A smarter start to the year: AI and digital tools to support climate action

Want to make more climate-smart choices this year? Perhaps artificial intelligence (AI) could hold the key. From everyday apps and devices that can make your life more sustainable to assisting with big-picture potential solutions to climate change, let’s take a look at how AI and other digital tools could support climate action.

In recent years, we’ve seen a rapid rise in AI. In the climate context, it offers opportunities, but it also comes with risks.

Let’s take a look at the upsides and downsides, including how these tools could potentially help us find climate solutions and be more sustainable in our day-to-day lives.

Understanding the cons

When it comes to using AI, we should keep in mind that:

• AI is based on probability, not the truth. Without good data and human prompts, it may provide false or biased information about climate change.
• AI has a high carbon footprint. It relies on massive data centres that use huge amounts of water and electricity. This has impacts on our climate and environment, including increased emissions from energy use and strains on natural resources.
• These impacts can also bring inequality: the OECD and UNDP have both noted the risks of different impacts across countries. In the climate context, some countries might benefit more from AI’s outputs while others, such as those with big data centres, may feel bigger environmental and societal impacts.
• There are still many concerns around the ethics of AI, which include how it uses and protects data, with or without copyright.

This is why regulation matters and where the EU AI Act comes in. Adopted in June 2024 as part of the EU Digital Strategy, it’s the world’s first set of rules on AI. The Act works to ensure AI systems in the EU respect privacy, are safe and environmentally friendly, and are overseen by people rather than automation, helping to prevent harmful outcomes.  

The AI Act is part of Europe’s plan to become a leader in digital innovation, while helping build a more competitive and resilient Union. 

Supporting large-scale climate solutions

This brings us onto the opportunities.

AI is already helping support climate solutions. Here are some examples from across Europe:

• Gathering data about our planet: AI can be used to work with Earth observation and remote sensing. By processing information about the Earth's surface, waters and atmosphere, it can provide better data to predict extreme weather and prepare for climate risks. EU-funded projects such as EO4EU and AI4Copernicus have been working to combine AI with Earth observation.
• Making buildings energy efficient: In Estonia, case studies have shown that AI-powered tools used in real estate have saved energy by up to 60%. And in Finland, an EU-funded pilot project used AI to reduce emissions by forecasting weather, predicting the use of energy in specific rooms, and creating a schedule for using renewable energy in public buildings.
• Managing traffic: An AI tool called WISP uses live data to alter traffic light timings. This improves traffic flows, which lowers emissions by reducing the need for cars to brake, speed up and sit still.
• Improving policymaking: The NEUROCLIMA project, launched across the EU, uses AI to support policymaking on climate adaptation and resilience. It uses AI search and chat tools, e-learning, and an online platform to help users make decisions based on evidence.

If you’re working on developing climate solutions in your community, AI could help you with:

• Predicting and modelling situations
• Speeding up experiments
• Improving data and systems
• Reducing organisational costs. 

Helping make climate-smart choices

We don’t only have to look at large-scale projects to find examples of the use AI and other digital tools for climate action. They can also help us make more sustainable choices in everyday life.

Perhaps you’ve considered getting a smart-meter or thermostat at home, for example. These tools can use AI to learn and predict your schedule, then adjust your heating and electricity to save energy, thus reducing emissions in the atmosphere.

Here are some other examples of practical AI apps and tools that you could be using:

• Meal planners can suggest recipes to help you avoid waste, find low-carbon ingredients, and balance your health with your carbon footprint.
• Route planners can suggest low-emission routes to help you get from A to B sustainably.
• AI photo and video technology can help you sort your rubbish and find recyclable items, helping to reduce waste.
• Carbon calculators can tell you the impact of products you buy, helping you be a more sustainable consumer.
• Sustainability tracking apps like AWorld can help you log your climate efforts and earn rewards by tracking simple actions like walking and cycling, reducing food waste, insulating your home, and talking to friends to raise awareness about climate change.
   

Getting the most out of chat tools

When using AI chat tools, it’s always good to:

• think about what problem you’re trying to solve and what AI can help with
• take time to ask purpose questions, and always double check the information you receive
• check your organisation’s policy beforehand (if you’re using them at work).

Learn more

If we use AI and digital tools responsibly, they have potential to provide better information, speed up work and reduce costs – all of which could help build a more competitive, resilient and climate-neutral Europe. 

Interested in delving deeper into the topic of AI and learning more about how it can help with climate solutions on a larger scale? Register for our EU Climate Action Academy deep dive webinar on 27 January.