, has led to the halting of several multibillion-dollar data center projects for these companies .

Rising Climate Litigation: Data centers are becoming a growing target of climate-related legal cases globally. A review of roughly 3,600 climate-related legal actions by the London School of Economics found an increase in cases contesting the energy sources, water usage, and air pollution associated with data centers .

Scrutiny of Emissions Accounting: Google’s own emissions figures have been challenged. A report by the nonprofit Kairos Fellowship claimed Google’s emissions actually rose by 65% from 2019 to 2024, not the 51% the company reported, and that total emissions have surged 1,515% since 2010 . The discrepancy centers on how companies account for renewable energy credits and supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions .