UN chief urges AI firms to disclose environmental costs

UN Chief Calls on AI Firms to Disclose Environmental Costs

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday urged major artificial intelligence companies to publicly disclose the full environmental footprint of their data centers and commit to powering operations exclusively with renewable energy by 2030, launching a new transparency initiative during London Climate Action Week.internazionale

Speaking in London, Guterres introduced the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, calling on every major AI company to “measure and publicly disclose the full environmental impact of its systems — carbon, water, and land.” “No more hidden costs. It is time to be transparent,” the secretary-general said.infobae

A Growing Footprint

The initiative follows a UN University study published earlier in June that found AI-related water consumption could equal the basic annual domestic needs of 1.3 billion people by 2030, while data centers could consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity annually — nearly triple the combined use of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. The land footprint of AI infrastructure may exceed 14,500 square kilometres, roughly twice the size of the Jakarta metropolitan area.un

According to the Associated Press, the International Energy Agency estimates that coal still powers about 30% of data center electricity globally, with renewables supplying around 27%, followed by natural gas at 26% and nuclear at 15%. Renewables are expected to meet only about half of data center demand over the next five years.apnews

Voluntary Commitments Under Scrutiny

AI companies currently rely on voluntary pledges to reach net-zero and renewable energy goals. A 2025 ITU report found that indirect carbon emissions from Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta rose by an average of 150% between 2020 and 2023, driven by energy-hungry data centers.yahoo

Guterres’s address came alongside a separate announcement that mayors from 40 cities — including London, Phoenix, and Melbourne — are joining a Global Urban Data Centres Pact to establish standards on clean energy use, resource optimization, and integration of data centers into urban planning, according to Reuters.reuters

The dual initiatives reflect growing pressure from both international bodies and local governments to impose accountability on an industry whose environmental costs, Guterres warned, “rarely enter regulatory debates.”infobae