A coalition of eight organizations estimates that operating Nvidia chips sold since 2022 could have generated 4–21 million metric tons of CO₂ in 2025. The range depends on the electricity used to run the chips, and it comes from a model rather than a direct emissions measurement.
What the estimate covers
The coalition’s estimate concerns emissions from chips in use during 2025. Its model draws on cumulative chip sales, assumed utilization and different electricity-grid emissions factors. Those inputs produce a broad range; the estimate does not describe one fixed electricity mix or utilization level.
The figures for chip use are separate from Nvidia’s Scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 covers indirect emissions beyond a company’s own operations, including emissions across its supply chain. Figures attributed to Nvidia’s sustainability reports show the following reported totals:
| Year | Scope 3 emissions | Unit |
| 2020 | About 1.3 million | Metric tons of CO₂e |
| 2026 | 10.7 million | Metric tons of CO₂e |
The distinction matters: the coalition’s estimate concerns electricity used while chips operate, while Scope 3 is a separate accounting category for indirect emissions.
Why electricity and manufacturing both matter
AI chips contribute to emissions through more than one pathway. Making GPUs and related systems requires components, materials and manufacturing services; running chips in data centers uses electricity. The modeled use-phase range varies with the electricity assumed to power the chips, while the Scope 3 figures concern indirect emissions beyond Nvidia’s own operations.
Nvidia and the coalition disagree on AI’s net climate effect
Josh Parker, Nvidia’s head of sustainability, has argued that AI is likely to reduce net emissions if deployed broadly, including through applications that improve efficiency in other sectors. The coalition’s position is that growing demand for computing may outweigh efficiency gains.
Those arguments address AI’s overall climate impact, not just the emissions associated with Nvidia chips. The estimates and positions presented here do not settle that broader balance.
