Editor’s note: We recently launched this page. If you have a suggestion for a site that’s not included, just fill out this form and we’ll consider it.

WHAT’S NEW

What Uses More?
Compare the environmental footprint of digital tasks

Using ChatGPT is not bad for the environment – a cheat sheet
Andy Masley on enviro issues with AI.

EconoFact
A non-partisan publication by Tufts University Fletcher School, bringing facts and incisive analysis to the national debate on economic and social policies, including climate change.

Investigate Midwest: 5 Things to Know About Data Centers
A focus on rural areas.

---

ACADEMIC RESEARCH | JOURNAL ARTICLES | STUDIES

How NDAs Keep AI Data Center Details Hidden from Americans

MIT Technology Review: AI’s Carbon Footprint Is Bigger Than You Think

Yale School of the Environment: Can We Mitigate AI’s Environmental Impact?

Harvard Business Review: The Uneven Distribution of AI’s Environmental Impacts

Scientific American: AI’s Climate Impact Goes Beyond Its Emissions

Sustainable AI: Environmental Implications, Challenges and Opportunities

AI and Ethics: Sustainable AI: AI for Sustainability and the Sustainability of AI

UN Environment Program: AI Has an Environment Problem. Here’s What the World Can Do About It

World Economic Forum: Nine Ways AI Is Helping Tackle Climate Change

New America: How Your Conversation with ChatGPT Contributes to Climate Change

MIT Sloan Review: Tackling AI’s Climate Change Problem

Global Partnership on AI: A Responsible AI Strategy for the Environment

Bowdoin Science Journal: AI – Save or Ruin the Environment?

United Nations: How AI Helps Combat Climate Change

MIT Technology Review: Training a Single AI Model Can Emit as Much Carbon as Five Cars in Their Lifetimes

SCMP: ‘Accelerating’ Climate Crisis Uses 20 Times More Energy Than a Search Engine

Harvard Business Review: The Uneven Distribution of AI’s Environmental Impacts

HDSR: Carbon Emissions in the Tailpipe of Generative AI

Nature: Ecological Footprints, Carbon Emissions, and Energy Transitions: the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Journal of Digital Technologies and Law: Artificial Intelligence Impact on the Environment: Hidden Ecological Costs and Ethical-Legal Issues

EconoFact
A non-partisan publication by Tufts University Fletcher School, bringing facts and incisive analysis to the national debate on economic and social policies, including climate change.

Investigate Midwest: 5 Things to Know About Data Centers
A focus on rural areas.

How Much Electricity Does AI Consume? [2025 Summary]

Patterns: Energy and Policy Considerations for Deep Learning in NLP
This seminal paper by Strubell et al. (2019) quantified the energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with training large NLP models. This article is behind a paywall but you can write the author to ask for it.

What Uses More?
Compare the environmental footprint of digital tasks

Using ChatGPT is Not Bad for the Environment – a Cheat Sheet
Andy Masley on enviro issues with AI.

arXiv: Carbon Emissions and Large Neural Network Training
A 2021 paper provides a methodology for estimating the carbon emissions of training large neural networks and discusses the factors that influence these emissions.

Investigate Midwest: 5 Things to Know About Data Centers
A focus on rural areas.

How Much Electricity Does AI Consume? [2025 Summary]

Joule: The Growing Energy Footprint of Artificial Intelligence
Examines the energy consumption trends of AI and explores potential solutions for improving energy efficiency.

AI Now 2019 Report
This report, though a bit older, includes a section on the environmental impact of AI, providing a good overview of the issue at the time.

Taylor & Francis Blog: Is AI Bad for the Environment?
Has links off to several good articles on various related subtopics.

---

NEWS ARTICLES

Bloomberg Technology: AI Needs So Much Power, It’s Making Yours Worse
A good deep-dive into the impact of AI on the environment

The Oregonian: Google’s Water Use is Soaring in the Dalles

NY Times: Will AI Ruin the Planet or Save the Planet?

Nature: AI’s Environmental Costs Are Soaring
Excellent article from Kate Crawford

NPR: AI Brings Soaring Emissions for Google, Microsoft

Earth.org: Can AI Fulfill Its Potential Without Destroying the Environment?

Business Insider: AI Data Centers Are Making Your Electricity Supply Worse and Could Damage Your Home, New Study Says

Time: How AI Is Fueling a Boom in Data Centers and Energy Demand

Vox: Should You Feel Guilty About Using AI?

---

TECH COMPANIES

Google: Realizing a Carbon-Free Future

Microsoft: Sustainability Policies