Microsoft's emissions rise 25% to 20.3 Mt, 58% above its 2020 baseline
Data-centre expansion and a decision to stop counting non-additional renewable certificates pushed FY2025 emissions to 20.29 MtCO₂e. Microsoft still calls its 2030 carbon-negative goal achievable.
Microsoft's 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report puts FY2025 emissions at 20.29 million tonnes CO₂e, up from 16.21 million the year before. The company attributes the rise primarily to data-centre construction and to no longer using "non-additional" unbundled renewable energy certificates — a change that lifted Scope 2's share of the total from 2% to 13%. Electricity consumption grew about 24%.
Against the 2020 baseline of its carbon-negative pledge, emissions are now roughly 58% higher. The report concedes that "sustainability solutions are not scaling fast enough to meet demand" while pointing to progress elsewhere: Microsoft replenished more water than it withdrew globally for the first time and reused or recycled 92% of retired cloud hardware.
Sources
- 1.Microsoft's data center expansion drove 25% emissions spikeESG Dive · Jul 10, 2026
- 2.Microsoft's AI drive saw its carbon emissions grow by 25 percent in 2025Engadget · Jul 10, 2026
- 3.Microsoft emissions up 23% since 2020, blames AI data centersData Center Dynamics · Jun 5, 2025