Amazon’s Emissions Climbed 6% in 2024 on Data Center Buildout

Amazon.com Inc.’s carbon emissions rose for the first time in three years in 2024, driven by data center construction and fuel consumption by its delivery providers.

The world’s largest online retailer emitted 68.25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent last year, up 6% from the prior year, Amazon said in its annual sustainability report, which was published on Wednesday. The company’s emissions last year were up by a third since Amazon pledged in 2019 to eliminate them by 2040.

The company and its high-tech rivals are spending heavily on data centers to power artificial intelligence applications, which ...