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With The Energy Consumption Of AI About To Double By 2026, Microsoft Invests US$ 200 Million In Carbon Credits To Reforest 33 Thousand Hectares In The Amazon And Atlantic Forest!
Artificial intelligence is taking over the world, but it comes at a cost – and it’s not cheap. The absurd amount of energy that these machines consume has left environmentalists and experts worried. So, what will the tech giants do to balance this out? Well, in Microsoft’s case, the solution was to pay US$ 200 million to reforest the Amazon.
But does planting trees really solve the problem? Or is it just a way to clean up their image while the servers keep sucking energy mercilessly?
AI Is Devouring Energy – Fast
We know AI is revolutionary, but what few people think about is just how much energy this technology consumes. In 2022, data centers consumed 460 TWh of electricity – to put that into perspective, it represents about 2% of all electricity used in the world. But hold on: by 2026, this figure could double and reach 1,000 TWh, equivalent to all of Japan’s energy consumption.
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Seen from space, a colossal volcano nearly 5,000 meters high in Russia has released 1,600 km of smoke over the Pacific, forming “devil’s horns” of lava and revealing the brutal force of the Ring of Fire.
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Expedition 501: Scientists drill into the ocean floor and discover a giant reserve of fresh water hidden beneath the sea, extracting nearly 50,000 liters and revealing an invisible system that could reshape the map of water scarcity.
And just for comparison, cryptocurrencies, which already have a reputation as environmental villains, will consume about 160 TWh in 2026. In other words, AI is spending much more – and the worst part: the trend is only going to increase.
So, here comes the question: how will tech companies compensate for this impact?
Microsoft Decided To Open Its Pockets To Try To Solve The Problem
Microsoft has been trying to compensate for its CO2 emissions for some time now. However, the numbers don’t add up: in 2023, the company released 17 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere – a 40% increase compared to 2020.
To avoid having a villainous environmental reputation, the tech giant has been investing in renewable energy and purchasing carbon credits. Just last year, it purchased:
500,000 tons of CO2 from a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum
8 million tons from BTG Pactual bank
234,000 tons from the Mexican company Toroto
But apparently, that still wasn’t enough.
Now, The Bet Is To Reforest The Amazon
This time, Microsoft decided to take a slightly different approach: paying for the reforestation of the Amazon. The company sealed a US$ 200 million deal with re.green, securing the purchase of 3.5 million carbon credits over the next 25 years.
This means that the big tech will help reforest 33 thousand hectares in the Amazon and Atlantic Forest – which, in practical terms, is equivalent to three times the size of Paris or 100 times the size of Central Park.
The partnership with re.green began back in May 2024, with an initial agreement to reforest 15,500 hectares. Now, this new contract adds another 17,500 hectares, totaling the promised 33,000 hectares. Since then, 4.4 million seeds of 80 native species have already been planted in degraded or abandoned areas.
33 Thousand Hectares Is A Lot? Yes. But Near Deforestation, It’s Almost Nothing
Microsoft’s initiative might seem massive when we only look at its numbers. But when we put things into perspective, it gets complicated.
To start with, the Amazon has 850 million hectares – and between 2001 and 2020, it lost 54.2 million hectares to deforestation. In other words: while Microsoft is reforesting an area equivalent to three times Paris, the forest has already lost an area equivalent to the whole of France.
So, as important as this project may be, it is still a drop in the ocean. And we know that without stricter environmental policies, deforestation continues to advance at a rapid pace.
While Some Try To Help, Others Do The Opposite
Microsoft may be investing millions to offset its environmental impact, but not everyone is on the same wavelength. The former U.S. president, Donald Trump, for instance, withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement and declared a “national energy emergency”, focusing on the production of fossil fuels.
And here’s a shocking fact: if everyone on the planet consumed resources at the same rate as the United States, we would need 4.9 Earths to sustain that. And if you think that’s absurd, the United Arab Emirates goes further, with an ecological footprint of 5.8 Earths!
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