UN Secretary-General António Guterres proposed an AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, calling on major AI companies to publicly disclose the full environmental impact of their systems.

Guterres said AI companies should measure and disclose the carbon, water and land footprints of their systems and commit to powering data centres with renewable energy by 2030.

While acknowledging AI’s potential to accelerate climate solutions, Guterres pointed to the huge energy consumption of AI data centres, which he said “consume more electricity than most nations.”

Speaking at London Climate Action Week, Guterres warned that by 2030, AI data centres could consume more power than all but five countries and use enough water to meet the basic needs of 1.3 billion people in sub-Saharan Africa for a year.

“I am calling on every major AI company to measure and publicly disclose the full environmental impact of its systems – carbon, water, and land footprints – and to commit to power every data centre with renewable energy by 2030,” he added.

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