The "AI for good" argument is heating up, but so is the planet.
According to the Guardian, artificial intelligence was a notable topic at the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP30. At this year's summit, held in November in Belém, Brazil, UN entities, the Brazilian government, and various groups announced the creation of the AI Climate Institute.
The global initiative has been launched to ensure AI can be used to address climate challenges, with a focus on supporting disproportionately-impacted low- and middle-income countries in effectively managing environmental problems.
The relationship between AI and the environment is complex. Many people are understandably concerned about the vast amounts of energy and water required to run the data centers that power its operations. A recent study from Cornell University found that, by 2030, AI growth in the United States could be responsible for up to 44 million metric tons of atmospheric pollution — equal to Norway's annual carbon emissions, according to the Guardian.
But AI also has the potential to help communities and governments make the decisions that could mitigate rising temperatures while navigating their impacts. As just one example, the London School of Economics published a report detailing AI's potential to reduce harmful emissions by 3.2 to 5.4 billion metric tons by 2035. Other "AI for good" capabilities include support for agricultural planning to navigate droughts and heat waves and supply chain management to avoid food system disruptions.
Even with the large amounts of water and electricity that AI data centers use, they may still have the capacity to make a positive difference for the planet. AI doesn't have to be seen as inherently evil — or as humanity's hero. It's a powerful tool that people could use to help or hurt.
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Maria João Sousa — the executive director of Climate Change AI and a collaborator on the AI Climate Institute — discussed AI's potential to create predictive weather models. These numerical weather prediction models can forecast extreme weather, such as floods or wildfires, using intensive computing. This can help regions prepare for or mitigate impending disasters.
"I definitely believe [AI] is a positive force to accelerate a lot of these things," Sousa told the Guardian.
Lorenzo Saa, Clarity AI's chief sustainability officer, said AI is more beneficial than people think and could be an indispensable tool in the fight against rising global temperatures and their impacts.
"My view of this is that society is going to go in this direction," Saa told the news outlet. "We need to think about how we are not destroying the planet with heating, and we're actually trying to make sure that there's a net benefit."
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