AI a huge opportunity and serious risk for climate: UNEP official

New Delhi: Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers significant potential to help the climate crisis, but its high energy and water requirements could worsen environmental challenges if not managed properly, a senior official of the United Nations (UN) said.

In an interview with PTI Videos, Martin Krause, Director of the Climate Change Division at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said from a climate perspective, AI presents both a huge opportunity and a serious risk.

Citing examples of AI as part of the climate solution, the official highlighted AI-driven early weather warning systems, renewable grid integration, and satellite-based alert systems to track emission sources promptly, while also voicing concerns over the significant water and energy demands of the data centres.

“AI is already helping to predict early weather warnings, such as floods and storms, with much greater accuracy, and if deployed at scale, it could protect hundreds of millions of people," Krause, who attended the recently concluded AI Impact Summit in Delhi, told PTI.

"Secondly, integrating renewable energy into the national grid, as is currently happening in India, requires recalibrating and balancing the grid, and AI is already helping to achieve this,” he said.

The India AI Impact Summit, held from February 16-20 in New Delhi, focused on AI's transformative potential across governance, innovation, and sustainable development.

Considering the magnitude of energy consumption by AI data centres, the UNEP Climate Change division chief noted the importance of integrating renewable energy to prevent a rise in greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.

He added that site-specific assessments are needed to determine the right mix of energy sources to power the data centres.

“The key point is that there must be guardrails to ensure that, while AI and data centres bring significant benefits, they do not end up depleting the scarce natural resources we all depend on,” the senior UN official stated.

At the recently concluded AI Impact Summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had cautioned that as AI’s energy and water demands soar, data centres must switch to clean power, rather than “shift costs to vulnerable communities”.

In December 2025, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) adopted its first resolution on the sustainable use of Artificial Intelligence -- one of eleven resolutions adopted at the session.

The resolution encourages its Member States and all relevant stakeholders to promote, and cooperate toward, the sustainability of AI by harnessing the opportunities and benefits of AI systems in support of the environment and by minimising its environmental impacts.