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The AI boom may be having a side effect: a surge in Big Tech buying carbon credits to offset emissions generated by its energy-hungry buildout. Amazon , Google , Meta , and Microsoft have ramped up purchases of permanent carbon credits since the launch of ChatGPT sparked the AI race in 2022, according to data compiled for CNBC by carbon credit management platform Ceezer. The companies have all committed to reaching net-zero emissions, but the rapid development of energy and water-intensive AI has raised questions about whether that goal is achievable. The credits allow them to offset emissions by funding other projects that reduce emissions, such as technologies that remove carbon from the atmosphere. Each carbon credit represents a metric ton of carbon dioxide reduced or removed from the atmosphere. Amazon, Google's parent company Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta are eyeing a near-$700 billion combined bill to fuel their AI ambitions this year, which includes building massive data centers that also contribute to higher emissions. They increased their purchases from 14,200 credits for permanent carbon removal in 2022 to 11.92 million in 2023, based on available market data from a carbon credit management platform, Ceezer, which also analyzed information from carbon market data insights providers Allied Offset and Cdr.fyi. They rose 104% year-on-year in 2024 to 24.4 million and 181% to 68.4 million in 2025, per Ceezer.
Ceezer's data focuses on carbon removals considered permanent, while Microsoft's purchases cover a range of time-limited carbon removals, defined as high, medium, and low durability, with the latter involving techniques that sequester carbon for less than 100 years, such as soil or forestry. Amazon declined to comment on its carbon credit strategy, while Meta and Google did not respond to requests for comment.
A low starting point
Of the four Big Tech companies, only Microsoft has consistently reported annual purchases that stretch back before 2022. Credits are also bought in batches delivered over a multi-year period, which could skew the numbers. In addition, there is no obligation to report them. Some purchases may not have been reported due to potential reputational risk — early carbon credits were controversial for not representing genuine emissions reductions, Ceezer CEO Magnus Drewelies told CNBC. Due to a tight clean energy supply to support the AI buildout, achieving net zero is "impossible" for Big Tech without carbon removal, Drewelies said. Technological carbon removal includes various techniques such as direct air capture, where machines are used to suck carbon dioxide from the air, and processes that speed up nature's ability to capture and store carbon.
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Ben Rubin, executive director of industry coalition Carbon Business Council, told CNBC the jump in purchases reflects the UN's 2022 IPCC report, which said carbon removal would be needed for all pathways to limit global warming below 1.5 degrees. "The demand surge for removal in 2023 was not a short-term reaction but the beginning of a structural shift, matched by increasing private sector action and public policy support," he told CNBC, adding that purchases reflect a move from small demonstration purchases to multi-year offtake agreements. "These buyers are looking to secure future supply, send demand signals to the market, and address residual emissions in their long-term climate strategies," he said.
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