The Japan Times - COP31 host says AI climate footprint to be a summit priority

The annual UN climate conference is taking place in Antalya, where the hosts are asking countries to support initiatives to tackle emissions from waste, climate-proofing cities and boosting electrification.

On Monday, COP31 President and Turkish Climate Minister Murat Kurum announced that the summit would also address "growing fears over the rise of AI" and its carbon footprint.

"COP31 will meet this moment," Kurum said in a statement in New York, where he is attending the annual Climate Week event.

"We must openly discuss AI's growing energy consumption and it is time for governments to start setting the terms. We expect companies to be transparent about their energy use and to power their operations with clean energy."

A "political pledge" on how AI can support climate goals was being developed with a United Nations agency, and a draft would be unveiled before the summit, the COP31 presidency said.

A second initiative would showcase pilot projects to "demonstrate the responsible use of AI in practice."

The pledge would be voluntary and not require the approval of the nearly 200 nations that take decisions by consensus during the hard-fought UN-sponsored climate summits.

Every year, countries are encouraged by COP hosts to support non-binding pledges on a parallel "action agenda" that is separate from the formal negotiations.

In an unusual arrangement this year, Australia is presiding over the marathon political negotiations but Turkey is hosting the event and designing the sideline agenda.

The centerpiece for Turkey is a new electrification target -- raising the global share of energy demand met by electricity to 35 percent by 2035.

In simple terms, electrification means replacing technologies that burn fossil fuels directly -- such as gas heating systems and diesel vehicles -- with electric alternatives.

On Monday, Turkey announced a global mechanism to track progress on electrification and other initiatives aimed at reaching the goal.

But to tackle climate change, the extra electricity must come primarily from clean sources like solar and wind.

Around one-third of the world's electricity is still produced using coal.

Turkey's "35x35" target does not explicitly state how that extra power should be produced.

"As it stands, the COP31 Presidency's pledge leaves the backdoor open for governments to conceal or justify expanded fossil fuel use under the guise of electrification," said Claire Smith from campaign network Beyond Fossil Fuels.

Nations are divided on the pathway to phasing out planet-warming fossil fuels and a major breakthrough on this sticking point is not expected at the formal climate negotiations starting November 9.

K.Okada--JT