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UN Chief Urges AI Firms to Disclose Data-Center Energy Use and Renewable Targets
Antonio Guterres urged major AI companies to measure and report their environmental footprint during a June 23 speech in London. He also launched an initiative requiring renewable power for all data centers by 2030 and pressed governments on methane cuts from fossil fuels.
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on June 23 called on artificial intelligence companies to measure and publicly disclose the environmental impact of their data centers. Speaking at London Climate Action Week, he launched the AI Environmental Transparency Initiative and urged every major AI firm to commit to powering all data centers with renewable energy by 2030.
A UN study released earlier in June found that data centers consumed more electricity than all but 10 countries in 2025.
The same study projected that by 2030 the facilities could use more power than all but five countries. Guterres also announced new initiatives to reduce methane emissions and urged governments to tax windfall profits of oil and gas companies. He said 70 percent of oil and gas methane emissions can be eliminated with existing technology, yet 167 billion cubic meters of gas were flared in 2025.
The secretary-general stated that the world is "dangerously" off track to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Scientists now say the 1.5°C threshold could be breached by about 2030, he added. The United Nations Scientific Advisory Board released a separate report outlining risks from crossing irreversible tipping points, including ice melt, coral reef collapse, and Amazon decline.
Guterres called for a new global standard for the oil and gas sector that would achieve near-zero methane emissions. He also urged renewed cuts in methane from agriculture and waste sectors. His remarks came as Europe experienced a second heatwave in as many months, with record temperatures reported in France.
