Artificial intelligence and climate crisis: UN climate chief sees tech companies as having a duty

The UN climate chief Simon Stiell is calling on tech companies to use their developments to fight the climate crisis. “If AI can solve a 90-year-old mathematical problem within a few days, it can also have a greater impact on key climate challenges,” Stiell said during an appearance at Climate Week New York, according to the speech manuscript distributed in advance.

Artificial intelligence could, for example, improve early warnings of climate disasters and increase the efficiency of power grids. “Every country must be able to benefit from AI – now and not perhaps at some point in the future,” demanded Stiell.

At the moment, the use of AI is driving global warming rather than mitigating it or its consequences. New data centers are being built in numerous countries around the world and nuclear power plants are being reactivated and fossil power plants are being built or continued to be used to meet their energy needs.

Stiell also criticizes this: “Energy-consuming artificial intelligence drives up emissions from coal, oil and gas, which cause global warming, and increases energy costs for households and companies.” At the same time, AI makes it easier to spread disinformation, fuel social divisions and exacerbate wealth inequalities.

Stiell calls on the managers and boards of tech companies to set and implement credible climate goals. The industry must invest in efficiency, rely on renewables and create transparency about the energy and water consumption of data centers.

At the moment the trend, including in Germany, is going in the opposite direction: In the summer, the federal government decided to relax the Energy Efficiency Act, which also affects data centers. Among other things, they should be given more time to adhere to efficiency specifications, a longer period before they have to cover their electricity consumption with renewables, and waste heat from data centers should only have to be used ‌if a heating network is available‌.

How serious it looks will become clear this week: the first reading of the bill in the Bundestag is expected to take place on Thursday.