AI is not just a tool—it is a responsibility. This sentiment was strongly emphasized at the AI Action Summit 2025, co-hosted by France and India in Paris in February, where global leaders addressed AI governance, inclusivity, and sustainability. While AI offers immense potential, concerns over high energy consumption, resource depletion, and ethical risks remain largely unaddressed.
To bridge this knowledge gap, we have compiled 30 key resources, including reports, research papers, and expert analyses. Covering AI’s environmental footprint, energy use, and sustainability challenges, these resources feature insights from UNEP, IEA, NITI Aayog.
As AI drives innovation, its environmental impact must not be overlooked. This curated collection provides a valuable knowledge base for policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders, fostering a sustainable and balanced approach to AI development. By understanding the risks and opportunities, we can ensure AI progress aligns with climate and sustainability goals.
1. AI and energy: Will AI reduce emissions or increase demand?
This article explores AI's growing energy demands, its environmental impact, and how it can drive sustainable energy solutions.
2. AI and ESG: Understanding the Environmental Impact of AI and LLMs.
This article examines AI's environmental impact, especially LLMs, highlighting their high energy consumption and potential sustainability solutions.
3. AI has an environmental problem. Here's what the world can do about that.
This article explores AI’s environmental challenges, highlighting its energy consumption, resource use, and potential solutions for sustainability.
4. Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation
This report introduces a roadmap exploring AI’s role in mitigating climate change, highlighting opportunities, barriers, risks, and policy recommendations.
5. Artificial Intelligence – Help or Harm for the Climate?
This article explores how AI both aids and harms the climate, emphasizing the need for smart policies.
6. The raw materials for creating AI
This article explores how AI companies acquire and use data for model training, sparking ethical and legal concerns.
7. China's Policies and Actions for Climate Change.
This document outlines strategies for combating climate change through mitigation, adaptation, policy reforms, and international cooperation.
8. Climate Change Regulatory Actions and Initiatives
This article outlines the EPA's regulatory actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across sectors, including transportation, power plants, and industrial sources.
9. Climate change: what the EU is doing
The article covers the EU's goal of climate neutrality by 2050, highlighting policies, emission cuts, and progress under the European Green Deal.
10. AI's Climate Impact Goes beyond Its Emissions
This article explores AI’s dual impact on climate change, highlighting its potential for both environmental harm and climate mitigation.
11. AI programs consume large volumes of scarce water
This article explores AI’s significant water consumption for cooling data centers, emphasizing the need for responsible water management strategies.
12. The Environmental Impacts of Cobalt Mining in Congo
This article explores the degrading impact of excessive cobalt mining in Congo
13. Energy transition minerals
This article explores the role of energy transition minerals in the clean energy shift, highlighting their economic potential, environmental risks, and the need for sustainable mining practices.
14. A global foresight report on planetary health and human wellbeing.
This article explores UNEP’s global foresight report on planetary health, highlighting emerging risks, systemic disruptions, and strategies for adaptive governance and sustainable decision-making.
15. A history of AI
This Webpage provides a detailed overview of AI's evolution.
16. How artificial intelligence works template - How artificial Intelligence works flowchart
This webpage details out AI’s transformative potential, detailing its six-step operational foundation and its impact on industries.
17. Is AI the intelligent answer to climate change?
This article examines AI’s dual role in climate change—boosting efficiency but raising energy demand—while highlighting its environmental footprint and systemic risks.
18. AI Needs Critical Materials, Fast! But From Where?
This article explores the critical materials essential for AI hardware, their global supply chain vulnerabilities, and the regulatory challenges of increasing domestic production.
19. National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence
This report details out India's national strategy for Artificial Intelligence.
20. Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All
This article discusses China's AI Capacity-Building Action Plan, which aims to bridge the AI divide by enhancing global cooperation, AI literacy, and ethical governance, with a strong focus on supporting the Global South.
21. While Los Angeles Burns, AI Fans the Flames
This article highlights how AI data centers in California consume massive water and energy, worsening droughts and wildfires. It also explores local resistance against the environmental impact of big tech.
22. Digital boom could well be a bust for the environment, warns UN trade agency
This article discusses the environmental impact of the digital economy, highlighting the massive energy and water consumption of AI, cryptocurrency, and data centers. It urges stronger policies, resource efficiency, and investment in renewable energy to mitigate digital waste and ecological damage.
23. Putting America First In International Environmental Agreements
The executive order withdraws the U.S. from climate agreements, cancels related financial commitments, and prioritizes economic interests in energy policy.
24. The Real Environmental Impact of AI.
This article expands on the idea of the green dilemma of AI.
25. The role of Artificial Intelligence in the European Green Deal
This report expand on the idea of how AI is aiding to promote the goals of the European Green Deal.
26. What is ai infrastructure?
This article explains AI infrastructure, covering its components, benefits, and role in AI development. It also outlines steps to build a strong AI infrastructure.
27. South Africa National Artificial Intelligence Policy Framework
This report lays out the framework for Artificial Intelligence utilizationa, deployment and development in South Africa.
28. What the data Centre and AI boom could mean for the energy sector
The article highlights the rapid growth in data center investments driven by digitalization and AI adoption. It notes significant spending, especially in the U.S., with tech giants outpacing the oil and gas industry in capital investment.
29. Artificial intelligence (AI) end-to-end
The report lays out all the key areas and specifications regarding the environmental impact of AI across its lifecycle.
30. The growing energy footprint of artificial intelligence
This article provide a detailed analysis of how AI is consuming vast aount of energy.
Homita Ganguly is a final-year student at Christ (Deemed to be University), pursuing BSc in Economics and Analytics. She is currently working as a Research Analyst Intern at The Analysis.
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