AI & Climate Change: Innovation Is Our Climate Ally

The Climate Crisis: Our Defining Challenge and Opportunity

The climate crisis is the defining challenge of our generation. Yet, with this challenge comes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity powered in part by AI climate technology.

We’ve long known the facts: rising global temperatures, extreme weather, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion (NASA Climate). The main culprits are clear: energy, industry, agriculture, transportation, and buildings. Together, these sectors account for most global greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP Emissions Gap Report).

Despite the urgency, many solutions are already within reach. One of the most powerful? Artificial intelligence (AI).

AI climate technology is emerging as a crucial enabler of climate action not in isolation, but as a force multiplier across PropTech, AgriTech, GreenTech, and beyond. In this article, I’ll explore why AI gives me hope, how it’s transforming key sectors, and what business leaders, policymakers, and innovators must do next.

The Big Five: Where Decarbonisation Must Happen

To understand AI’s potential, we need to look at the top five sectors driving climate change today (Our World in Data):

• Energy (electricity and heat production): ~25% of global emissions
• Industry (cement, steel, chemicals, manufacturing, construction): ~21%
• Agriculture, forestry, and land use (AFOLU): ~18–24%
• Transportation (road, aviation, shipping, rail): ~14%
• Buildings (residential and commercial): ~6–7% direct emissions

Decarbonising these sectors is mission-critical and AI climate technology is already making a difference.

1. Decarbonising Energy: Smarter, Cleaner Power

Energy production is the world’s largest emitter, but AI climate technology is changing the game.

Google’s DeepMind improved wind energy forecasts by 20%, helping clean power integrate more reliably into the grid (DeepMind Blog). In the UK, National Grid ESO uses AI to balance supply and demand in real-time, reducing fossil-fuel reliance (National Grid ESO).

AI also powers district heating systems. Leanheat optimises urban heat distribution (Danfoss Leanheat), while Tesla’s Autobidder platform manages battery storage to smooth demand (Tesla Autobidder).

2. Decarbonising Industry: Reinventing Production

Industry often gets less attention, yet it’s a major emitter.

Google cut data centre cooling energy by 40% using AI (Google Sustainability). CarbonCure reduces concrete’s carbon footprint by injecting CO₂ during production (CarbonCure). IBM’s Supply Chain Intelligence Suite helps manufacturers track and reduce emissions across complex supply chains (IBM Supply Chain).

Tools like Buildots use AI climate technology to monitor construction sites in real time, reducing waste, delays, and carbon output (Buildots).

3. Decarbonising Agriculture: Smart, Resilient Farming

Agriculture and land use are responsible for about one-fifth of global emissions. Here, AI climate technology is transforming farming.

John Deere’s See & Spray reduces herbicide use by up to 90% (John Deere). Cainthus applies AI to monitor livestock health, cutting methane and improving productivity (Cainthus).

4. Decarbonising Transportation: Rethinking Mobility

Transportation is ripe for change, contributing 14% of emissions.

UPS’s ORION system saves 100 million miles annually, cutting CO₂ emissions by 10% (UPS Pressroom). Companies like Waymo and Cruise push forward autonomous driving (Waymo, Cruise), while Citymapper and Via improve public transit with AI (Citymapper, Via Transportation).

Flow Labs leverages AI climate technology to optimise traffic flow, reducing congestion and unnecessary emissions (Flow Labs).

5. Decarbonising Buildings: Smarter Spaces

Buildings account for 6–7% of direct emissions, but when indirect energy use is included, the figure rises to nearly 40% (IEA).

BrainBox AI cuts HVAC energy use by 25% with predictive control (BrainBox AI). Siemens and Schneider Electric integrate AI into building management systems for real-time optimisation (Siemens, Schneider Electric).

AI also engages building occupants, nudging more sustainable behaviours a key benefit of AI climate technology.

Managing Carbon: Accounting, Tracking, Offsetting

AI is transforming carbon management.

Persefoni automates Scope 1, 2, and 3 reporting (Persefoni). Climate TRACE uses AI to track global emissions with satellite data (Climate TRACE).

Pachama applies AI and remote sensing to verify forest carbon credits, improving market transparency (Pachama).

Protecting Nature: Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

Biodiversity Net Gain is gaining traction worldwide.

NatureMetrics uses eDNA and AI to monitor biodiversity health (NatureMetrics). Restor, from ETH Zurich, combines AI and satellites to track restoration results (Restor). Natcap’s InVEST platform helps automate BNG reporting (Natural Capital Project).

What Must Happen Next

AI alone won’t solve the climate crisis, but AI climate technology is one of the most powerful tools we have today.

To fully unlock its potential, we need:

• Cross-sector collaboration: Businesses, governments, and technologists must work together (World Economic Forum).
• Investment in digital infrastructure: Data quality and global connectivity must improve (OECD AI Policy Observatory).
• Responsible innovation: AI should be ethical, transparent, and climate-aligned (AI Now Institute).

Final Thoughts

The climate crisis is vast, but human ingenuity is just as vast.

AI is not the hero we are. But used wisely, AI climate technology can accelerate decarbonisation in energy, industry, agriculture, transportation, and buildings. We can move from extraction to regeneration and build a resilient, thriving future.

That’s the challenge and the opportunity of our time.

By Alan Wing-King
Managing Director, Syntegra Group