Electricity emissions, by contract or by grid
Emissions from purchased electricity (scope 2), 2 methods, in tCO2e (logarithmic scale)
Electricity emissions, by contract or by grid
Sources
Source: Meta, 2025; Google, 2026; Microsoft, 2026. projetcelsius.com/en/ai · CC BY 4.0
The analysis
- The "market-based" method counts electricity according to the renewable electricity contracts purchased; the "location-based" method according to the grid to which the centres are connected.
- At Meta, the 2 figures are in a report from 1 to 4,400: 1,358 tonnes with contracts, almost 6 million with the actual grid.
- Both 2 figures are accurate. To know what AI does to the climate today, the one based on the actual grid is the most telling.
The figures
- Meta, contracts (2024): 1,358 t.
- Meta, grid (2024): 5.97 Mt.
- Google, contracts (2025): 2.82 Mt.
- Google, grid (2025): 15.1 Mt.
- Microsoft, contracts (fiscal year 2025): 2.71 Mt.
- Microsoft, grid (fiscal year 2025): 12 Mt.
Assumptions
- Scope 2: emissions from purchased electricity, 2 GHG Protocol methods.
- The GHG Protocol requires publishing both 2; companies highlight the first.
- The years are not the same for the 3 companies.
More on climate
The whole Climate topic →Charts and maps
Chart
ClimateOne question, 4 ways of counting CO2eover90timesgap between the lowest and the highestChartClimateServer electricity, country by country14times as muchin Poland than in France, for the same calculationChartClimateAI emissions, compared99MtCO2eAI in 2025, as much as BelgiumChartClimateGoogle and Microsoft emissions58 to 81%rise in emissions since the baseline year
ClimateOne question, 4 ways of counting CO2eover90timesgap between the lowest and the highestChartClimateServer electricity, country by country14times as muchin Poland than in France, for the same calculationChartClimateAI emissions, compared99MtCO2eAI in 2025, as much as BelgiumChartClimateGoogle and Microsoft emissions58 to 81%rise in emissions since the baseline yearAnalyses
AnalysisClimate12 November 2026Why do estimates of AI's impact differ?Calculated with French electricity, one question to an AI emits 0.012 gram of CO2e; Mistral AI publishes 1.14 gram, more than 90 times as much. Its water use ranges from 0.26 to 45 millilitres depending on the published measurements. These figures are accurate; they do not cover the same scope.
Where does this figure come from?Climate20 October 2026"Meta's electricity emits only 1,358 tonnes of CO2e"In 2024, Meta reports 1,358 tonnes of CO2e for the electricity it buys, the annual footprint of 170 people in France. The same report also gives 5.97 million tonnes. Both of the 2 figures are accurate.Tools
On the Projet Celsius blog ↗
Across the hub
AI Impact DatabaseAll the figures, their methodology and their sources.
AI Ranking10 assistants rated out of 100: performance, ethics and environment.
AnalysesThe signed pieces: analyses, viewpoints, "Where does this figure come from?".
Charts and mapsYou are hereThe reference visuals, with their data and sources.
ToolsOpen calculations, your assumptions on the left, the result on the right.
A question about a figure?
An error, a source to add, a methodology question, a press request: write to us. Guillaume Pakula, Clément Reynaud, Sébastien Pierfederici and Alexandre Veilly will reply.
Write to us →
Projet Celsius, which runs this hub, also helps companies measure and reduce the footprint of their AI use.
Accounting for AI in your Bilan Carbone® ↗
