The United Nations' top climate official on Monday criticized artificial intelligence companies over their growing energy use and emissions, calling on the industry to prove it is worth the environmental cost, set credible climate targets and deliver measurable cuts.
"Energy guzzling artificial intelligence is driving up planet-heating pollution from coal, oil and gas, while ratcheting up energy costs for households and businesses," Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said in a speech as the UN General Assembly and Climate Week began.
Data centers accounted for 1.9% of global electricity demand last year, according to BNEF, but that share is expected to more than double by 2030, Bloomberg said. The sector's environmental impact remains difficult to measure because major AI companies, including Anthropic and OpenAI, have not disclosed their greenhouse-gas emissions or published net-zero plans.
In the US, energy-related emissions from AI data centers could reach about 4.4 billion metric tons by 2035 if developers rely on the cheapest available electricity, BNEF estimates. Developers have planned more than 120 gigawatts of on-site gas generation, as nuclear and geothermal projects remain costly and slow to scale, it said.
Stiell said AI could also help address climate change, but companies must show that the technology's benefits outweigh its environmental costs. The UN has warned that global warming is on track to exceed the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree Celsius threshold, increasing pressure for faster emissions cuts and expanded carbon removal.