Jensen Huang’s Reckless Environment Record Leaves Nvidia Facing a Climate Reckoning
AI growth brings environmental costs
Nvidia’s chips have helped fuel the AI boom, while their production and use have added to environmental pressures. The company’s chip supply chain involves water- and chemical-intensive factories, and data centers using its products draw heavily on electricity.
Environmental advocates also warn of growing electronic waste. Nvidia has invested in data center development that has drawn opposition over local effects and broader climate concerns.
Advocates call for a change
Greenpeace East Asia is asking interim CEO Colette Kress to commit Nvidia to cutting emissions through renewable energy investment and to ensure its technology respects human rights. The group also criticizes the company’s role in data center expansion and the use of chips in applications such as automated warfare.
Avex Li, Greenpeace East Asia’s project lead for its AI supply chain campaign, said Huang did not make climate responsibility central to Nvidia’s growth strategy. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge.
Emissions figures show sharp rise
An analysis of Nvidia’s public disclosures by research analyst Ketan Joshi and environmental organizations found its supply-chain emissions rose 725 percent from 2020. The increase amounted to about 9.4 million metric tons of pollution, comparable to nearly 25 gas plants’ emissions over a year.
Nvidia’s sustainability report puts its fiscal year 2026 supply-chain emissions at around 10.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. The analysis also estimated that emissions from the use of Nvidia’s chips could have reached 21 million metric tons in 2025, a category the company does not include in its sustainability reports.
Climate claims and company footprint
Huang has argued that AI could help accelerate renewable energy adoption. In a September interview on The Ezra Klein Show, he also acknowledged that data centers would use more fossil fuels in the near term and that building AI infrastructure could bring significant hardship.
Nvidia’s direct emissions from facilities and vehicles were 9,822 metric tons in fiscal year 2026, far below its indirect emissions from supply chains and product use. The company said it met a goal in 2025 of matching all electricity used at its facilities with clean-energy purchases.
Key points
- Nvidia’s supply-chain emissions rose 725 percent from 2020, according to an external analysis.
- The company reported around 10.7 million metric tons of supply-chain emissions for fiscal year 2026.
- Greenpeace East Asia is urging interim CEO Colette Kress to prioritize decarbonization and human rights.