Google ends bulk purchases of carbon offsets, aims for net zero emissions by 2030

Tech giant Google has changed its strategy for achieving carbon neutrality, abandoning its previous practice of buying cheap carbon offsets en masse. The company now aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2030 through absolute emissions reductions and investments in carbon removal projects.

For more than a decade, Google has said it is carbon neutral, balancing its emissions with carbon offsets — credits representing avoided emissions through projects like forest conservation. But the company’s latest environmental report reveals a shift away from that approach, citing a more robust carbon removal ecosystem and the need for more stringent emissions-reduction measures.

The shift coincides with Google’s growing reliance on resource-intensive AI, which is leading to a significant increase in the company’s overall emissions. Google’s total planet-warming emissions in 2023 were 48% higher than in 2019, and energy consumption doubled over that period.

The very validity of carbon offsets has come under intense scrutiny. Critics argue that many offsetting projects, such as forest conservation programs, overstate their impacts, and that renewable energy projects funded by offsets would likely have been built anyway. Google’s purchase of nearly 3 million tons of carbon offsets in 2022 is a case in point.

Going forward, Google plans to focus on direct emissions reductions and investing in verified carbon dioxide removal techniques. These techniques, while more expensive, clearly remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The company has already committed $200 million to a carbon dioxide removal market development fund and has entered into carbon dioxide removal credit agreements with several companies.

Google’s change is part of a broader trend. Companies like EasyJet and Interface Inc. have also dropped claims of offset-based carbon neutrality and received confirmation of their new, more stringent emissions reduction targets from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).

While some experts believe that full offsetting is flawed, they acknowledge that carbon removal could potentially contribute to meeting ambitious climate goals. But they emphasize that reducing emissions should remain the primary goal. Google’s renewed commitment to absolute emissions reductions is a positive step in that direction.