WASHINGTON, DC (August 13, 2026) – At a time when the world’s attention is captured by a fast and dirty data center buildout, an even more sinister climate threat continues under the nose of regulators, governing bodies, and the public. New research shows the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) to make the fossil fuel industry more productive are an even bigger climate threat than data centers.
In response to the Enabled Emissions Campaign’s new publication in a Nature journal which provides a methodology for how to estimate the net climate impact of AI from tech companies, Greenpeace USA Senior Research Specialist, Johanna Fornberg, PhD said:
“Big Tech continues to promise that new technologies and AI are for the benefit of humanity, and insists that they are climate solutions. What is hidden from that story is the aggressive support tech companies provide to fossil fuel companies to continue producing oil and gas that harms communities and the climate. Advanced technology can never be a climate solution when it services fossil fuels.
“The report shows that the productivity gains from specialized technology alone ‘generate emissions 3.3 to 13.3 times larger than today’s datacenter emissions, and up to eight times larger than projected 2035 datacenter emissions’. Even when tech companies provide specialized technology that benefits renewables, the net effects of fossil fuel discovery, extraction, and production disproportionately accelerates fossil fuel emissions and supply.
“The Enabled Emissions Campaign shows that the reality of AI use is skewed towards finding and drilling more dirty fossil fuels, and ensuring their continued hegemony in energy systems. Big Tech will continue to be negligent in fueling a massive climate bomb through enabled emissions until the day they drop all contracts for fossil fuel companies.
“AI and advanced technology are expected to transform global economies, and there must be accountability for the direction of that transformation. Without serious federal policy and global governance interventions, AI’s impact will further derail a just energy transition that communities and the planet desperately need.”
In 2020, Greenpeace USA released the Oil in the Cloud report, which revealed some of the fossil fuel contracts that Amazon, Google (Alphabet), and Microsoft provide to the fossil fuel industry. Contracts for exploration, extraction, productivity, and other applications meant billions in profits for both the tech companies that supplied artificial intelligence and other advanced technology and for fossil fuel companies through supply gains.
Contact: Madison Carter, Greenpeace USA National Press Secretary, [email protected], +1 703-554-4842
Greenpeace USA Press Desk: [email protected]
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
