Brief Author Note

This week was crazy! I was able to attend the AI, Meet Nature event which was co-hosted by the Land & Carbon Lab, the Bezos Earth Fund, and World Resources Institute (WRI).

The TLDR is that we are entering a new era of planetary data and intelligence with how we see, track change, guide action, and measure impact on the planet.

The folks at those 3 organizations combined five years, 80 high-resolution datasets, and the power of AI to create the Global Nature Watch tool. It’s currently in beta testing, but it should be revealed to the public super soon.

Cya later, alligator! 🐊 

Nate

Quick Links!

• Podcast Episodes

• Scientific Papers

• Policy Documents

• Multimedia

• Organizations

• Tools

• Fellowships Corner

• Submit Resources

Will AI Save Humanity or End It? with Mustafa Suleyman (AI & Workforce Development): Trevor, Microsoft’s “Chief Questions Officer,” and Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI and co-founder of DeepMind, explore whether AI’s benefits outweigh its risks, touching on existential questions and the massive data center infrastructure fueling the AI boom.

How Applying AI to Climate Solutions is Helping Forecast the Future (AI & Climate Science): Mike Pritchard, Director of Climate Simulation Research at NVIDIA, explains how AI is transforming climate modeling with high-resolution, interactive simulations that improve extreme weather forecasting and support science-based policymaking.

The Impact of AI on Sustainable Investing (AI & Policy/ESG): Lorenzo Saa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Clarity AI, discusses how AI is reshaping sustainable investing by enhancing ESG data analysis and enabling more informed investment decisions.

Machine Learning Ensembles Can Enhance Hydrologic Predictions and Uncertainty Quantification (AI & Climate Science): Jared D. Willard and Charuleka Varadharajan demonstrate that ensemble machine learning models outperform single deterministic models in predicting stream temperatures in unmonitored U.S. basins, improving both accuracy and uncertainty quantification for hydrologic forecasting.

What Matters for Bioacoustic Encoding (AI & Ecology/Biodiversity): Miron et al. conduct a large-scale evaluation of bioacoustic encoders, finding that self-supervised pre-training combined with supervised fine-tuning on diverse datasets achieves state-of-the-art performance and releasing open model checkpoints to support future bioacoustic research.

Decoding Global Precipitation Processes and Particle Evolution Using Unsupervised Learning (AI & Climate Science): King et al. use UMAP to analyze 1.5 million rain and snow particle observations, identifying nine precipitation groups and particle evolution pathways that improve understanding of precipitation phases and enhance climate model evaluation.

WIPP Lessons for State and Local Officials Considering Hosting a Nuclear Waste Repository (AI & Energy): The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University distills lessons from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) experience, offering practical guidance for state and local leaders on siting, community engagement, and long-term stewardship when considering hosting a nuclear waste repository.

ISO/IEC TR 20226:2025: Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Environmental Sustainability Aspects of AI Systems (AI & Sustainability): This new ISO technical report provides a framework for assessing and improving the environmental sustainability of AI systems, including guidance on energy efficiency, resource use, and lifecycle impact considerations.

Governing with Artificial Intelligence: The State of Play and Way Forward in Core Government Functions (AI Policy & Governance): This OECD report explores how governments are adopting AI in core functions like public service delivery, regulation, and policy design, identifying best practices and challenges for trustworthy, human-centered AI governance.

Community Briefing on Data Centers in Albemarle County (AI & Environmental Impact): This recording from the Piedmont Environmental Council highlights community concerns, infrastructure impacts, and local policy discussions around data center development in Albemarle County.

The Pauling Principle Episode 16: Building an AI Scientist (AI & Multiple Applications): Andrew White and the Future House team discuss their mission to build AI systems capable of automating scientific discovery, accelerating breakthroughs in medicine, climate solutions, and other critical fields.

Energy & Sustainability: Generative AI Powering a Greener Future (AI & Environmental Impact): This talk showcases real-world examples of AI reducing carbon emissions, improving predictive maintenance, optimizing refinery efficiency, and cutting energy use in water treatment by 50%, demonstrating AI’s immediate impact on sustainable infrastructure.

EdgeConneX (AI & Data Centers/Hardware): A global data center provider delivering highly proximate, purpose-built solutions at every scale. from edge and far edge to hyperscale, including edge cable landing stations to support distributed compute needs worldwide.

NuScale Power (AI & Energy): Developer of a next-generation small modular reactor (SMR) design that promises safer, cleaner, and more cost-competitive nuclear energy compared to traditional gigawatt-scale plants.

Camus Energy (AI & Energy): Provider of a grid orchestration software platform that helps utilities anticipate and manage grid constraints, optimize infrastructure investment, and support the transition to fully electrified, zero-carbon energy systems.

AgriWatch (AI & Agriculture): The Hawaii Cropland Data Layer (HCDL) uses geospatial embeddings from Google DeepMind’s AlphaEarth Foundations model to provide the first raster, geo-referenced crop-specific land cover dataset for Hawaii, enabling improved agricultural monitoring and planning.

Data Center Atlas (AI & Infrastructure): Built by Othersphere, this atlas details the environmental, social, and economic impacts of global data center expansion, offering an interactive lens into the infrastructure powering the AI era.

Climate Tech Atlas (AI & Sustainability): A comprehensive platform mapping climate technologies across sectors, designed to spark innovation, guide investment, and mobilize collaboration toward a decarbonized future.

US-China AI Governance PhD Fellowships (Global / PhD students) (Open to PhD applicants interested in US-China AI governance): The Vitalik Buterin PhD Fellowship from the Future of Life Institute funds PhD students working on US-China AI governance research, especially those without other funding. Fellows receive 5 years of PhD tuition and fees, a $40,000/year stipend (for US, UK, Canada), a $10,000 research expense fund, plus access to virtual and in-person networking and mentorship activities. 📆 Deadline: November 21, 2025.

Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP) 2026 Cohort (U.S.) (Open to energy & manufacturing innovators): U.S. Department of Energy’s fellowship embeds innovators with U.S. National Laboratories for two years to develop cleaner, affordable energy and manufacturing technologies. Fellowship includes R&D collaboration, entrepreneurship training, technical support, and access to labs’ infrastructure. 📆 Deadline: Check the websites in the link for the specific deadlines!

Cohere Labs Catalyst Grants (Global / Academic, Civic, and Impact-Oriented Teams) (Open to researchers, community organizations): Cohere’s grant program provides academic scholars and impact-oriented organizations with free access to Cohere API credits to support safe, responsible work in LLMs and AI, particularly in areas like climate, sustainability, education, healthcare, language preservation, etc. Deadline: Rolling / when grants are open.

If you have resources that you wish to submit to the AI & Environment Resource Hub, fill out the Google Form! Thank you for suggesting resources to add to the Resource Hub. 🙃 

That’s it for this week.

Thanks for reading the 18th issue of The Climate Code! It means a lot to me and we have more coming in the future, so definitely stick around! 💚 

Nate

P.S.

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