Discussion | Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation (online)

A discussion of how artificial intelligence (AI) can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. David Sandalow, lead author of the Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap, which was released earlier this month, will explore that topic along with seven of the report’s co-authors. 

The report’s findings and recommendations include:
-- AI could make significant contributions to climate change mitigation. Areas of opportunity include emissions monitoring, the power sector, the manufacturing sector, materials innovation, the food system, and road transport.
-- Barriers to using AI to reduce greenhouse gas emissions include a lack of trained personnel and high-quality data. All institutions with a role in climate change mitigation should prioritize AI skills-development and explore ways to develop and share relevant data.
-- Risks related to AI – including bias, privacy, and safety issues – require careful attention when using AI for climate mitigation.
-- Greenhouse gas emissions from computing infrastructure for AI are currently modest. The amount of such emissions in the years ahead is very uncertain.
-- The Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap is the 12th roadmap released as part of the ICEF Innovation Roadmap Project. Information on previous roadmaps can be found in this booklet.

Speakers:
-- Zhiyuan Fan, Research Associate, Center on Global Energy Policy 
-- Julio Friedmann, Chief Scientist, Carbon Direct
-- Antoine Halff, Chief Analyst and Co-Founder, Kayrros; Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy
-- Alp Kucukelbir, Chief Scientist, Fero Labs; Adjunct Professor of Computer Science
-- Elena Méndez Leal, MIA Candidate at Columbia School of International and Public Affairs
-- Colin McCormick, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University; Chief Innovation Officer,  Carbon Direct
-- Trishna Nagrani, Business Development, Climeworks