Can AI Solve Climate Change? Good News About the Potential

AI talk is a constant media background buzz. Some preach about how AI technology supports climate change action, but skeptics warn of dire dangers.

“There are a lot of really cool applications of AI in different sectors of climate change — everything from optimizing electricity grids to tracking biodiversity.”

Dr. Sasha Luccioni, an AI for sustainability researcher from Quebec. [11]

In 2020, the UN started actively exploring AI’s potential to help by establishing an interagency working group. The AI for Good platform launched the Neural Network, an AI-powered tool connecting innovators with social impact opportunities. Various UN agencies are also running competitions to advance climate action using AI. [3]

The potential is obviously there. AI can do wonders with data, analyzing petabytes of data in record time. It can predict weather events and see something a human can’t. For example, AI can identify and outline icebergs 10,000 times faster than any human! [2]

AI for Electricity Grid Management, Airlines, Traffic & Food Production

Another application of AI is electricity grid management. Using smaller, distributed sources of electricity, like rooftop solar panels, AI can manage the scattered, complex grid. Through accurate forecasts of energy supply and demand, AI optimizes strategies crucial in transitioning to renewable energy sources. [4]

Airlines adopt AI to optimize flight paths and journey times, reducing airtime and delays and improving fuel efficiency.

Similarly, smart sensor AI technology in urban areas helps shape public policy on pedestrianization, reducing traffic and pollution in city centres. [12]

AI is set to make food production more efficient and environmentally friendly by combating stressors and lowering its carbon footprint. It can do that by optimizing fertilizer placement and timing. And farmers, who previously spent hours on tractors applying fertilizer, can now make use of the auto-steer technology to target precise areas needing fertilization. [5]

Jack Cornell, Director of Sustainable Supply for the United Soybean Board

AI Automation to Reduce Carbon Footprints

Once done manually, tasks like unprocessed data extraction are automated by AI. This change allows environmental consulting firms to expand their carbon footprint reduction efforts for previously labour-intensive processes. So, their services become more affordable for small businesses. [5]

The tech giant Google is promoting its AI project to make traffic lights more efficient. According to a report released in 2023, just this AI application could reduce global emissions by up to 10%. That’s equivalent to the entire carbon pollution generated by the European Union by 2030. [6]

Can AI Really Solve Climate Change?

There are countless ways to become more efficient in mitigating climate change, by leaving the tedious task of data analysis to AI. That’s the good news.

But it’s not all good news. There are some risks. Read our article “Can AI Solve Climate Change? Some Risks Outweigh the Potential” [MW1] for the rest of the story.

References

1. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3485128

2. https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/AI_maps_icebergs_10_000_times_faster_than_humans

3. https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/11/1143187

4. https://environment.upenn.edu/events-insights/news/ai-and-environmental-challenges

5. https://abcnews.go.com/US/mitigating-climate-change-preserving-biodiversity-ways-ai-environment/story?id=101590463

6. https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/google-ai-reduce-greenhouse-emissions-project-greenlight/

7. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/esg/ai-needs-so-much-power-that-old-coal-plants-are-sticking-around

8. https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/ai-data-centers-could-use-more-electricity-than-the-netherlands-by-2027/

9. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/07/ai-climate-change-energy-disinformation-report

10. https://www.reuters.com/technology/openai-ceo-altman-says-davos-future-ai-depends-energy-breakthrough-2024-01-16/

11. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/artificial-intelligence-carbon-footprint-climate-change/

12. https://www.fairplanet.org/story/ai-environmental-impact-water-usage-data-centers/

13. https://www.route-fifty.com/emerging-tech/2024/06/how-ai-can-help-and-hurt-environment/397651/

14. https://carboncredits.com/carbon-countdown-ais-10-billion-rise-in-power-use-explodes-data-center-emission/

15. https://thefutureeconomy.ca/op-eds/ai-environmental-harm-arun-iyengar-untether/

16. https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/embedded/article/21156009/gsi-technology-breaking-the-von-neumann-bottleneck-a-key-to-powering-next-gen-ai-apps

17. https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/microsoft-and-googles-electricity-consumption-surpasses-the-power-usage-of-over-100-countries

18.  [MW1] “Can AI Solve Climate Change? Some Risks Outweigh the Potential”