By by Roberta Harrington The greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions of search and data giant Google increased almost 50% in five years because of artificial intelligence (AI). The technology is highly power-hungry. The news is a blow for Google as the tech giant repeatedly touts sustainability and buying of renewable energy. The company, which divulged the emissions surge in its 2024 sustainability report, has said it wants to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030. In 2023 alone, Google’s emissions surge was 13% year on year, reaching 14.3mn tonnes. The company’s data centre power consumption increased b…