Amazon’s Carbon Emissions Jump 6% After 3 Years as AI Data Centres Fuel Energy Demand

Amazon’s carbon emissions increased in 2024 for the first time in three years, potentially because of the construction of new data centers and fuel consumption by its delivery providers, according to 2024 Amazon Sustainability Report.

The Seattle-based tech giant emitted 68.25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2024, up 6% from the prior year after two years of decreasing absolute carbon emissions, according to the 2024 Amazon Sustainability Report, published on July 16.

Presently, not just the tech giant, but other high-tech rivals also are making major investments on data centers to power artificial intelligence applications, which require concrete and steel. These two materials consume a lot of energy to produce.

Bloomberg reported that environmental watchdogs have raised concerns as the AI data center boom consequently surged the electricity demand while bringing back reliance on natural gas and coal-fired power in some places – energy sources which the tech companies had earlier tried to move away from.

In 2024, Amazon and fellow data-center giants Google, Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have also signed deals to adopt carbon-free nuclear power in the coming years, according to a study published by Harvard Business Review.

Amazon’s emissions from purchased electricity increased 1% in 2024. This marks the first increase since the company began reporting the figure in 2019, “in part due to the higher electricity usage required to support advanced technologies.”

“This underscores why it’s important to scale carbon-free energy sources to continue to deliver the advanced technologies our customers need,” stated the report.

AI Fuels Energy Concerns

Amazon’s rising emissions indicate a broader increase in AI‑driven energy demand. A UN report found that indirect emissions from major tech firms jumped 150% from 2020 to 2023, due to the demands of power-hungry data centres, according to Reuters. Raising concerns about whether corporate climate targets can keep up with AI growth

Reverberating similar projections, a March 2025 report, Deloitte Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions revealed that electricity consumption by data centers is forecasted to double to 4% of global electricity consumption by 2030 as power-intensive Generative AI (Gen AI) consumption grows faster than other uses and applications.