Google, Microsoft and Amazon Emit 19m Tonnes of CO2 in Fiscal 2026, Equal to a Third of France
Official company figures show Google and Microsoft emissions each rose 25% year-on-year in fiscal 2026, diverging from EU industrial abatement trends.
Google and Microsoft each recorded a 25% year-on-year increase in carbon emissions for fiscal 2026, with Amazon posting a 16% rise, according to official company figures cited by Oilprice.com on Sunday (2026-08-16). The numbers come from the companies' own public disclosures.6
Taken together, the three companies emitted 19 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in their most recent fiscal year, roughly a third of France's total national carbon output, the same report showed. Placed in EU policy terms, 19 million tonnes is not a trivial fraction of the annual output of the roughly 10,000 installations covered by the EU Emissions Trading System.6
The EU ETS data point in the opposite direction. Analysts polled by Montel ahead of preliminary ETS emissions data due on Thursday (2026-05-21) estimated that output from ETS-covered plants and factories likely fell around 2% in 2025. Google and Microsoft each grew their emissions by 25% in fiscal 2026, and Amazon by 16%.1,6
France, the national benchmark used in this comparison, has been working to reduce its own carbon intensity. In the week of May 11 (2026-05-11), the French government partially disclosed plans to double electrification support to around EUR 10bn per year through 2030, up from EUR 5.5bn currently, targeting the replacement of 85 terawatt-hours of gas in the building sector — equivalent to 20% of current French gas imports, Montel reported.2
Domestic obstacles complicate those plans. Analysts and industry players told Montel on Thursday (2026-05-21) that France's tax regime favours gas over electricity, which risks slowing the transition. Uncertainty about the effectiveness of the government's proposed certificate scheme adds to the concern. The government has not released full details of that mechanism.2
The tech sector sits largely outside EU ETS coverage, but its power demand touches ETS-covered generators. Oilprice.com on Sunday (2026-08-16) cited projections that if both the fossil fuel and renewable sectors benefit equally from AI productivity gains, global CO2 output could rise by between 0.47 billion and 1.8 billion tonnes per year.6 The upper end of that range is roughly 15 to 20 times the annual abatement being tracked within the EU ETS.
Voluntary carbon markets offer one route for companies seeking to offset reported emissions. CME Group data show that more than 200,000 carbon offset futures contracts have traded since their 2021 launch, equating to 200 million metric tonnes of CO2 offsets. U.S. Venture, an energy firm that taps the market for client hedging, said standardisation through futures "gives end users confidence in using voluntary carbon credits as part of their sustainability plan." But the supply of verified credits has not kept pace with the emission growth rates the three hyperscalers now report officially.4,5
Global carbon pricing is generating record government revenue. Governments worldwide raised $107 billion from carbon pricing in 2025 through emissions trading systems and carbon taxes, according to Edie, which published the figure on May 22 (2026-05-22).3 The expansion of those systems has not so far extended binding caps to tech-sector operations in most jurisdictions.
The planned facility identified by Oilprice.com would, if permitted as currently designed, emit 33 million tonnes of CO2 annually. That exceeds the combined reported output of Google, Microsoft, and Amazon for fiscal 2026. Permitting decisions and energy procurement agreements for new AI infrastructure are the concrete signals for carbon market participants tracking how fast the sector's footprint is expanding.6