COP31 puts AI on the agenda

The increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an extreme challenge facing climate change mitigation. While AI has the potential to support climate solutions, from improving energy efficiency to monitoring environmental changes, its rapid expansion also comes with significant environmental costs. At New York Climate Week, the President of COP31, Murat Kurum, promised that “climate responsibility” would be a priority at the conference, and that transitioning tech companies to power data centres with clean energy would be a key outcome.

AI is one of the largest controversies facing humankind – and its growing use comes with detrimental impacts on the planet. Behind every AI-generated response is a network of data centres that require vast amounts of electricity to operate. According to a recent United Nations report, these data centres are predicted to consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity by 2030, equivalent to the electricity consumption of over 650 million people. As demand for AI continues to grow, the pressure on energy systems to meet this need grows in tandem.

However, electricity consumption is only part of the problem. Data centres also have a significant ‘water footprint’, as large volumes of water can be required to cool their systems. Their ‘land footprint’ is another concern, with land needed for new facilities and the infrastructure that supports them. These impacts highlight how the expansion of AI can place additional pressure on natural resources, particularly if its growth is not supported by sustainable planning and clean energy.

Further challenges remain below the tip of the iceberg, from electronic waste and the resources required to manufacture computing equipment to inequalities in national computing capacity and additional pressures on national energy systems. Without clear standards and greater transparency, the environmental costs of AI risk being overlooked as governments and companies race to expand its use. With AI continuing to develop at pace, it is critical that governments and suppliers work together to ensure that technological progress supports, rather than undermines, sustainable development.

“We must openly discuss AI’s growing energy consumption, and it is time for governments to start setting the terms. We expect companies to be transparent about their energy use and to power their operations with clean energy,” said Kurum in New York.

Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency also announced the ‘Antalya Pledge on AI’, developed in partnership with the United Nations. The voluntary pledge is a political commitment that seeks to ensure AI use supports climate goals. It also aims to establish a global process for tracking collective progress on the electrification of the energy grid. Such commitments could help encourage greater accountability from technology companies and ensure that the infrastructure supporting AI is developed in line with climate objectives.

With discussions commencing on 10 November and a day dedicated to technology and AI, COP31 has an opportunity to turn these commitments into meaningful action. This means moving beyond promises and establishing clear expectations for transparency, clean energy use and the environmental impact of data centres. As AI becomes an increasingly prominent part of everyday life, its development must not come at the expense of the planet. COP31 seeks to be the COP of implementation – and sustainable AI must be at the forefront.