The United Nations called for a “responsible AI ecosystem” on Thursday, warning that daily use of artificial intelligence (AI) has a huge environmental impact. The appeal comes days after a UN University study predicted AI’s global water use will match the needs of all 1.3 billion people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
The UN study also noted the massive energy demands of AI. Public discussion has largely focused on the energy required to train AI models, but the study found that daily use of AI once a model is deployed accounts for more than 80 percent of the energy demand associated with the industry. ChatGPT alone is estimated to process around 2.5 billion prompts per day, translating to roughly 383 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year for a single product. By 2030, the data centers powering AI are projected to consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity. This is nearly triple the combined annual electricity use of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria—countries collectively home to more than 650 million people.
The report also warned of a growing electronic waste challenge, with AI infrastructure projected to generate up to 2.5 million tonnes of e-waste annually by 2030. Much of this burden is likely to fall on lower-income countries with limited capacity for safe disposal.
The production of critical minerals needed for AI hardware also raises concerns about environmental degradation and social inequities in extraction regions.
The study stressed that while the benefits of using AI may be worldwide, low-income countries bear the burden of the impacts disproportionately. The UN observed that China and the US own more than 90 percent of AI-specialized computing capacity, warning of the widening disparity in economic opportunities and environmental justice.
Kaveh Madani, the professor who led the UN investigation, stated that the study does not oppose AI, saying:
It is a call for using it responsibly and addressing its unintended impacts proactively to make it sustainable and equitable. We have a narrow window to ensure that the backbone of the technological revolution of our era develops within planetary limits, and that the communities who provide the critical minerals for advancing AI and the ones that host its infrastructure and e-waste are also among those who benefit from it.
The report ended with a roadmap for a responsible AI ecosystem. Standardized environmental footprint reporting, efficacy improvement by AI design, fit-for-purpose use, and international regulation in cross-border burden shifting are amongst the proposed measures.
On the same day, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the “AI for All” national strategy, targeting an additional USD$143 billion economic growth and 250,000 job opportunities by 2034. The strategy includes strengthening privacy protection, establishing an AI literacy initiative, and building basic AI infrastructure to reinforce sovereignty. The strategy also seeks to ensure that the national development of AI is consistent with the country’s environmental standards.
On the other hand, UK Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said at an industry dinner on June 4 that AI may trigger mass unemployment, rendering the benefits bill unaffordable within the next decade.
Last week, Pope Leo XIV also called for comprehensive AI regulation in his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. He urged that AI regulations must “respect the environment, avoid waste and prevent new forms of exploitation,” in line with the principle of the universal destination of goods in the Social Doctrine of the Church.
The alarm about AI’s environmental impact comes at a time when the world is trying to achieve the Paris Agreement climate goals. A coalition of UN experts supported the international commitment last week to act in their “highest possible ambition” to prevent risks of ecosystem collapse.
