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After 17 years, Google<\/a> has dropped its carbon-neutral promise due to the spike in emissions from its pursuit of AI, according to the tech giant\u2019s latest environmental report<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since 2007, Google has claimed to purchase enough clean-energy supply to match the bulk of the emissions it generates through its data centers and buildings. However, since 2023, Google has no longer \u201cmaintained operational carbon neutrality,\u201d according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s because Google\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions have risen nearly 50% since 2019, the company said. It blamed the spike on \u201cincreasing energy demands from the greater intensity of AI compute,\u201d along with the emissions associated with broader infrastructure investment that AI requires.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the next few years, Google will invest nearly $100 billion in AI, Demis Hassabis, chief executive of Google DeepMind\u2014the company\u2019s AI development lab\u2014has said. So far, the most visible results of that investment are the company\u2019s AI overviews<\/a> in Search, and Google\u2019s Gemini, which is a large language model that can be used to power various AI tools, designed to compete with OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT.\u00a0<\/p>\n That investment, however, comes with a cost, which the environment bears the brunt of, Nathan Truitt, executive vice president of climate funding at the nonprofit American Forest Foundation, told Fortune<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOn an individual level, AI is definitely going to create a rapid increase in emissions for the companies that are heavily invested in it,\u201d Truitt said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s going to lead to the sort of announcement that Google has made where they\u2019re having to recalibrate their climate goals.\u201d<\/p>\n Net-zero versus carbon neutral\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The announcement does not mean Google has completely foregone reducing its emissions. Rather, the company, in the report, set its visions on another goal: reaching net-zero emissions by 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n There is a key distinction between a carbon-neutral goal and a goal of net-zero emissions. Carbon neutral refers to offsetting or neutralizing emissions through carbon-removal activities like planting trees or purchasing carbon credits, without necessarily reducing emissions at the source. Truitt used the metaphor of someone trying to burn off excess calories solely through exercise without changing their diet.<\/p>\n \u201cIn theory, that would be fine, but in practice, it\u2019s very unlikely to work,\u201d Truitt said.<\/p>\n Net zero, on the other hand, involves first reducing emissions as much as possible at the source (the \u201cdiet\u201d part), and then offsetting any remaining emissions through carbon removal activities (the \u201cexercise\u201d part).\u00a0<\/p>\n Truitt noted this combination is \u201cmuch much more effective,\u201d and also extremely ambitious.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to require them to have to solve multiple, really thorny technical, logistical, economic, and financial challenges, all at once, in a very short period of time,\u201d Truitt said.<\/p>\n By focusing on both offsetting carbon emissions and<\/em> reducing greenhouse gasses, Google hopes to have a more \u201ccertain\u201d and \u201cscalable\u201d environmental impact, according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n