Amazon’s Ai Push Is Undermining Its Sustainability Goals

Amazon’s decarbonization goals are being undermined by its push to beryllium a leader successful generative AI. Its astir caller sustainability report concedes its wide c emissions grew for nan first clip since 2022. It reported a six percent summation successful its c footprint crossed 2024, laying overmuch of nan blasted astatine nan feet of its information halfway rollout.

The reported summation is important fixed Amazon’s method of reporting its ain biology impact. Critics person suggested nan mega-retailer “dramatically undercounts” its effect by excluding communal metrics. In 2022, Amazon revised its ambiance reporting methodology which besides led to nan company’s figures falling dramatically.

In addition, nan institution reported an summation successful emissions tied to nan acquisition of powerfulness from extracurricular sources. “The accrued power request is from AI chips,” says nan report, which “require much energy and cooling than accepted chips.” As good arsenic nan powerfulness to tally and cool those chips, Amazon is building large to summation its server capacity. Data halfway construction, arsenic good arsenic substance usage by logistics contractors, led indirect emissions to summation by six percent. That said, nan company’s own fossil substance emissions accrued by 7 percent successful 2024, which is hardly a ringing endorsement.

Amazon is simply a co-founder of The Climate Pledge, an inaugural to scope nett zero emissions by 2040. The inaugural now has 549 signatories, including MasterCard, Sony and Snap.inc.

In February, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy pledged to put $100 cardinal crossed 2025, pinch CNBC reporting nan bulk of that rate would beryllium spent connected Amazon Web Services (the company’s information halfway and web hosting arm). Given nan summation successful construction, it’s apt Amazon’s study for 2025 will travel this aforesaid upward trend.