Microsoft's greenhouse gas emissions rose to 21 million metric tons in fiscal year 2025, a 27% increase from the prior year, driven by rapid data center construction for AI. The company's electricity use has more than tripled since 2020, reaching 37 million megawatt-hours. While Microsoft matches 100% of its annual energy consumption with renewable power purchases, clean energy availability varies by region, especially in Asia and parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, where emissions from energy use jumped from 259,090 to 2.7 million metric tons. Microsoft's capital goods emissions, including server equipment, concrete, and steel, rose from 6 million to 9 million metric tons. The company plans to spend $180 billion on capital projects this year, mostly data centers. Microsoft's water use also increased by over 1 billion liters to 13 billion total. The company replenished more than 14 billion liters globally but acknowledged that local watershed restoration is needed. With four years left to its 2030 carbon negative pledge, Microsoft's emissions are substantially higher than in 2020.
