ClimateLevel 6 of 6 territoryTerritory, level 6 of 6Used to calculate 1 entry, level 6Calculated with 3 entries, levels 1 and 3Database structure 
5Organisations
4Occupations and activities
3Uses
2Machine operations
1Calculation factorsGemini app, questions and images, 1 day
The questions asked to the Gemini app and the images it generates in one day. Projet Celsius estimate.
- "Create an image" accounts for 74% of emissions in this scenario.
- 100% of the calculation rests on database assumptions; it does not measure actual use.
- Out of scope: AI-generated search overviews, business uses through programming interfaces and model training.
Sentence to citeGemini app, questions and images, 1 day, Projet Celsius estimate: 300 tCO2e per day, for 650 MWh of electricity, servers worldwide (458 gCO2e/kWh).
- Calculated with
- Used to calculate
Breakdown of emissions by item
The pathCreate an image × 150,000,000Gemini app, per day
300 tCO2e in total: 650 MWh of electricity × 458 gCO2e/kWh (servers worldwide).
Inputs of the calculation
PUE of the data centre, Generate an image, Question to Gemini, Create an image
How the calculation is built
Excluding AI-generated search overviews, business uses and training: more than 1 billion users per month and more than 150 million images per day, according to Google. The number of questions is not published: 0.7 per user per day is an assumption. The 0.24 Wh question is a median: the total is a floor.
Comparison with other territories
Characteristics
| Unit | 1 day : 150,000,000 images per week |
|---|---|
| Default location | world, 458 gCO2e/kWh (Ember 2025, life cycle); 11 other locations to choose from |
| Counted | the questions and images of the Gemini app, based on Google's measurement for one question |
| Not counted | AI-generated search overviews, business uses through programming interfaces and model training |
| Status | estimated, 1 other published value |
All the characteristics
| Identifier | IA-0518, projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0518/ |
|---|---|
| Version | 0.1 of 2 November 2026 |
| Category | Territories, cities, territories, global services |
| Choice of the selected value | database calculation from the entries this one is made of, at the quantities of the unit |
| Sources | calculation of the database |
| Licence | CC BY 4.0 |
Usage parameters
Advanced settings
Result for the chosen case
150,000,000 images per week, servers worldwide: 300 tCO2e, 650 MWh.
Breakdown by item
Quantity, unit value, contribution and nature of the data for each item
| Item | Quantity | Unit value | Contribution | Share | Nature of the data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create an image | × 150,000,000 | 3.2 Wh | 480 MWh | 74 % | assumption |
| Question to Gemini | × 700,000,000 | 0.24 Wh | 170 MWh | 26 % | assumption |
Entries that use it (1)
Sources of the calculation
5 publications, for this entry and those used to calculate it, with the chosen parameters.
The result is calculated by Projet Celsius. The sources below support its uses, its factors and its conversion; they do not all measure this total.
Uses and assumptions
These publications shed light on AI tasks and uses. They do not measure the carbon footprint of the case calculated.
Role and limits : Google
What the publication covers. monthly users of the Gemini app, images generated per day
What it does not cover. the number of questions
Reading by the database. A vendor announcement, without a methodology
Gemini app, per day → : Question to Gemini →
The questions asked in one day by the billion monthly users, 0.7 per user
Scope of the figure used. full service, data centre included, measured
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Gemini app, per day → : Create an image →
More than 150 million images generated every day, according to Google; the electricity of a Gemini image is not published, that of an open generator of 2023 stands in for it
Scope of the figure used. server and data centre
Limit. The quantity and the share entrusted to AI are database assumptions, not a measured footprint.
Energy and factors
The references of the selected values and of the entries used in this calculation.
Role and limits : Google
What the publication covers. chips, host, standby machines, data centre, on-site water
What it does not cover. manufacturing, training
Reading by the database. The only production measurement published by a provider
Reference of the selected value
Scope of the figure used. Median text question, May 2025; chips, host, idle reserve machines, data centre
Limit. Record R-0001, attached to the Gemini block
Luccioni et al. · October 2024
Role and limits : Luccioni et al.
Author. Luccioni, Jernite and Strubell
What the publication covers. GPU, processor, memory
What it does not cover. data centre
Reading by the database. Open models only
Create an image → : Generate an image →
One image, of the chosen size: standard by default
Scope of the figure used. GPU, processor, memory; excluding the data centre
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Reference for the variant "Standard image, from 512 to 1,024 pixels per side"
Scope of the figure used. Average of the open models tested, 1,000 images; median 1.35 Wh, maximum 11.49 Wh
Limit. Open models only; closed generators publish nothing
Watershed · Aug. 2026
Estimating GHG Emissions from AI Use: Framework for Corporate-Level Measurement ↗ (new tab)
Role and limits : Watershed
Author. Bistline, Ulissi, Davis, Glidden, Joyce, Li, Mohsenin and Suh (Watershed)
What the publication covers. factors per 1,000 tokens read and written at the server before PUE (host and standby machines included), PUE separate (1.10 for a large operator, 1.56 for an unknown operator)
What it does not cover. clean measurements, the model and the hardware
Reading by the database. Default factors proposed for review (public data as of June 2026); for a large operator, taken from Google's measurement published in 2025 (Elsworth et al.), which already contains the data centre overhead; constant per token, they underestimate long contexts and agents according to the authors
Create an image → : Data centre PUE →
The data centre, convention C3
Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
Reference of the selected value
Scope of the figure used. Default factor for a large operator, from the server to the data centre; 1.56 for an unknown operator
Limit. A default value, not a measurement
Conversion into carbon
The source of the electricity factor of the selected location.
Worldwide: 458 gCO2e/kWh, life cycle.
Role and limits : Ember
Author. Ember, Our World in Data
What the publication covers. electricity generation over the life cycle, by country
What it does not cover. guarantees of origin
Reading by the database. The same source for all countries
Conversion of electricity into carbon: worldwide
Scope of the figure used. the production of electricity over the life cycle, including power plant construction and fuels
Limit. An average for the chosen country, not the electricity contract or the data centre of a specific service.
Published values
1 figure for the same operation, each within its own scope.
| Source | Date | Electricity | What the figure measures | Scope | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini app, per dayselected by the database, v0.1 | 2026 | 648 MWh | the value selected by the database | same scope | estimated |
| Google ↗2026 Environmental Report | June 2026 | 119 GWh | All of Google's electricity in 2025, 43.6 TWh, scaled to one day | check | computation |
The published figures do not all count the same scope; the scope of each figure is written next to it. Why do the estimates diverge?
Nature of the data
Published readings, conventions, assumptions
- Projet Celsius assumptions 100 %
Calculation assumptions
Quantities, nature and source of each assumption
Question to Gemini : × 700,000,000
The questions asked in one day by the billion monthly users, 0.7 per user
Create an image : × 150,000,000
More than 150 million images generated every day, according to Google; the electricity of a Gemini image is not published, that of an open generator of 2023 stands in for it
Methodology conventions
With their alternatives
| The data centre | Server electricity is multiplied by 1.10 for the data centre |
|---|---|
| The default location | Without other information, the servers are in the world, at the world average electricity |
| Electricity, location-based, on a life cycle basis | The kilowatt-hour is that of the servers' country, on a life cycle basis, from a single source for all countries |
| Two significant figures | A calculated value is rounded to two significant figures, a published value is reproduced with the precision of its source; the calculation keeps full precision |
| The formula | the sum of what makes up the entry, then CO2e: electricity (Wh) multiplied by the carbon intensity of the server location (gCO2e/kWh), divided by 1,000 |
| Calculate a case without an entry | The formula, the default values and a step-by-step example |
History
Entry in version 0.1 of 2 November 2026, in the database in version 0.4
- 2 November 2026Version 0.1 of the entry, as of the date of its current value.
- 12 November 2026Designation : Gemini, 1 day becomes Gemini app, questions and images, 1 day.Decision of 12 November 2026: the title states the scope, narrower than the place or the service alone, so that a figure quoted on its own is not taken for all the AI of the place; the address and the value do not change; the old title remains searchable.
- 12 November 2026Short title : Gemini, per day becomes Gemini app, per day.Decision of 12 November 2026: the title states the scope, narrower than the place or the service alone, so that a figure quoted on its own is not taken for all the AI of the place; the address and the value do not change; the old title remains searchable.
- 12 November 2026Description : first sentence without the scope becomes a first sentence that says what is not counted.Decision of 12 November 2026: the title states the scope, narrower than the place or the service alone, so that a figure quoted on its own is not taken for all the AI of the place; the address and the value do not change; the old title remains searchable.
- 31 October 2026Creation of the database, in its first version (0.1).
