Google is looking for an 'AI/ML carbon reduction and net zero lead' to head a new data center climate strategy.

With artificial intelligence training and inference taking significant compute power, cloud operators' energy usage is likely to soar, rendering previous net zero plans redundant.

The job listing calls for someone to "develop a new OpEx/CapEx budget and cost approach for Net Zero and 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy to scale with our AI/ML growth, and enable teams to operate and execute more efficiently."

It adds that the hire will "work across a wide variety of teams and products to develop the long-term roadmap and establish the budget needed to address the growth of AI/ML and its energy and carbon footprint.

"You will be responsible for developing a concrete Google-level view of our carbon footprint trajectory for a portfolio of products and identifying the gaps and opportunities for AI/ML to contribute to Google’s GHG footprint and our reduction goals."

The company currently sources 100 percent renewable energy for its facilities by purchasing the equivalent of the energy used in renewable power on an annual basis through power purchase agreements (PPAs).

It has some 24/7 PPAs, and has pledged to source renewable energy for its data centers and offices around the clock by 2030.

In the job listing, that date is still mentioned, suggesting that the increase in data center energy for AI is not expected to disrupt its renewable plans over the longer term.

More immediately, however, the boom in data center power demands has caused challenges across the world, with transmission bottlenecks impacting data center site selection.

Earlier this year, commercial property consultancy Newmark predicted that US data center power consumption would double by 2030, propelled by AI demand.

Global data center power could double by 2026, according to the IEA.