UN Chief Urges AI Companies to Disclose Emissions and Commit to Renewables by 2030

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday called on artificial intelligence companies to release information about the carbon pollution, water and land used to power their operations. Speaking at London Climate Action Week, Guterres proposed the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative and said companies should commit to powering facilities with electricity from wind and solar by 2030.

“No more hidden costs.

No more shifting the burden onto those least able to bear it. It is time to come clean,” Guterres said. He added that communities are often left in the dark about the environmental impact of infrastructure rising around them.

Data centers needed to fuel AI accounted for about 1.5 percent of global electricity consumption in 2025 and are projected to reach nearly 3 percent by 2030, according to a U.N. report released earlier this month. The same report stated that water, energy use and pollution linked to AI will double in four years.

Coal supplies about 30 percent of electricity consumed by data centers globally, the International Energy Agency reported. Renewables supply 27 percent, natural gas 26 percent and nuclear 15 percent. Guterres also called for cuts in methane emissions, which cause around one-third of global warming, and for reduced dependence on coal, oil and gas.

Last year marked the first time the three-year temperature average exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold above pre-industrial levels. Clean power generation exceeded overall global electricity demand growth in 2025, with renewables surpassing one-third of the world’s electricity mix for the first time in modern history while coal’s share fell below one-third.