The Urgency of Climate Action
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged artificial intelligence (AI) companies to be transparent about their environmental impact, emphasizing the role of fossil fuels in exacerbating climate and energy crises. As Europe experiences a second heatwave in as many months, Guterres delivered a speech in London that highlighted the alarming state of the planet, which has just endured its 11 hottest years on record.
"Climate chaos is accelerating before our eyes," Guterres stated, while the energy crisis, fueled by conflict in the Middle East, is "exposing the folly of a world hooked on hydrocarbons." He referred to the 19th-century British writer Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities,' noting that although the crises may seem separate, they share the same destructive origin: fossil fuels.
Guterres spoke at London Climate Action Week, an annual gathering of policymakers, company executives, and NGOs. He emphasized the need for AI companies to release information about the carbon pollution they generate, along with the water and land used to power their operations.
The AI Environmental Transparency Initiative
Guterres proposed the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, arguing that AI companies should measure and disclose the impact of their increasingly popular technology. This initiative comes as data centers, which are vast server warehouses powering AI and other digital services, face mounting pressure from governments and local communities for increased transparency and standardized reporting.
A recent UN study found that these facilities consumed more electricity than all but 10 countries in 2025. By 2030, they could use more power than all but five countries, according to the study. The study also noted that the water, energy use, and pollution associated with AI will double in just four years. Data centers accounted for about 1.5 percent of the world's electricity consumption in 2025, and this is expected to rise to nearly 3 percent by 2030.
Guterres called on AI companies to commit to powering their facilities with renewable technologies such as wind and solar by 2030. "No more hidden costs," he said at Europe’s largest independent climate conference. "No more shifting the burden onto those least able to bear it. It is time to come clean."
Renewable Energy and the Role of AI
Many major tech companies have pledged to power their operations using cleaner sources, some by the end of the decade. Some plan to do so especially using solar and nuclear, including tech giants Amazon and Google. However, the race to deploy AI has complicated these commitments and led to soaring greenhouse gas emissions.
Regulatory barriers have also hindered climate-friendly projects. Currently, coal sources about 30 percent of the electricity consumed by data centers globally, according to the International Energy Agency. Renewable energy—primarily wind, solar, and hydro powers—supplies about 27 percent, natural gas 26 percent, and nuclear 15 percent. Renewables are expected to meet just half of that demand over the next five years.
As AI continues to grow, many, including Guterres, have highlighted its potential to accelerate climate solutions. It could improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution and emissions.
The Path Forward
Guterres has long urged the world to take serious climate action and will convene leaders at the annual COP, this year in Turkey, to negotiate plans. Addressing AI was one of several steps he said needed to be taken to keep the world below the warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, a goal set during the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Last year was the first time that the three-year temperature average broke through that threshold. "Every major emitter must accelerate action," Guterres said. "And every country must over-deliver on its commitments."
He called for cutting methane, a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for around one-third of global warming. He also emphasized reducing dependence on coal, oil, and gas. Guterres noted positive developments in renewable energy, as scale drives down the costs of the technologies and adoption increases.
Clean power generation—largely driven by solar and wind—exceeded overall global electricity demand growth last year. The share of renewables also hit more than one-third of the world’s electricity mix for the first time in modern history in 2025, and coal power saw its share fall below one-third of global generation.
China continues to drive the world's clean energy transition, and in Europe, fossil generation is generally trending down. However, the US under President Donald Trump has embraced coal, oil, and gas and slashed support for renewables and broader climate action—all amid the global energy crisis exacerbated by the US war in Iran, which Guterres called “the mother of all energy shocks.”
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