With working people having paid the price of Europe’s recent energy and cost-of-living crises’, and with 40% of workers to be directly impacted by the Green Transition (not including the impact of climate change to our living environment), the use and development of AI systems should not be exempt from sustainability targets and potential sanctions.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) notes that Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, and climate risks are threatening its energy and food security, ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, financial stability, and people’s health. While AI can play a role in combating this, it carries with it a series of risks. Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) also highlights AI’s role in rising energy and water use and how generative AI could increase the spread of climate disinformation.

A recent report cites estimates from the International Energy Agency that on an industry-wide level, energy use from data centres that power AI will double in just the next two years, consuming as much energy as Japan. These data centres and AI systems also use large amounts of water in operations and are often located in areas that already face water shortages.

Transparency, safety for workers and from risks, and accountability where shortcomings are found must be central components of future AI development in an already changing Europe.