Plus, U.S. lobbyists promote data center mega-projects in rural Georgia

From the Editor's Desk

Did you know that Google President Ruth Porat cheered Trump’s Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for promoting coal and fossil fuels to power artificial intelligence — even though Google made a net-zero-by-2030 pledge to power all of its operations with 100% clean electricity?

DeSmog found video footage of this previously unreported bombshell claim that took place at Washington, D.C.’s exclusive Hill & Valley Forum. There, Burgum slammed Silicon Valley’s “climate extremist agenda” and pitched “incredibly clean” coal plants to fuel AI’s data-hungry future. 

“I thought Secretary Burgum’s comments were fantastic,” Porat said. “Because I think it is very clear that to realize the potential of AI, you have to have the power to deliver it.” 

Porat was echoing calls for more gas, coal and nuclear, exposing Google’s dramatic shift toward fossil fuels — even as its AI-driven emissions have surged nearly 50 percent since 2019. Read Geoff Dembicki’s exclusive report, copublished with The Lever, to find out more.

Porat’s remarks — and Google’s support for fossil fuel investments — show how Big Tech is aligning with Trump’s “energy abundance” agenda while publicly claiming to lead on climate issues. It’s like Big Tech and Big Oil have formed their own Coalition of the Willing to back AI at the expense of the environment. 

DeSmog’s Sharon Kelly exposed another never-before-reported commentary from an industry event dealing with Big Tech. At this summer’s Reuters Energy conference, representatives from Shell, Aker BP, and other fossil fuel giants said they plan to unleash AI-powered drilling, and use the technology to boost oil production and profits while downplaying climate risks.

What happened to Silicon Valley’s pledges to use AI as a climate solution?

Dive into the full investigation to see how AI is quietly reshaping energy’s future and potentially accelerating climate catastrophe.

Both of these stories appear in our new Tech vs. Climate series. Check out this latest section as we continue to expand our coverage of tech titans’ hypocrisy. 

For years, leaders of the world’s largest tech companies promised they would help solve the growing climate crisis. But this series shows how Big Tech is not only failing to deliver on their promises, they’re actively making the odds of catastrophic climate breakdown worse. 

Have a story tip or feedback? Get in touch: [email protected]. Want to know what our UK team is up to? Sign up for our UK newsletter. 

Thanks,
Brendan DeMelle
Executive Director
 
P.S. DeSmog continues to keep you informed about threats to our climate across the globe — from up-to-the minute reporting to essential database profiles that help others fight climate denial and delay. Can you donate $10 or $20 right now to support more of this essential work?

Image: Sari Williams/DeSmog

Google President Praised MAGA Speech Slamming ‘Climate Extremist Agenda’

— By Geoff Dembicki (5 min. read) —

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.”

Can AI Slash Pollution? Fossil Fuel Industry
Is Investing in Boosting Oil Production,
Profits Instead

— By Sharon Kelly (8 min. read) —

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.

MPs Slam Trump Advisor for
Interfering in UK Climate Debate

—By Adam Barnett and Rei Takver (4 min. read) —

Former BP scientist Steve Koonin claimed Brits should be “enraged” about Labour’s climate policies.

Data Center Lobbyists Clear the Way for
Mega-Projects in Rural Georgia

— By Edward Donnelly (9 min) —

Public records reviewed by DeSmog show developers worked to dilute draft planning rule in Coweta County.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

MAPPED: 70 Percent of Trump’s Cabinet
Tied to Project 2025 Groups

— By Joe Fassler (20 min. read) —

More than 50 high-level Trump administration officials have links to groups behind the Heritage Foundation-backed plan, a DeSmog analysis found.

From the Climate Disinformation Database: Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel is the billionaire cofounder of PayPal who is also a co-founder of Palantir Technologies, a data analytics and software company. In 2022, The New York Times described Thiel, who was known in 2016 as one of the largest donors to Donald Trump‘s presidential campaign, as “the Right’s Would-Be Kingmaker” and again a key backer of the MAGA movement. When Joe Rogan asked Thiel on his podcast, “You don’t feel that climate science is not a real science?” Thiel said, “There’s several different things one could say. It’s possible climate change is happening. It’s possible we don’t have great accounts of why that’s going on. So I’m not questioning any of those things. But, but how scientific it is? I don’t think it’s a place where we have really vigorous debates . . . I think the fact that it’s called climate science tells you that it’s more dogmatic than anything that’s truly science should be.”

Read the full profile and browse other individuals and organizations in our Climate Disinformation Database, Ad & PR Database, and Koch Network Database.