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AI adoption in the US adds ~900,000 tons of CO₂ annually, equal to 0.02% of national emissions. Credit: IOP Publishing
A new study published in Environmental Research Letters finds that continued growth in artificial intelligence (AI) use across the United States could add approximately 900,000 tons of CO₂ annually. This is not a small amount but equates to a relatively minor increase when viewed in the context of nationwide emissions.
While AI adoption is expected to boost productivity and economic output, researchers note that its environmental footprint can be seen as relatively modest compared to other industrial activities. The study examined potential AI integration across various sectors, estimating the associated rise in energy use and carbon emissions.
Key findings include:
AI adoption across the U.S. economy may result in an additional 896,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year, which represents just 0.02% of total U.S. emissions.
Energy use in individual industries could increase by up to 12 petajoules annually, comparable to the electricity consumption of around 300,000 U.S. homes.
Co-author Anthony R. Harding explains, "While the projected emissions from AI adoption are modest compared to other sectors, they still represent a meaningful increase. This underscores the importance of integrating energy efficiency and sustainability into AI development and deployment, especially as adoption accelerates across industries."
As AI technologies become more integrated into daily operations, researchers encourage industry leaders to incorporate energy efficiency and sustainability into their AI strategies to ensure responsible growth as adoption scales.
More information: Watts and Bots: The Energy Implications of AI Adoption, Environmental Research Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ae0e3b Journal information: Environmental Research Letters