At Climate Week, the buzzword wasn't greenhouse gases — it was AI

The first talking point at New York Climate Week, without question, was AI. As world leaders gathered in Manhattan for the UN General Assembly this week, with investors, policymakers, and activists all in one place, the one topic that could not be ignored this year was artificial intelligence.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres himself addressed this intersection in his speech on the first day of the General Assembly. "The climate crisis is fueling instability and migration," he said, adding that "artificial intelligence could help solve these problems — or make them worse."

Tensions around AI are mounting. On the positive side, big tech money is flowing into energy startups, with nuclear, geothermal, wind, and solar companies striking deals one after another with the likes of Google and Meta as they pursue data center expansion. According to Curuns, an industry financial tracker, global venture capital investment in climate tech reached $26 billion in the first half of 2026, up 55% from last year, with data center products and services taking a large share.

On the negative side, there are growing concerns that emissions-heavy natural gas power plants are being built one after another to meet rising electricity demand.

No one in the climate community disputes that AI matters. The debate at this year's Climate Week has converged on a clash of perspectives: whether to view AI's climate impact as a net positive or a net negative.