Artificial Intelligence Under the UNFCCC: Existing Work and Emerging Questions Discussion Paper

Summary

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has not yet become a significant topic of negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or the Convention). AI has primarily been addressed under the UNFCCC’s Technology Mechanism (TM), which facilitates enhanced action on technology development and transfer. Established in 2023 and set to run through 2027, the AI for Climate Action Initiative is exploring how AI can support mitigation and adaptation in developing countries while examining challenges, such as energy consumption, data security, and digital divides.

While this technical work under the TM is underway, in formal UNFCCC decisions, AI has only come up in the context of recognizing the launch of the AI for Climate Action Initiative. Although key findings on AI from a report under the initiative were included in an early draft of negotiating text on technology development and transfer, in June 2026, Parties removed all specific messages on AI in favor of text that broadly notes the relevance key recommendations from the TM’s policy arm.

As the AI for Climate Action Initiative progresses through its workplan, technology is developing rapidly, energy consumption stemming from AI use is increasing, and the views regarding the impacts of AI on the environment are evolving in the broader UN architecture. In June 2026, the UN Secretary General called for AI companies to disclose their environmental impacts and to power data centers with renewable energy by 2030. In December 2025, Member States to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) agreed to the first-ever multilateral resolution on AI and the environment, which focuses on the ecological impacts of AI and its potential to support climate resilience and biodiversity.