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Tech vs. Climate

Illustration with busts of Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai, Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Peter Thiel in front of an orange-tinted industrial smokestack silhouette background and over a bottom navy bar with vertical zeros and ones in blue and teal and three large text bubbles with three white dots inside.

About the Series

Leaders of the world’s largest tech companies have for years promised that their products, business models, and personal fortunes would solve the mounting climate crisis. But in this series we show how Silicon Valley executives and the powerful companies they run not only are failing to deliver on their promises, they’re actively making the odds of catastrophic climate breakdown worse.

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In This Series

AI Was Supposed to Cut Emissions. Instead, Fossil Fuel Companies Are Using It to Find More Oil and Gas.
BySarah Hofmann
on
A new study found AI-driven fossil fuel productivity could increase emissions. Here are examples of companies already using AI to boost production.
Series: Tech vs Climate
uk/Tony Blair Institute Brings Gas-Guzzling Tech Giants to Labour Conference
BySam Bright
on
The think tank has received extensive funding from U.S. tech interests.
Series: Tech vs Climate
us/Pennsylvania AI Data Center Developer Asked Trump Administration Official to Help Loosen Toxic Emissions Limits
ByEdward Donnelly
on
Brian O'Neill asked the State Department attorney to set up meetings with state and federal officials that would clear the way for his project's gas power plants.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Brian O'Neill (seated, center) at an Upper Merion Township Planning Commission meeting on May 27, 2026. (Credit: Edward Donnelly/DeSmog)
us/How Pennsylvania Governor’s Office Helped Push for Huge Data Centers in the Philadelphia Suburbs
ByEdward Donnelly
on
Emails reveal behind-the-scenes talks with state officials to clear the way for project in Upper Merion Township.
Series: Tech vs Climate
People stand outside of the packed Freedom Hall meeting room in the Upper Merion Township Building on the evening of May 27, 2026. (Credit: Edward Donnelly/DeSmog)
uk/OpenAI Draws Fire for Employee’s Remarks at Pro-Trump CPAC GB Event
ByAdam Barnett
on
A member of staff at the firm advocated for AI deregulation at the Reform-linked conference.
Series: Tech vs Climate, MAGA
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Credit: TechCrunch (CC BY 2.0)
us/How Big Oil Spent Decades Selling the Myth of ‘Clean’ Natural Gas
BySarah Hofmann
on
A new report reveals oil and gas companies knew as early as the mid-1970s that methane fueled climate change while launching massive PR campaigns to promote natural gas as clean energy.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Credit: Sari Williams/DeSmog
Opinion
us/Big Tech Joins Big Oil in Ruining Summer
ByClara Vondrich
on
The industry has abandoned its climate pledges in favor of fossil fuel-powered AI data centers.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Protesters on a “Tech Oligarchy Tour” in April visited the Washington, D.C. offices of META, Microsoft, and Open AI, before concluding at the Data Center World Conference. (Credit: Courtesy of Third Act Actions Lab)
us/Pennsylvania’s Petrochemical ‘Renaissance’ Hasn’t Panned Out
BySarah Hofmann
on
More than a decade after Shell announced its Beaver County complex, new reports show the oil giant’s promised economic revival failed, while pollution concerns now shape debates over proposed data centers.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Shell’s Monaca petrochemical complex in Beaver County, PA, as it neared completion in April 2022. Credit: Julie Dermansky
TikTok’s Climate Pledges Collide with Sponsorship of Climate Deniers
ByRei Takver
on
By backing a right-wing Canadian conference featuring anti-climate speakers, experts warn TikTok has “abandoned” its commitments to combat climate misinformation.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Credit: Sari Williams/DeSmog
us/Climate Denier Group Pushes States to Embrace Coal Power for Data Centers
BySharon Kelly
on
The Heartland Institute used the American Legislative Exchange Council’s 2025 annual meeting to spread climate disinformation and tout coal to power AI.
Series: Tech vs Climate
The Heartland Institute is now urging big tech companies to burn coal and other fossil fuels to power the enormous data centers used to run AI systems. Credit: Sari Williams/DeSmog
Inside the Plot to Cover Europe with Gas-Powered AI Data Centres
ByRei Takver
on
Gas turbine manufacturers are confident they will win the battle over whether Europe’s AI boom will be powered by fossil fuels.
Series: Tech vs Climate
A data centre building in Poplar, Tower Hamlets, London. Credit: Lana Rastro
uk/Sri Lankan ‘Grifters’ Pumping Out AI ‘Energy Policy Rage Bait’ on UK Facebook Feeds
ByJoey Grostern
on
Experts say mass-produced AI misinformation is the “new Cambridge Analytica scandal”.
Series: Tech vs Climate
A screenshot of AI content posted on Facebook, encouraging UK oil and gas exploration.
Analysis
Carney Government Wants To ‘Provide’ the Fossil Fuels for Trump’s AI Strategy
ByMitch Anderson
on
The Liberals once talked tough about distancing Canada from the U.S. Now they seem eager to profit from the president’s agenda.
Series: Carney's Climate Betrayal, Tech vs Climate
Canadian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson. Credit: Tim Hodgson/Facebook
us/How Data Center Developers Staked Their Claim in Rural Georgia
ByEdward Donnelly
on
DeSmog investigation reveals details of push to influence local officials to approve mega-project in Coweta County.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Jacqueline Lassetter, foreground, attends a Coweta County Commission meeting on December 16, 2025. (Credit: Edward Donnelly/DeSmog)
us/Pennsylvania Town Votes Buzzer-Beater ‘No’ on Data Center Mega-Project
ByEdward Donnelly
on
After months of protests — and a rushed legal deadline — officials deny Texas developer’s project as residents warn of pollution and impacts on wildlife, water, and power.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Archbald, Pennsylvania, residents packed the borough’s city hall March 27, 2026, to protest a data center development that threatened the town’s power and natural resources. Credit: WBRE/WYOU News/Instagram
us/Data Centers Are Poised to Engulf a Pennsylvania Town
ByEdward Donnelly
on
DeSmog investigation reveals how developers weakened local limits on giant AI projects.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Archbald resident Tamara Misewicz-Healey speaks at Archbald Borough Building on November 24, 2025. (Credit: Edward Donnelly/DeSmog)
Carney Allowed Gas-powered AI Data Centres After Lobbying From Alberta Energy Company
ByTaylor Noakes
on
The Alberta gas giant Capital Power lobbied the government 37 times in the lead-up to an accord suspending clean energy regulations, federal records show.
Series: Carney's Climate Betrayal, Tech vs Climate
Prime Minister Mark Carney. Credit: Prime Minister of Canada /YouTube
uk/AI vs. Net Zero: The UK’s Next Climate Battle
ByRei Takver
on
Opponents of climate action are taking advantage of the AI boom to attack the government’s clean energy goals.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Energy and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, Conservative Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho, and Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice. Credit: Lauren Hurley / DESNZ (Miliband), Christine Quarmyne / CCHQ (Coutinho), Reform UK / YouTube (Tice)
Big Tech Accused of AI ‘Greenwashing’
ByJoey Grostern
on
A new report has found that “the promises of planet-saving tech remain hollow”.
Series: Tech vs Climate
ChatGPT chatbot logo on phone screen. Credit: Iain Masterton / Alamy
Canada Pension Plan is Bankrolling Trump’s Fossil Fuel and AI Agenda
ByTaylor Noakes
on
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has invested billions in fossil fuel expansion in the United States since Trump’s return to office.
Series: Tech vs Climate
President Donald Trump. Credit: Gage Skidmore (CC by 2.0)
Q&A: Tech Billionaires’ AI Space Empire Fantasies Are ‘An Insidious Form of Climate Denial’
ByRei Takver
on
Science journalist Adam Becker speaks with DeSmog about how Silicon Valley tech billionaires have invented new forms of greenwashing and climate denial in their quest for ever-more fantastic technology.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Author Adam Becker’s book, More, Everything, Forever, exposes how tech billionaires’ sci-fi inspired fantasies about ever-more technology making everything, endlessly, better are “wildly implausible.” Credit: Hachette Book Group/DeSmog
Amazon Sponsors AI Energy Summit Featuring Climate Deniers
ByRei Takver
on
Speakers at the event previously said "there is no climate crisis" and there is "lively debate" on climate science.
Series: Tech vs Climate
At Amazon’s C3 Energy Summit, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright advocated for a “bipartisan permitting reform bill” to speed up U.S. energy infrastructure and data center build out. Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
us/Behind Closed Doors, Georgia County Rewrote Data Center Rules
ByEdward Donnelly
on
Emails obtained by DeSmog show county officials continually met privately with Project Sail lobbyists, something denied to local residents opposing the $17 billion data center.
Series: Tech vs Climate
A road near the proposed billion Project Sail data center site in Coweta County, GA, June 5, 2025. Credit: Edward Donnelly
us/These 15 Coal Plants Would Have Retired. Then Came AI and Trump.
ByJoe Fassler
on
Utilities started reversing coal power’s “irreversible” decline. Will it last?
Series: Tech vs Climate
A coal power plant sinks into the ocean and an orange outline of Donald Trump throws a life preserver with 0s and 1s in it to the power plant. Dark clouds sit on the horizon.
The Koch Network Is Pushing Trump to Accelerate AI, Documents Show
ByGeoff Dembicki
on
Right-wing political group Americans for Prosperity, backed by oil and gas billionaire Charles Koch, sees data centers as part of a larger pro-fossil fuel agenda.
Series: MAGA, Tech vs Climate
Koch, Inc., said in October that its real estate arm has been getting into the business of building data centers like this one in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Credit: Chad Davis/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
us/Nvidia CEO Praises Trump Energy Chief — a Climate Denier — and his 'Passion' for Science
ByRei Takver
on
Jensen Huang gives "a shout-out for Secretary Chris Wright" as Nvidia and Trump administration partner on a massive AI buildout.
Series: Tech vs Climate, MAGA
Video still of Nvidia CEO Jason Huang's keynote speech at an October AI conference. The English caption reads, "I have to have a shoutout for Secretary Chris Wright. He has brought so much energy to the DOE."
Nvidia Flogged AI for Brazilian Oil and Gas on Eve of COP30
ByRei Takver
on
The tech giant was in Rio de Janeiro hawking AI software to fossil fuel firms just days before crucial climate crisis negotiations in the Amazon.
Series: COP30 Coverage, Tech vs Climate
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia. A DeSmog collage. Credit: Simon Liu / Office of the President (Huang, CC-BY-2.0); Wikimedia Commons (Petrobas, CC-BY-SA-4.0); Wikimedia Commons (Nvidia, CC-Zero); Ivan Mlinaric (Amazon rainforest, CC-BY-2.0)
Bill Gates Gave $3.5M to Think Tank Run by Climate Crisis Denier Bjorn Lomborg 
ByRei Takver
on
Tax records reveal that the billionaire’s foundation has donated for years to Lomborg’s Copenhagen Consensus Center.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Left, academic and climate crisis denier Bjorn Lomborg in black speaks onstage at the ARC Forum. Right, a close-up of billionaire Bill Gates, smiling, looks left and holds his hands in fists.
‘Deluge’ of Disinformation on TikTok and YouTube Following Historic Flood
ByJoey Grostern
on
Falsehoods about the flooding in Valencia last year were seen by millions on social media, new research finds.
Series: Tech vs Climate
The aftermath of flooding in Valencia, Spain, in October and November 2024. Credit: Pacopac (CC BY-SA 4.0)
uk/Labour’s Big Tech Love Affair Could Blow Up Its Climate Promises
ByRei Takver
on
The government has signed vast deals with gas-loving, Trump-donating AI giants.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts U.S. President Donald Trump for a state visit in September 2025. Credit: Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
OpenAI’s New Energy Chief Is a Trump Administration Natural Gas Evangelist
ByRei Takver
on
The ChatGPT creator hired John McCarrick, a gas-loving former Trump energy official, to guide how the company will source huge quantities of power for its colossal supercomputers.
Series: Tech vs Climate
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (left) has hired John McCarrick (right), a former Trump administration energy official, as the AI company's new energy chief. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
uk/Labour’s AI Drive Faces Fossil Fuel Pressure at Party Conference
BySam Bright
on
Lobbyists are pushing for the UK’s AI boom to be fuelled by gas.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, as he attends an event in London in September 2025. Credit: Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
uk/Colossal Diesel Capacity of Trump-Donor’s UK Data Centre
ByRei Takver
on
It is “outrageous” that the richest companies in the world are being allowed to use fossil fuels to power AI, campaigners say.
Series: Tech vs Climate
A DeSmog collage of Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, U.S. President Donald Trump, and a Blyth road sign. Credit: World Economic Forum / Flickr (Schwarzman), NATO / Flickr (Trump)
Analysis
us/No, the U.S. Doesn’t Need Fossil Fuels to Win ‘an AI Arms Race’ Against China
ByJoe Fassler
on
These industry players and allies push a misleading narrative the Trump administration now parrots.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Dueling American and Chinese missiles with binary code on them duel over an image of a smoggy gas plant
Meta Put a Climate Change Denier in Charge of Fighting AI Bias
ByTaylor Noakes
on
Right-wing influencer Robby Starbuck has a new job advising on political bias in Meta’s AI tools. His record on climate is concerning, say advocates.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Influencer Robby Starbuck interviewed on CNBC
uk/Trump Ambassador’s Fortune Intertwined With Big Tech Trade Push
BySam Bright
on
U.S. “corporate titans” are being allowed to build energy intensive data centres on British soil.
Series: Tech vs Climate
U.S. Ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens. Credit: PA Images
us/Developers Push Huge Server Farm in Another Rural Georgia County
ByEdward Donnelly
on
Residents call for more transparency around “hyperscale” data center announced last month for Twiggs County.
Series: Tech vs Climate
The coal-fired Plant Scherer is shown in operation early Sunday, June 1, 2014, in Juliette, Georgia. Credit: Alamy/AP Photo/John Amis
Analysis
us/‘Don’t Patronize Us’: Data Center Charm Offensive Irks Opponents in Rural Georgia
ByEdward Donnelly
on
San Francisco-based developers launch publicity drive to soothe local concerns over giant project.
Series: Tech vs Climate
A paved two lane road through a rural residential area in Coweta County Georgia USA. Lawns and mailboxes are visible along the left side of the road.
uk/AI ‘Slop’ Websites Are Publishing Climate Science Denial
ByJoey Grostern
on
MSN hosted AI-generated content that cited non-existent climate experts and institutions.
Series: Tech vs Climate
AI-generated images published on Climate Cosmos' YouTube page. Credit: Climate Cosmos / YouTube
us/Georgia County Puts Off Key Data Center Vote After Public Backlash
ByEdward Donnelly
on
Opponents of Project Sail say proposed planning laws have been weakened by industry lobbying.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Man in red shirt speaking into a microphone while standing at a podium. Behind him the seats are filled with people.
us/Google President Praised MAGA Speech Slamming ‘Climate Extremist Agenda’
ByGeoff Dembicki
on
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told an AI conference that data centers should be powered by coal, gas, and nuclear. Ruth Porat said his “comments were fantastic.”
Series: Tech vs Climate, MAGA
Credit: DeSmog
Analysis
us/Data Center Lobbyists Clear the Way for Mega-Projects in Rural Georgia
ByEdward Donnelly
on
Public records reviewed by DeSmog show developers worked to dilute draft planning rule in Coweta County.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Power transmission lines near the site of the proposed Project Sail data center complex in Coweta County, Georgia, which may use up to 900 megawatts of electricity. Credit: Edward Donnelly
Can AI Slash Pollution? Fossil Fuel Industry Is Investing in Boosting Oil Production, Profits Instead
BySharon Kelly
on
DeSmog reveals that Big Oil says they’re using AI to produce more fossil fuels, while utilities are exploring how “AI agents” could take over key power grid functions.
Series: Tech vs Climate
At the Reuters Global Energy Transition conference in June, Selda Gunsel of Shell discussed how her company plans to use AI to pump more oil. Credit: Sharon Kelly
us/xAI Data Center Emits Plumes of Pollution, New Video Shows
ByNick Cunningham
on
A massive data center at xAI’s controversial site in Memphis, Tennessee is emitting huge plumes of pollution, according to footage recorded by an environmental watchdog group.
Series: Tech vs Climate
A screenshot of Oilfield Witness's video on YouTube of the xAI Colossus Data Centre in Memphis, Tennessee (Screenshot: Gas Outlook/Nick Cunningham; video still: Oilfield Witness)
us/In Texas, AI Gold Rush Helps Spur Demand for Over 100 New Gas Plants
ByJoe Fassler
on
State may be “rubber stamping” some air pollution permits, according to new report on the boom.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Natural gas power plant under construction on a river bank in Texas.
A Weaponized AI Chatbot Is Flooding Canadian City Councils with Climate Misinformation
ByRory White
on
Thousands of councillors in more than 500 municipalities have received AI emails from a group called KICLEI, a name that mimics the international network ICLEI.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Fredericton City Hall in New Brunswick, Canada. Credit: Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
REVEALED: The Conservative Playbook for Bringing DOGE to Canada
ByGeoff Dembicki
on
With a federal election looming, reps from Amazon and TC Energy discuss how a new Pierre Poilievre government could slash bureaucracy ‘more quickly’ than Trump.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Elon Musk (left) and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre (right)
AI Energy Demand Can Keep Fossil Fuels Alive, Tech Backers Promise World’s Two Biggest Oil Producers
BySharon Kelly and Bailey Chambers
on
An AI-fossil fuel axis is forming in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia as AI advocates pledge an endless need for energy — spelling disaster for the climate.
Series: Tech vs Climate
“We need energy in all forms,” Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, now chair of the pro-AI think tank, Special Competitive Studies Project, told a Congressional hearing on April 9. Credit: House Committee on Energy and Commerce/YouTube
us/From Farms to Data Centers: The Natural Gas Industry’s Newest Sales Pitch Comes to Virginia’s Pittsylvania County
ByEdward Donnelly
on
Local officials are considering developer Balico’s plans to build the biggest gas-fired power plant in the U.S. in over a decade.
Series: Tech vs Climate
In Chatham, Virginia, Amanda Sink Wydner has been leading opposition to a proposed data center and the 3,500-megawatt gas-fired power plant that would fuel it. Credit: Amanda Sink Wydner
Trump Plan to Use EPA to Promote AI Could Harm the Climate and Drive Up Electric Bills
BySharon Kelly
on
Utilities asked EPA chief Lee Zeldin to unleash AI growth by scrapping carbon capture deadlines and other fossil fuel regulations, passing costs onto consumers.
Series: Tech vs Climate
President Trump has charged Lee Zeldin’s EPA with making the U.S. the “Artificial Intelligence Capital of the World.” Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Analysis
Elon Musk’s Embrace of Far-Right Energizes Transatlantic Climate Denial 
ByGeoff Dembicki, Edward Donnelly, Joe Fassler and Adam Barnett
on
The tech billionaire is invigorating groups in the U.S. and Europe aiming to sabotage climate action, a DeSmog media analysis shows.
Series: MAGA, Tech vs Climate
"I think you really are the best hope for Germany," Elon Musk told the thousands attending the far-right Alternative for Germany party's rally on January 25. France 24 English/YouTube
Analysis
The Wheels Are Falling off Alberta’s Gas-Powered AI Data Centre Proposal
ByMitch Anderson
on
Thanks to shifting markets, political scandal, and the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation citing ‘zero consultation’ in its cease and desist letter.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary recently said the 'Wonder Valley' proposal was Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's idea.
Analysis
us/The Rising Hunger of AI Data Centers Accelerates the Need for Clean Energy to Meet Demand
ByNed Randolph
on
A Louisiana utility has dragged its feet on renewables. Now, a proposed Meta data center might create an “urgent” push for dirty power instead.
Series: Tech vs Climate
A Facebook data center in Oregon. Its parent company, Meta, is planning a new data center in northern Louisiana. Credit:
Analysis
Why Is Alberta Falling for Kevin O’Leary’s AI Data Centre Stunt?
ByMitch Anderson
on
The celebrity investor pitched ‘Wonder Valley’ with no committed investors, no Indigenous partnership, and about 27 megatonnes of projected annual emissions.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Kevin O’Leary pitched a billion natural gas-powered data centre in Alberta.
AI Is Pushing Gas Demand to ‘Record Highs,’ Pipeline Builder TC Energy Says
ByGeoff Dembicki
on
Tech firms like Amazon and Google ‘have enormous responsibility’ for driving fossil fuel expansions, climate expert argues.
Series: Tech vs Climate
'Never have I seen such strong prospects for North American natural gas demand growth,' TC Energy CEO François Poirier told investors in July.
us/Vance’s ‘Weird Science’ Debate Remark Echoes Billionaire Who Powered His Political Rise
BySharon Kelly
on
Peter Thiel, JD Vance’s former boss, also expresses confusion on climate, supporting expanded fossil fuel use while appearing unclear on the consequences.
Series: Tech vs Climate
Vance’s debate performance seemed to more closely echo billionaire Peter Thiel, who fueled Vance’s rise. Credit WikimediaCommons
Analysis
The ABCs of AI and Environmental Misinformation
ByStella Levantesi
on
DeSmog talks with AI researchers about the risks of widespread fake climate content and how to combat it.
Series: Gaslit, Tech vs Climate
Researchers found GPT-fabricated content in Google Scholar mimicking scientific papers on issues including the environment, health, and computing. Credit: DeSmog
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