Emissions from AI chip production quadrupled in 2024 — Greenpeace

Greenhouse gas emissions from the production of semiconductors for artificial intelligence will more than quadruple in 2024, Bloomberg reported, citing a Greenpeace report. The organization bases its findings on open data and reports from leading companies in the industry.

The main AI chip manufacturers are TSMC, SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron, which supply GPUs and memory to giants like NVIDIA and Microsoft. The main production is located in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan - regions where energy systems remain dependent on fossil fuels.

This data reinforces concerns about how the rapid development of AI affects the climate. The Greenpeace report refutes the idea that AI will help transition to clean energy, even if it initially causes increased emissions. For example, Bill Gates believes that in the future AI will help reduce emissions. However, the facts indicate the opposite: energy consumption for chip production has increased by 351%, and emissions - by 357%.

TSMC said it was reducing emissions per unit of production. NVIDIA says in its sustainability report that it is working with suppliers to reduce emissions throughout its supply chain. Samsung could not immediately be reached for comment, while SK Hynix and Micron did not respond to requests for comment.

Greenpeace believes that East Asian countries should use more renewable energy sources. But instead, governments continue to build new facilities that increase emissions. For example, South Korea plans to build new power plants using liquefied natural gas, and Taiwan wants to build a new terminal to import this gas to ensure a stable energy supply for chip manufacturing.

Today, over 83% of electricity in Taiwan, 68.6% in Japan, and 58.5% in South Korea is generated from fossil fuels, which increases the environmental risks from the rapid development of AI.