UN Secretary-General António Guterres has formally requested that large AI companies disclose the emissions, water consumption, and energy usage of their data centres. The appeal comes amid growing community opposition to the environmental burdens imposed by the rapid expansion of computing infrastructure.
Guterres framed the demand as a matter of accountability, arguing that the tech sector must take responsibility for its hidden climate costs. The UN has not yet specified a reporting framework or timeline, but the call signals growing international pressure on the industry to standardize environmental disclosures.
Data centres powering AI models consume vast amounts of electricity and water for cooling, yet most companies do not publish granular facility-level data. The UN's intervention aims to bring this opaque footprint into the light as nations struggle to meet Paris Agreement targets. No specific emissions figures or investment numbers were provided in the announcement.
The request targets a handful of dominant players, including Microsoft and Google, which operate thousands of data centres globally. Guterres emphasized that without transparency, regulators cannot assess the true climate impact of AI, which has surged as adoption of generative models accelerates.