infra
Planned Amazon data center could become the biggest climate polluter in the US
August 9, 2026
Amazon’s carbon emissions rose 16% last year as AI-driven demand grows, even as the company has pledged to eliminate its emissions by 2040. The data-center buildout tied to AI could make Amazon one of the largest climate polluters in the US, highlighting the environmental cost of scaling compute infrastructure.
AI has already had a significant impact on Amazon’s carbon emissions, which it reported were up 16% last year — the wrong direction for a company that pledged to eliminate its carbon emissions by 2040.
Source: techcrunch.com