UN chief urges AI firms to disclose climate impact of data centres
António Guterres has called for greater transparency on the environmental footprint of AI, warning that data centre electricity use could approach 3% of global demand by 2030.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on AI companies to disclose the environmental impact of their operations, including carbon emissions, water use, pollution, and land use.
Speaking at London Climate Action Week, Guterres proposed an AI Environmental Transparency Initiative. He said communities affected by data centre projects often lack clear information about their environmental costs.
Data centres are the physical infrastructure behind AI services, cloud computing, search, social media, and many online platforms. They require large amounts of electricity to run servers and cooling systems. Some also require significant water use.
Citing a UN study, Guterres said data centres consumed more electricity in 2025 than all but ten countries. Their share of global electricity demand stood at about 1.5% and could rise to nearly 3% by 2030.
He also warned that AI-related water use and pollution are expected to increase sharply over the next four years.
According to Guterres, coal still provides nearly 30% of the electricity used by data centres worldwide, while renewable energy accounts for around 27%. He called on AI companies to power their facilities entirely with renewable energy by 2030.
The warning comes as AI deployment drives demand for larger computing facilities. Major technology companies have made clean energy commitments, but the rapid growth of AI infrastructure is making those commitments harder to meet.
Guterres linked the issue to wider climate and energy concerns. He said continued reliance on fossil fuels remains central to both climate instability and energy insecurity.
He noted that renewable energy passed one-third of global electricity generation in 2025 for the first time, while coal’s share fell below one-third. Rising electricity demand from AI and data centres could complicate that progress.
Guterres will raise climate action again with world leaders at the COP climate summit later this year. His immediate call to AI companies is to disclose their environmental footprint and move to fully renewable power by 2030.
