Environmental groups embrace AI, even as they warn of data center impacts
Environmental groups are using AI to analyze climate data, track wildfires and count wildlife, while warning that data centers consume large amounts of electricity and water and generate emissions. The International Energy Agency estimates data centers will use 945 terawatt-hours of electricity annually by 2030, while their water use could reach 1.2 trillion liters a year.
1. AI aids conservation work
Environmental organizations interviewed are using AI in work including wildfire alerts, wildlife surveys and climate analysis, though they also say data centers powering the technology carry environmental costs. Conservation International uses satellite-detected hotspots to alert forest patrols in Cambodia to potential wildfires. Save the Elephants said AI reduced analysis of about 200,000 aerial survey images from nine months to hours; its models found earlier human surveys had missed a third of elephants and larger shares of some other species.
2. Data center footprint
The International Energy Agency estimates global data centers will consume about 945 terawatt-hours of electricity annually by 2030, producing the equivalent of more than 300 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. It projects annual water consumption will rise from about 560 billion liters in 2023 to 1.2 trillion liters by 2030. The UN's COP31 climate conference is expected to focus on AI tradeoffs, and host Turkey will call on institutions to sign a pledge on sustainable AI development and use.
3. Efforts to reduce costs
The World Resources Institute limits resource-intensive AI applications and caches query results to avoid repeated processing. The Nature Conservancy processes fishing-vessel video with onboard AI cameras rather than sending large amounts of footage to centralized data centers. Greenpeace International said it uses some AI tools but is also opposing data center expansion.
