The explosive growth of artificial intelligence is driving new environmental concerns, with Greenpeace warning that leading technology companies are failing to act on their mounting climate impact. According to a new report from the environmental group, major AI developers such as Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google are falling short in their efforts to cut emissions and transition to renewable energy sources.
Artificial intelligence now plays a major role in daily life, from tools like ChatGPT that assist with work to creative applications that generate art and video content. Yet the environmental cost of this technological revolution is steep. The International Energy Agency estimates that a single ChatGPT request consumes about ten times more electricity than a Google search.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has also raised alarms about AI’s broader environmental footprint. Producing the hardware that powers AI requires vast amounts of raw materials, generating significant electronic waste. Greenpeace’s report, titled Supply Change: Tracking AI Giants’ Decarbonisation Progress, assessed the world’s ten largest AI and semiconductor firms, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, AMD, Intel, Nvidia, Broadcom, and Qualcomm.
The findings paint a troubling picture. Seven of the ten companies received failing grades for supply chain decarbonisation. Apple led the ranking with a grade of B, followed by Microsoft (C-) and Google (D-). Nvidia, Broadcom, and Intel were among the worst performers, with Nvidia ranking last overall. Greenpeace said these companies had “inadequate climate commitments, limited transparency, and insufficient actions to reduce emissions in their upstream manufacturing.”
Supply chains remain the biggest challenge, accounting for more than 80 percent of total emissions for Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Broadcom, and nearly 98 percent for AMD in 2024. Nine of the ten companies also failed in transparency, providing little or no information about electricity use or renewable energy adoption among their suppliers.
The report predicts that global electricity demand from AI chip production could rise 170-fold by 2030, reaching about 37,000 gigawatt-hours — more than Ireland’s total electricity use in 2023. Greenpeace urged all AI leaders to commit to 100 percent renewable energy across operations and supply chains by the end of the decade.
Katrin Wu, Greenpeace East Asia’s supply chain project lead, said companies such as Nvidia have built enormous wealth while outsourcing their environmental costs. “They claim their innovations can save the world from climate crises, yet their supply chains push emissions onto regions like East Asia that are already struggling with the energy transition,” she said.
Only Apple has pledged to use 100 percent renewable energy across both its operations and supply chains by 2030. Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD have yet to set net-zero or carbon-neutral goals. In its latest sustainability report, Nvidia said it had reached 100 percent renewable electricity for its offices and data centers but declined to comment on supply chain emissions.
The UNEP has called for stronger international cooperation to address the environmental risks of artificial intelligence. “Governments are racing to develop AI strategies, but few consider sustainability,” said Golestan Radwan, the agency’s chief digital officer. “Ignoring the environmental cost of AI could be as dangerous as overlooking its ethical and social risks.”
