Summary:
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has launched a new AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, urging major artificial intelligence companies to publicly report the carbon, water and land impacts of their systems and to power data centres with renewable energy by 2030.
The announcement follows a report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), ‘Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence: Carbon, Water and Land Footprints’, whose recommendations helped inspire the new initiative. The report called for greater transparency around the environmental costs of AI infrastructure and argued that AI‘s impacts extend beyond greenhouse gas emissions to include significant demands on water and land resources.
According to the report, AI relies on an expanding network of computing facilities, cooling systems, electricity grids and supply chains for critical materials. The report found that the environmental footprint of AI depends not only on how much electricity is consumed, but also on where that electricity is generated and which energy sources are used. Low-carbon power sources, the authors note, may still carry significant water or land requirements.
The report also raises concerns about how environmental burdens and benefits are distributed, with local communities often bearing the costs associated with energy demand, water withdrawals, land use and resource extraction. Through the new initiative, the United Nations is calling on AI companies to make environmental impacts publicly available and comparable across the sector, with the aim of strengthening transparency and accountability.
— Press Release —
UN Secretary-General launches AI Environmental Transparency Initiative, calling on AI companies to disclose carbon, water and land footprints
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday announced the launch of the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative during an address at London Climate Action Week, calling on major artificial intelligence companies in the private sector to publicly disclose the full environmental impacts of their systems and commit to powering all data centres with renewable energy by 2030.
The initiative comes amid growing concerns over the rapidly expanding environmental footprint of AI infrastructure, including its demand for electricity, freshwater resources and land.
The announcement was inspired by recommendations from UNU-INWEH’s report this month, Environmental Cost of AI: Energy Use, Carbon, Water and Land Footprints, which documented the hidden resource demands associated with AI infrastructure and called for greater transparency and accountability across the sector.
Guterres said that AI companies should also commit to powering their facilities with electricity produced with renewable technologies, such as wind and solar, by 2030.
“No more hidden costs,” Guterres said. “If AI is to help build a better future, it must be honest about what it costs us now.”
Professor Kaveh Madani, Director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), described the Secretary-General’s initiative as “a gift” and “an opportunity to be proactive instead of reactive.”
Madani, who led the recent UN University investigation, said the initiative offers the AI industry an opportunity to address growing public concerns about its environmental impacts.
“We cannot properly manage what we do not measure,” said Madani. “The industry now has a golden chance to change some of the wrong perceptions that have been shaped by disinformation campaigns against AI to ensure that AI is an enabler of sustainability transition and not its enemy.”
The initiative follows growing evidence that AI’s environmental impacts extend beyond its digital interface and into physical infrastructure and resource consumption, with costs and benefits that are often unfairly distributed across communities and generations.
The AI Environmental Transparency Initiative seeks to establish transparency and accountability as foundational principles for responsible AI development. By making environmental impacts publicly available and comparable across companies, the initiative aims to support informed policymaking while encouraging a transition toward sustainable and renewable-powered AI infrastructure.
Report information:
Aczel, M., Chamanara, S., Matin, M., Farsi, A., Marwala, T., Madani, K., ‘Environmental Cost of AI’s Energy Use: Carbon, Water and Land Footprints’, United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (2026). DOI: 10.53328/INR26RMA002
Article Source:
Press Release/Material by United Nations University (UNU)
Featured image credit: starline | Magnific
