AI is high on the agenda at this years COP climate summit

This year’s climate summit represents the first time the global event actively embraces the technology industry and its influence on tackling the climate challenge. COP29 will hold its first-ever digitalisation day and a series of other discussions concerning the impact of AI on climate strategies. 

As AI is deployed across an increasingly broader range of industries, more people are beginning to explore the potential applications of AI for climate change. At the same time, more attention is being focused on exploring ways to manage the environmental impact of AI and the data centres powering the technology. Due to significantly high energy consumption levels, AI is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, waste, water consumption and other environmental factors. Recognising the challenging relationship between AI technology and climate change can ensure we understand how businesses and governments can adapt and shift it towards a benefit for the environment.

AI models depend on data centres as they require servers for AI programs to operate consistently day and night, consuming considerable amounts of energy. Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum estimated that computer power associated with AI is doubling every 100 days. According to the UK Green Digital Companies 2024 report, leading cloud providers, who have considerable connections with AI, have reported over 60% increase in greenhouse gas emissions since 2020 and a 78% rise in electricity consumption since 2023.

The priority is making AI technology as sustainable as possible and embracing the benefits of emerging technologies for climate strategies. Following the launch of OpenAI ChatGPT in 2002, there was an exponential rise of generative AI and technology businesses competing to build and create new models.

The question is how to establish a long-term way of thinking about these new technologies and everyone associated with developing AI. The climate summit discussions present an opportunity for industry and policymakers to collaborate and explore a greener AI future. 

Digital is a core theme of this year’s climate summit. Environmental and digital ministers will discuss how they can best work together, which according to UN representatives is a rarity. The hope is that rather than digital being considered a side discussion, it becomes the core of the climate change agenda. As rapidly as AI is changing the world, so is climate change. While AI is consuming considerable amounts of energy at a time when we are consciously trying to reduce emissions, industry experts believe AI has the potential to strengthen climate mitigation and explore alternative energy solutions. 

Delivering sustainable AI infrastructure

Considering the quantities of water, energy and electricity consumed by AI, there’s a critical need to deliver more sustainable AI infrastructure if the technology is going to have a positive impact on climate change in the future. 

By powering data centres with renewable energy, the carbon footprint of AI can be drastically reduced. This movement away from fossil fuels can reduce emissions and support a transition towards a more sustainable energy grid. 

Creating AI hardware with reduced power consumption, such as specialised chips, can reduce the energy needed for detailed computations. This makes AI technology more sustainable and controls the emissions and energy used at data centres. Creating algorithms and software that require less computational power will help improve energy consumption during AI model training and deployment. 

While AI businesses, government agencies and data centres have the most ability to make AI sustainable, end-users will have some influence. We must recognise AI as another tool that requires energy and produces waste, and only use it when needed. As AI continues to rise in popularity, the issue of AI usage will become more of a priority.

When discussing artificial intelligence, it supports multiple fields that tackle the climate challenge, such as monitoring and mitigating natural disasters. There are also opportunities to make AI more sustainable, so there is a chance to embrace new technologies as it’s clearly a major part of our lives and will remain so for some time.  The priority now should be making emerging technologies as sustainable as possible and recognising the benefits of AI on the climate agenda.

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