Microsoft's total carbon emissions jumped 25% year over year, according to its latest sustainability report. The increase is tied to the company's massive data center expansion for AI, with many new facilities running on fossil fuels instead of hydropower. A planned off-grid data center in West Virginia, for example, would rely entirely on natural gas generators. Microsoft still aims to be carbon negative by 2030, but the AI boom is making that target harder to reach. The company says it matched its data center power consumption with renewable energy last year, but admits that may be tough to repeat. It is also investing in green steel, cross-laminated timber, and low-carbon concrete to cut construction emissions. The report highlights a tension between Big Tech's climate pledges and the energy demands of AI infrastructure, a pattern seen across the sector.
