Google revealed that it achieved a 2% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in 2025, despite experiencing a 37% increase in electricity consumption, with the company crediting its massive clean energy purchase program as a key factor in decoupling its energy use from emissions.

Despite the Scope 1 and 2 achievements, however, in its new 2026 Environmental Report, Google reported a significant increase in its Scope 3 emissions, driven in large part by the company’s accelerating AI infrastructure buildout, and acknowledged that “reaching our climate moonshot is getting harder.”

Google’s 2030 “moonshot” goals include a 24/7 CFE ambition, set in 2020, to run its entire business on carbon-free energy (CFE), matching electricity demand with CFE supply every hour of every day, in every region where the company operates, and a target to reach net zero emissions across its operations and value chain.

The new Environmental Report highlights the challenges facing AI hyperscalers, such as Google and its tech giant peers, in meeting their climate and sustainability goals while simultaneously addressing the rapidly increasing power needs of their growing datacenter footprints. While Google is one of the largest corporate purchasers of clean energy globally, the company noted in its report that “our AI infrastructure buildout is currently accelerating faster than the grid is decarbonizing.”

Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google, said:

“Our report comes at a critical time—as we navigate the tension between hyper-growth and environmental stewardship—and proves our enduring commitment to a more sustainable future.”

In the report, Google reported its largest ever increase in electricity demand, rising 37% over the prior year, but noted that it managed to achieve a 2% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and to match 100% of electricity consumption with renewable energy purchases. The company noted that it has signed more than 240 agreements since 2010 to purchase more than 35 GW of clean energy. Google purchased agreements for over 12 GW of net-new clean energy in 2025, more than 8x its purchases in 2019.

Overall, however, the company’s GHG footprint increased in 2025, driven by 25% growth in Scope 3 emissions, which account for the significant majority – around 80% – of Google’s total emissions. In addition to data center construction, Google highlighted electricity use across the supply chain as a key driver of the increase in Scope 3 emissions, impacted in particular by suppliers in Asia Pacific operating on grids that continue to rely heavily on fossil fuels.

The report also highlighted some of the key initiatives Google is pursuing to address its Scope 3 emissions, including its Clean Energy Addendum (CEA) program asking its highest-impact suppliers to commit to a 100% clean electricity match by the end of 2029 for the power used to manufacture Google products, procuring Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) for emissions that can’t be traced to specific suppliers to catalyze clean energy development in those regional markets, providing suppliers with tools to identify and prioritize energy-saving projects, as well as efforts to reduce data center construction emissions with the use of low-carbon materials, and improving infrastructure and hardware efficiency.

Brandt said:

“While the path to achieving our climate ambitions will not be linear — given our AI infrastructure buildout is currently accelerating faster than the grid is decarbonizing — we remain focused on scaling abundant and affordable clean power globally and progressing technological innovations that drive down emissions across our operations and the broader industry.”

Click here to access Google’s 2026 Environmental Report.