Microsoft’s latest sustainability report paints a picture of climate progress while omitting one of the company’s biggest climate liabilities: a massive deployment of fossil fuel-powered infrastructure to power its growing AI and data center empire.
A new Stand.earth-commissioned analysis finds Microsoft makes no mention of three planned fossil gas power plants, totaling 4.75 gigawatts (GW) of capacity – projects that are expected to emit more than 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. Once operational, these facilities will more than double Microsoft’s direct emissions and produce more annual climate pollution than the entire electricity grid of Greece.
The omission comes as Microsoft’s own reporting shows its climate footprint continuing to move in the wrong direction. Since 2020, the company’s gross greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have increased by approximately 80%, while its electricity consumption has surged by 244%. Microsoft now consumes as much electricity as the entire country of Denmark.
“This sustainability report is a masterclass in brushing the truth under the rug, but reality shines through in the details and in the things they’re not saying. Microsoft’s emissions are skyrocketing, and its energy demand now rivals major countries. Microsoft talks proudly about reaching 100% matched renewable energy, but fails to mention that it just signed a 20-year fossil fuel deal with Chevron that blows its targets out of the water. Also, notably absent is any mention of the company’s commitment to deliver round the clock local carbon free energy – or 100/100/0 – which was never formally abandoned but is another attempt to gloss over the reality that the sustainability goals are being sacrificed at the altar of AI,” said Rachel Kitchin, Senior Corporate Climate Campaigner at Stand.earth.
The findings underscore the widening gap between Microsoft’s climate commitments and the realities of its AI expansion. As demand for computing power accelerates, the company is retreating from key climate commitments, including reportedly considering abandoning its goal of matching electricity consumption with carbon-free power on an hourly basis. Instead, Microsoft is turning to fossil gas to feed its rapidly growing energy demand. In contrast, company president Brad Smith told the Associated Press in March that he is “confident in our ability” to meet the company’s 2030 goal to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it is responsible for via nuclear, solar, and hydropower investments.
Stand.earth’s analysis shows Microsoft’s purchased electricity emissions (i.e., Scope 2) are increasing by roughly 20% every year, reflecting the enormous energy demands of its expanding data center footprint. Between 2024 and 2025 alone, Microsoft added 7 terawatt-hours of electricity demand, which is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of Latvia. Also, the company’s power consumption has grown faster than rivals such as Google, Apple, and Meta.
“Microsoft refuses to present a clear rationale for an 80% explosion in emissions since 2020, or a near-doubling of their climate impacts if their data center gas investments proceed. What good they do only scratches at the edges of this AI-and-fossil-fuel freight train. The natural consequence of adding country-sized levels of new power demand is a worsening of dirty fossil fuel reliance. Microsoft needs to reverse course as soon as possible,” said Ketan Joshi, author of the Stand.earth-commissioned analysis.
Key findings include the following:
- The company’s electricity consumption has grown by 244 percent since 2020, reaching a level comparable to Denmark’s annual electricity demand.
- Microsoft does not disclose three planned fossil gas power plants in its 2026 sustainability report. Together, the plants would emit more than 15 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, more than doubling Microsoft’s direct emissions once operational. The projects would produce more annual emissions than Greece’s electricity grid and exceed the power sector emissions of the world’s 15 lowest-emitting countries combined.
- Microsoft’s gross GHG emissions have increased by approximately 80 percent since 2020.
- Between 2024 and 2025 alone, Microsoft increased its electricity consumption by 7 terawatt-hours, equivalent to Latvia’s annual electricity use.
Stand.earth is calling on Microsoft to fully disclose the climate impacts of its planned fossil fuel-powered infrastructure; recommit to supplying new data centers with genuinely carbon-free electricity; and, end investments that lock in decades of fossil fuel dependence while presenting itself as a climate leader.
The fossil fuel-powered data center buildout also comes with its own set of negative externalities, including serious consequences for people living nearby. A Piedmont Environmental Council study published earlier this spring found that on-site power derived from methane gas and diesel generators for a single data center in Virginia could lead to $53-99 million in health-related costs.
Communities living near fossil fuel power, off-grid or otherwise, face increased risk of cancers, heart disease, stroke, respiratory illnesses, and other adverse health outcomes. A 2021 Harvard University study found that 1 in 5 deaths globally can be linked to air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels, reinforcing the industry’s responsibility for rapid climate action.