"An ideological war over how tech giants can account for AI data center emissions has bled into the international arena. Last week's request for public comment from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) doesn't look like a major win for a tech giant to the naked eye. In fact, it seems almost clerical. But for Google and Microsoft, the announcement constitutes a considerable win in their years-long battle against their competitors over how to account for the carbon emissions of data centers and, by extension, AI."
"The announcement shows that the GHGP is one step closer to implementing a mandatory hourly accounting method for electricity emissions-a carbon-accounting system Google and Microsoft have advocated for since 2020 and 2021, respectively. "We support the proposed Scope 2 updates, which would increase the accuracy and the decarbonization impact of carbon inventories," says Google spokesperson Mara Harris. Microsoft declined to comment."
""There's an intensive lobbying effort going on here, one that these major corporations have each staked considerable reputation and money into, and they are getting a bit ugly," says Jesse Jenkins, an associate professor at Princeton University and the leader of the Google-funded ZERO (Zero-Carbon Energy Systems Research and Optimization) Laboratory."
GHGP issued a public-comment request that moves the organization closer to adopting mandatory hourly Scope 2 accounting for electricity emissions. Google and Microsoft have advocated hourly carbon-accounting methods since 2020 and 2021 to address rising data center emissions driven by AI. Google publicly supported the proposed Scope 2 updates; Microsoft declined to comment. The push triggered intense, well-funded lobbying among major corporations, with critics describing tactics as ugly. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heat, and cooling. The GHGP first announced intentions to revise Scope 2 accounting at the end of 2022.
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