Technology giants under pressure: climate goals under criticism!

Technology giants under pressure: climate goals under criticism!

Today is June 26, 2025, and the debates about climate change and the measures necessary to combat global warming are more relevant than ever. Leading technology companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon have committed to being climate neutral by 2030 or 2040. But how credible are these promises? According to a study by the NewClimate Institute and the Carbon Market Watch, companies such as Microsoft, Meta and Amazon consider their climate strategies to be “poor” – while Apple and Google perform “moderately” in this regard, as Leman Bleu reports.

One reason for these critical assessments is the immense electricity consumption of data centers, which is considered the main source of greenhouse gas emissions in the technology sector. For example, Google almost doubled its CO2 emissions between 2019 and 2023. Despite high investments in renewable energies, the sector's electricity needs remain a key problem that threatens climate goals. In addition, many companies purchase their data center energy from subcontractors, whose emissions are often not included in their own footprint. This makes the entire supply chain an important lever in the fight against climate change.

The challenges of climate neutrality

The situation is also interesting in France, where a comprehensive plan has been launched to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. A key goal is to reduce energy consumption by 40% and dramatically increase the production of decarbonized electricity. A study by RTE outlined various scenarios to address the challenges of reducing energy consumption. It is also clear that a significant increase in electrical consumption of between 16% and 60% can be expected, even if overall energy consumption decreases, as explained on RTE France.

Another building block for achieving these climate goals is electrification in various areas such as transport and housing. Here too, improving energy efficiency through new equipment plays a central role. But the expansion of renewable energies faces challenges: weather variability is to be compensated for using new tools such as battery storage and green gas.

A look at Germany

In Germany, research has also focused on the topic of climate neutrality. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE is analyzing the transformation paths to climate neutrality by 2045 in a study. This analysis not only includes technical CO2 sinks, but also looks at social and geopolitical developments. Various scenarios and their effects on energy supply, especially the energy, industry, buildings and transport sectors, are examined in detail. These factors are crucial for the success of the energy transition, as explained on the website of the Fraunhofer Institute.

What remains is the challenge of reconciling all of these major goals while at the same time keeping the increased consumption of electricity under control through digitalization and other technologies. The future will show whether large corporations and politicians can do their part to achieve climate neutrality and whether ambitious plans will actually be put into practice. One thing is clear: there is still a lot of work ahead of us!