United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday urged artificial intelligence companies to disclose the full environmental impact of their operations, including carbon emissions, water usage, and land consumption. Speaking at London Climate Action Week, Guterres introduced the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, calling for the industry to provide standardized reporting on the growing ecological footprint of AI technologies.
Guterres emphasized the need for AI firms to commit to powering their data centers with renewable energy by 2030, citing solar and wind as primary examples. “No more hidden costs,” he declared at Europe’s largest independent climate conference, underscoring the burden of environmental damage often borne by vulnerable communities near data center sites.
The call comes amid rising concerns about the substantial energy demands of AI infrastructure. According to a recent U.N. report, data centers supporting AI consumed approximately 1.5% of global electricity in 2025, a figure projected to nearly double by 2030. This rapid growth has coincided with increasing greenhouse gas emissions tied to fossil fuel-based power generation. The International Energy Agency states that coal currently accounts for about 30% of electricity used by data centers worldwide, followed by renewables at around 27%, natural gas at 26%, and nuclear power at 15%. Renewable energy is expected to meet only half of the projected electricity demand increase over the next five years.
Guterres acknowledged that while many leading technology companies, including Amazon and Google, have pledged transitions to cleaner energy—some incorporating solar and nuclear power—fulfilling these goals has become more complex amid AI’s rapid expansion. Regulatory challenges have also slowed the implementation of climate-friendly energy projects.
Despite these issues, the secretary-general highlighted AI's potential to aid climate solutions, such as enhancing energy efficiency and reducing emissions. However, he warned that the environmental impact of AI infrastructure, notably water and energy use, is expected to double within four years, drawing attention to the need for transparency and mitigation efforts.
Guterres framed these demands within the broader context of global climate action, urging all major emitters to accelerate their efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels—a commitment of the 2015 Paris Agreement that was breached last year based on a three-year temperature average. He further called for steep reductions in methane emissions and fossil fuel reliance, while acknowledging progress in renewable energy deployment driven by declining technology costs.
The secretary-general will continue to press these issues at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Turkey later this year, seeking collaborative measures to address both the climate crisis and the growing environmental challenges posed by digital technologies.