The intersection of two critical global megatrends — climate change and artificial intelligence (AI) — took center stage on Dec. 2 at an event hosted by the Brookings Institution’s Center on Regulation and Markets in collaboration with Duke University. This discussion, which featured prominent thought leaders from academia, government and the private sector, explored how AI can be harnessed to combat the climate challenge, while also addressing the unintended consequences of AI’s growing energy demands.
As nations across the globe grapple with increasingly severe weather events and the escalating effects of climate change, the conversation around AI’s role in both alleviating and exacerbating these issues has never been more urgent. The event, titled “Leveraging AI to Tackle Climate Change,” delved into the vast potential of AI to revolutionize climate science, enhance mitigation and adaptation strategies and transform energy systems — all while addressing the considerable energy consumption of AI technologies.
The opening keynote, delivered by Toddi Steelman, vice president and vice provost for climate and sustainability at Duke University, in conversation with Ben Harris, vice president and director of economics studies at Brookings, highlighted the dual nature of AI in the context of climate change. Steelman emphasized that AI holds immense promise in accelerating efforts to decarbonize the economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance climate resilience. At the same time, the rapid expansion of AI technologies and data centers has increased global energy consumption, raising concerns about how the growth of these technologies could undermine decarbonization goals.
“Even though AI can help handle large amounts of data that can contribute to climate change research, each AI-enabled query takes 10 times as much electricity as a traditional Google search query,” Steelman said. “This is an important issue.”
Brian Murray, director of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, added, “AI and data centers have pushed us from a world of flat-load growth in electricity to one of rising demand. Data center power demands are expected to rise about 160% in this decade, and about a quarter to one-third of the load growth is due to AI,” said Murray, who moderated a panel on managing the energy demands of AI during the event. He also referenced a recent report by the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability at Duke that explored how the load growth driven in part by AI will likely cause emissions to be higher in 2035 than they otherwise would be.
Bridging the Gap: AI’s Role in Tackling Climate Change Risks
One of the most pressing issues addressed at the event was the role AI can play in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. AI is already making significant strides in areas such as climate science, weather prediction, energy management and resource optimization, Steelman said.
“When we think about climate research at large, the power comes from the enormous data sets, what we can learn from them and what they potentially tell us about the future. Paleoclimatology looks at what happened in deep time—hundreds of millions of years ago. If we can understand the past better, we can understand the future,” Steelman said.
This data-driven approach enables more accurate predictions of global temperatures, ocean conditions and extreme weather events. Such insights are critical for planning future climate actions and preparing for the impacts of rising global temperatures, Steelman said.
In terms of mitigation, AI is already making a difference by optimizing energy systems and reducing emissions to balance energy loads between renewable and non-renewable sources.
Adaptation efforts are also being enhanced through AI through simulations that look at policies, Steelman said. By understanding how communities respond to climate risks and carbon pricing, AI can help policymakers craft more effective climate adaptation strategies for all people.
David Brown, Snow Family Business Professor of the Fuqua School of Business and faculty director of Fuqua’s Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE), was on a panel at the event looking at how AI can be used to solve climate change. He pointed to climate modeling as an advantage of AI. “With AI-based models, you can think about local planning at the municipality level, neighborhood level and maybe even the household level to plan for adaptation and resilience,” he said.
The Energy Challenge: AI’s Growing Footprint
The hyperscalers — companies like Google, Amazon and Microsoft — are already investing heavily in zero carbon energy such as renewables and nuclear power to mitigate the emissions impact of their data centers. However, some of these solutions, such as small modular nuclear reactors, are still years away from being deployed, and the challenge remains how to expand AI infrastructure without exacerbating climate risks.
Steelman noted that while AI’s role in climate science and sustainability is crucial, the energy consumption associated with AI cannot be ignored. As AI systems evolve, more efficient hardware, improved cooling systems and innovative energy solutions will be necessary to ensure that the benefits of AI do not come at the expense of the planet.
Looking Ahead: Universities as Catalysts for Change
Steelman highlighted the crucial role universities will play in shaping AI’s impact on climate change. This includes conducting research on the ethical implications of AI, improving the energy efficiency of data centers and developing AI-driven solutions that prioritize equity and accessibility.
“AI is a both a blessing and a curse. It can help us find solutions. There is a lot we can do with AI to increase our knowledge, insight and wisdom. We can amass and explore large data sets to help with prediction and patterns through AI. But we can’t ignore the issues around AI, including ensuring equitable access to these tools,” Steelman said.
Steelman emphasized that universities can use their convening power to facilitate collaboration across sectors, bringing together policymakers, researchers and industry leaders to find innovative solutions to the energy challenges posed by AI.
“Universities can lean into convening to bring together stakeholders for conversations, while doing cutting-edge research and providing education,” she said.
Ronnie Chatterji, Mark Burgess & Lisa Benson-Burgess Distinguished Professor at the Fuqua School of Business, delivered closing remarks, adding that this topic will require collaboration and multiple innovations, including changes to hardware, software, data centers, sources of energy, finance, and policy. Chatterji mentioned the power of university convening, such as the recent Billions to Trillions conference at Duke. “Flexibility will be key as we learn more each day about the challenges and opportunities ahead with AI.”
Watch the event recording: https://www.brookings.edu/events/leveraging-artificial-intelligence-to-tackle-climate-change/
Photo courtesy of Betsy Scarisbrick
