An international pledge addressing the AI industry's environmental responsibility has been unveiled ahead of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), which will be held in Türkiye in November.
Bloomberg reported on October 28, local time, that COP31 host Türkiye had unveiled the Antalya AI Pledge and was seeking participation from governments, companies and financial institutions. The pledge has attracted attention for formally placing on the agenda the tension between AI's potential environmental threat, through its enormous electricity consumption and acceleration of the climate crisis, and its potential role as a key climate solution through applications such as improving energy efficiency.
Türkiye, which holds the COP31 presidency, developed the pledge with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency. After announcing plans during New York Climate Week in September, it released the full text on October 27. An official list of participating countries and companies has not yet been announced, and the European Union (EU) is reviewing whether to participate.
Eight government actions and 11 business actions include energy and environmental disclosures and clean electricity use
According to the six-page pledge text released by Türkiye's COP31 presidency, the pledge is organized around four areas: sustainable operation of AI infrastructure, responsible design and management of AI systems, measurement and reporting of environmental impacts, and support for AI technology and financing for climate action.
For data centers, it calls for increased use of carbon-free and low-carbon electricity and improvements in cooling, water and energy efficiency. It also includes appropriate allocation of the costs of electricity infrastructure needed for data center development, such as transmission grid expansion.
Governments can choose from eight additional actions. These include requiring AI service providers to disclose energy use and environmental impact data, and compiling and publishing national information and communication technology (ICT) energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. They also include expanding carbon-free and low-carbon electricity use in AI infrastructure and establishing policies and procurement standards for data center cooling, water use and resource circularity.
Eleven actions are proposed for nongovernmental participants, including companies, investors, financial institutions and research organizations. Participants would set their own disclosure coverage for the energy and environmental impacts of new AI systems, the share of carbon-free and low-carbon electricity used by AI infrastructure, and component recycling rates. The actions also include establishing design standards to improve AI models' resource efficiency and management standards for data center water and energy efficiency.
Another action involves quantitatively assessing AI's contribution to addressing climate change. When companies assess the net greenhouse gas impact of AI solutions, they would consider both emissions from the AI systems themselves and emissions reduced or avoided through the technology.
However, the pledge is designed as a voluntary commitment that imposes no new legal obligations. Companies can set their own proportion of AI systems covered by disclosures, clean electricity targets and implementation deadlines. Participating countries would also select and pursue actions according to their domestic policy circumstances.
Electricity consumption at AI-dedicated data centers rises 50%; total demand forecast at 950 TWh in 2030
Türkiye plans to review implementation by participating countries and companies annually starting at COP32 in 2027 and assess progress through 2030. It plans to share relevant results and examples in cooperation with the ITU's Green Digital Action initiative.
At an event in New York in September, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell warned that 'AI's enormous energy consumption is increasing greenhouse gas emissions from the use of coal, oil and gas.' Stiell urged AI companies to 'transparently disclose their energy and water consumption and operate data centers with clean energy.'
At the same time, AI is attracting attention as a technology for addressing climate change. It can improve grid operating efficiency by forecasting electricity supply and demand, optimize energy use in industrial facilities, and provide early forecasts of climate-related disasters such as floods and heat waves.
The IEA has assessed that applying proven AI technologies to energy-intensive industries could reduce companies' energy costs by 3 to 10 percentage points.
Türkiye is also pursuing demonstrations of AI-based climate technologies. Through the AI for Clean Technologies Initiative, the COP31 presidency plans to identify AI-based demonstration projects in areas such as smart energy and environmentally friendly industry and connect technology companies with investors. It is also pursuing measures to improve developing countries' access to AI computing resources, data, technical training and financial support.
WRI cites insufficient accountability; grid costs and community participation also at issue
Environmental groups and research organizations support the pledge's direction but say it lacks specific implementation accountability and environmental safeguards.
In a statement on October 27, the World Resources Institute (WRI) said that 'the Antalya AI Pledge addresses both AI's potential for climate action and the pressures data centers place on electricity, water and communities.' However, it said that 'accountability mechanisms to drive substantive changes by countries and technology companies are insufficient.'
Evan Tachovsky, WRI's chief data and AI officer, emphasized the need to strengthen clean electricity use at data centers, disclosure of energy and water consumption, corporate payment of grid expansion costs, and community participation.
WRI said, in particular, that the pledge did not adequately incorporate mechanisms enabling residents affected by data center construction to participate in development decisions or measures to protect water and air quality. It also said that support for AI infrastructure and financing in developing countries must be backed by actual funding.
The EU is reviewing whether to join the pledge. In an interview with Bloomberg, Wopke Hoekstra, the European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, said that 'there are some interesting elements in the pledge' and that participation was under discussion.
US participation also remains uncertain. The level of participation by the United States, the world's largest data center market, and major AI companies is considered a key factor in determining the pledge's international influence.
COP31 will take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to November 20.
Original Korean article: Impact On
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
