The tech industry is investing in mega gas plants to power their data centers

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Amazon, Meta, Google, Microsoft and other technology companies are backing a new generation of massive gas-fired power plants to fuel their rapidly expanding AI and cloud computing infrastructure
• Their growing reliance on fossil fuels threatens to undermine previously announced climate commitments, potentially locking in millions of tonnes of carbon emissions for decades

🔭 The context: Amazon's carbon footprint reached approximately 80.85 million metric tonnes in 2025, 58% higher than when Jeff Bezos pledged accelerated climate action in 2019
• New gas projects associated with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google could substantially increase their emissions, while an OpenAI-related campus in Ohio is expected to consume more gas power than several other major projects combined
• Companies argue that gas provides the reliable electricity needed to accelerate AI deployment, while renewable energy investments and carbon accounting help offset their reported footprints
• However, these accounting mechanisms do not eliminate the physical emissions from fossil-fuel combustion

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The expansion of gas-powered data centres risks prolonging fossil-fuel dependence precisely when emissions need to decline rapidly
• Allianz estimates that global data-centre emissions could reach 643 million tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2030, potentially contributing to approximately $164 billion in annual climate damages if the technology sector does not substantially transition towards cleaner energy

⏭️ What’s next: The central challenge is whether technology companies can reconcile the accelerating AI race with credible decarbonisation pathways
• Alternatives such as nuclear energy, renewable electricity paired with large-scale batteries and more efficient infrastructure could reduce dependence on gas
• Carbon capture remains largely absent from the new projects, with unresolved economic, technical and geological constraints limiting its potential

💬 One quote: “AI may feel completely digital, immaterial, but its infrastructure is very physical. It needs land, power plants, transmission, water and fuel, and those choices can last for decades,” - Harvard researcher Gianluca Guidi

📈 One stat: 80.85 million metric tonnes of CO₂ — Amazon's reported carbon footprint in 2025, approximately 58% higher than in 2019, despite its accelerated climate commitments

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