AI companies are being asked to publish how much energy they use and the size of their carbon, water and land footprints. The request is part of new global guidance launched on Friday at the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye.
The guidance is called the Priorities for Action on AI and Climate Information Integrity. It aims to help people everywhere get credible climate information from AI and understand how the technology affects the environment.
The Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change released the document. The group is co-chaired by the United Nations, the UN scientific agency UNESCO and Brazil. The guidance was announced alongside a separate charter on advertising.
What AI Companies Are Asked to Do
The Priorities call on AI companies to assess how their systems affect the integrity of climate information. Companies are also asked to publish their findings.
Firms are urged to disclose their energy use, along with their carbon, water and land footprints. The guidance notes that the public is asked to accept claims about AI’s climate impact without the data needed to judge them.
Governments have a role as well. States are urged to build information integrity into their national AI strategies and climate plans.
The goal of the Priorities is to uphold accountability and transparency. That applies to both technology companies and governments.
“The question isn’t simply whether AI is good or bad for the climate. It’s whether people can rely on what they’re told by AI and about it,” said Charlotte Scaddan, Information Integrity Senior Advisor at UN Global Communications.
More people are now turning to AI for climate information. However, the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, set up last year by the UN General Assembly, has warned that “producing fluent text is easier than producing factual text.”
The co-chairs say the risks can rise during climate disasters. At those times, AI-generated images and videos can spread faster than official warnings.
Funding and a New Advertising Charter
The Priorities are grounded in human rights. They build on the Belém Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change, launched at COP30 in Brazil last year, and the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity.
The partners in the initiative called for more investment in the information people use to understand and act on climate change. So far, Germany has committed more than $2.2 million.
The German funding will support research and the development of communication strategies. It will also pay for public awareness campaigns.
Friday also saw the launch of the Charter for Climate Information Integrity in Advertising. It seeks to address problems such as the “monetization of disinformation and denial,” said Jake Dubbins, co-founder of the Conscious Advertising Network.
The charter calls for transparency across the advertising supply chain. It aims to give advertisers visibility of where their ads appear while respecting user privacy.
COP31 is focused on 10 priority themes, including the clean energy transition and electrification, zero waste and climate-resilient cities. The conference concludes on November 20.
