Brief Author Note

What a week! I started school (can’t believe I’m heading back for a second Master’s degree) at the RAND School of Public Policy with their Master’s of Tech Policy (MTP) program. We covered Risks Management in Energy Markets and AI Policy in the same week.

In addition, I presented an AI x Energy presentation for Cohort 8 as part of the Climatebase Fellowship program! I have never seen such passion among such an amazing group of people before, both in and out of the climate field.

You can find the slides for the presentation under the Projects tab in my LinkedIn profile if you are interested!

Cya later, alligator! 🐊 

Nate

Quick Links!

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Data Centers: The Hidden Backbone of Our Modern World (AI & Data Centers/Hardware): This episode traces the evolution of data centers from punch-card rooms through Cold War infrastructure to today’s AI “factories” highlighting how these physical systems underpin almost every digital service, consume large amounts of energy and water, and pose urgent climate and resource challenges.

Setting a Tech Agenda for Climate Week (AI & Policy/ESG): This conversation centers on how the tech industry should approach Climate Week scrutinizing its energy footprint, resource demands (especially through data centers), and the most vital climate-tech issues that need public attention and policy framing.

Sustainable AI (AI & Environment): In this episode, Anne Currie and Boris Gamazaychikov (Head of AI Sustainability at Salesforce) discuss aligning AI development with environmental responsibility, the role of the AI Energy Score benchmarking tool, and why transparency is key to more sustainable AI models and deployments.

Confronting Risks at the Intersection of Climate Change and Artificial Intelligence: The Promise and Perils of Rights-Based Approaches (AI & Environment): This paper critiques the risks of using AI for climate action including its environmental footprint, techno-centrism, surveillance potential, and discursive influence and argues that rights-based approaches hold promise but must overcome challenges of concretization, individualism, and corporate capture to be effective.

Addressing Climate Change in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Three Registers of Human Rights Struggles (AI & Environment): This paper explores how human rights law can respond to AI’s climate impacts such as resource demands, securitization, and narrative framing through argumentative, aesthetic, and affective approaches, emphasizing that affected communities must shape how rights are mobilized.

Can AI Grow Green? Evidence of a Kuznets Curve Among AI, Renewable Energies and Emissions (AI & Policy/ESG): This study finds that AI adoption initially raises energy use and emissions but eventually leads to emissions reductions and increased renewable reliance beyond a $220–$580 per capita investment threshold, suggesting a “green AI Kuznets curve” and calling for stronger global AI-energy governance and transparency.

AI for SDGs – A Technical and Illustrated Tour (AI Policy & Governance): This illustrated report by Laure Berti-Équille offers a comprehensive overview of how AI can contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, combining technical explanations with practical case studies to make complex concepts accessible.

AI and Climate Change: The Global South Facing the New Geopolitics of Innovation (AI & Climate): Produced by the Green Screen Coalition, this report examines how AI’s rapid development intersects with climate challenges in the Global South, highlighting issues of innovation access, data sovereignty, and equitable participation in shaping climate-tech solutions.

Accelerating Emissions Reductions and Strengthening Business Performance (AI & ESG): This WBCSD report explores strategies for businesses to cut emissions while improving competitiveness, emphasizing the role of AI and digital tools in measurement, reporting, and performance tracking for sustainability goals.

Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Energy and the Environment (AI & Energy): Hosted by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, this briefing explores how AI can support climate resilience and economic competitiveness while also driving up energy demand, emissions, and water usage underscoring the urgent need for policy solutions to minimize environmental harms.

Episode 2: Data and Infrastructure, The Main Pillars of Sovereign AI with Karl Havard (AI & Multiple Applications): In this Sovereign AI podcast episode, Maria Luciana Axente talks with Karl Havard of NScale about why data and infrastructure are essential to building sovereign AI and how the UK is developing these foundational systems.

SWARMathon #10: AI for Energy & Oceans (AI & Multiple Applications): This installment of the SWARMathon series spotlights how AI is being used to optimize energy systems and better understand ocean dynamics, showcasing emerging applications for sustainability.

Water-AI Nexus Center of Excellence (AI & Water Resources): A first-of-its-kind initiative focused on improving water sustainability in AI development while leveraging AI to address global water challenges.

ANC Energy Inc. (AI & Energy): This company develops advanced energy solutions using AI-driven semi-solid-state battery energy storage systems (BESS) to deliver more robust and reliable power infrastructure.

Werover (AI & Energy): A company providing predictive maintenance technologies for renewable energy assets through the combination of AI, IoT, and robotics.

Greening Digital Dashboard (AI & Sustainability): Developed by ITU and the World Benchmarking Alliance, this dashboard tracks emissions and climate commitments from 200 major digital companies, enabling science-based target setting and progress monitoring for the tech sector.

What Uses More? (AI & Sustainability): A nonpartisan calculator that compares the energy and water usage of AI tasks with everyday digital activities like streaming or search, using academic and industry data to provide transparency amid uncertainty about AI’s ecological footprint.

Nature Tech Directory + AI Assistant (AI & Biodiversity/Ecology): A collaboration between Nature Tech Collective, Conservation International, and Earth Genome that combines a curated directory of nature tech solutions with an AI assistant to help practitioners and funders identify the right tools for their context.

Future Impact Group (FIG) Winter 2025 Fellowship (Global / Early-career researchers & practitioners) (Open to applicants interested in applied research projects): This part-time, remote-first fellowship runs from early December 2025 to early March 2026 and matches fellows with supervised projects in AI governance, safety, climate, and related global priorities. Participants commit at least 8 hours/week per project, complete a short assessment, and may interview before selection. While the fellowship is typically unpaid, limited funding is available for those with financial constraints, and high-impact projects may receive extension funding. 📆 Deadline: October 19, 2025 (Anywhere on Earth).

UNICEF Climate Innovation Challenge 2025 (Global / Frontier-tech start-ups in emerging markets) (Open to early & growth-stage climate tech ventures): The UNICEF Venture Fund is seeking scalable, open-source solutions that protect children’s health and strengthen climate resilience in low-resource settings (e.g. via AI, data, blockchain). Selected ventures receive mentorship, technical assistance, visibility, and potential pathway into UNICEF’s investment portfolio. 📆 Deadline: October 21, 2025.

BOOST x CEF: Green Urban Tech (Global / Tech & digital innovators in urban systems) (Open to businesses, NGOs, or academic institutions): In partnership with UNDP’s BOOST program and the City Experiment Fund (CEF), this challenge invites solutions that improve urban sustainability via data-driven decision making, resident engagement, waste & ecosystem resilience, and green infrastructure. Selected proposals may pilot in partner cities in Europe & Central Asia and compete for up to USD 30,000 deployment funding. 📆 Deadline: October 19, 2025.

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 19th 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.

New here? Check out the AI & Environment Resource Hub if you have no idea what it is. 😆