London: UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for faster action on global
warming, challenging AI companies to measure and publicly disclose their
environmental impact as data centres consume growing amounts of energy, water,
and land.
Speaking
at London Climate Action Week, Guterres launched an AI Environmental
Transparency Initiative, urging every major AI company to commit to powering
their data centres with renewable energy by 2030. "It is time to come
clean," he said. "If AI is to help build a better future, it must be
honest about what it costs us now." A UN study found that data centres
consumed more electricity than all but 10 countries in 2025, and could use more
power than all but five countries by 2030.
Guterres
also warned that the world is "dangerously" off track in efforts to
reach net zero emissions by 2050, urging governments to tax windfall profits of
oil and gas giants and accelerate the transition to renewable energy. He called
for renewed efforts to reduce methane emissions, which account for one-third of
warming, and urged governments to set a "new global standard" for
near-zero methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.
"Climate chaos is accelerating before our eyes," Guterres said. "This is indeed the best of times and the worst of times. The worst because climate impacts are intensifying, tipping points are looming, and the energy crisis has exposed the deep risks of dependence on fossil fuels. But also the best because the renewables revolution is well underway."
