TLDR: Sopra Steria BENELUX has released a report, ‘AI & the Environment: clearing the information fog,’ revealing that the significant environmental footprint of Artificial Intelligence, particularly generative AI, is largely overlooked in public discourse and media. The report calls for urgent common and transparent measurement standards to address the escalating energy consumption of data centers and the rising CO2 emissions from tech giants, advocating for responsible AI development integrated with ecological transition.
Sopra Steria, a leading European tech company, has unveiled a critical report titled ‘AI & the Environment: clearing the information fog,’ which sheds light on the often-invisible environmental impact of Artificial Intelligence. The report, an unprecedented analysis, addresses narrative biases, heterogeneous measurement methods, and proposes new management tools, advocating for a sober and transparent approach to regulate the entire life cycle of AI.
The findings indicate that despite the massive adoption of generative AI significantly amplifying the environmental footprint of digital technology, this crucial subject remains largely under-discussed. According to Sopra Steria’s analysis, only 0.56% of online conversations and a mere 2.4% of media articles concerning AI mention its link with the climate. This highlights a significant public and media blind spot regarding AI’s ecological consequences.
The report underscores the alarming trend in global data center consumption, which is projected to nearly triple by 2030, soaring from 415 TWh in 2024 to over 940 TWh, as per the International Energy Agency (IEA). This surge is further exacerbated by the rapid rise of AI, amplifying an already critical energy dynamic. Illustrating this, technology giants like Microsoft and Google have reported substantial increases in their COâ‚‚ emissions, jumping by +30% and +48% respectively in recent years, a clear indicator of the environmental cost associated with poorly controlled innovation.
To gauge public awareness, Sopra Steria, leveraging the social listening expertise of Opsci.ai, analyzed over 800,000 messages published on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn between January 2024 and April 2025. The analysis revealed that a mere 0.56% of these messages mentioned the ecological impact of AI – a figure three times less than that for cryptocurrency. Similarly, out of nearly 22,000 media articles on AI, barely 2.4% focused on its environmental impact, often presenting a techno-solutionism narrative that tends to downplay the inherent risks.
Also Read:
- Artificial Intelligence and Green Finance Converge to Foster Climate Resilience
- Gartner Identifies AI Agents and Data Readiness as Foremost Tech Priorities for 2025
Yves Nicolas, Director of the Sopra Steria Group’s AI programme, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, ‘Artificial intelligence can no longer be thought of in isolation from its impacts, including environmental impacts. The development of responsible AI should not be an option, but a collective requirement. At Sopra Steria, we are convinced that it is by integrating sobriety criteria right from the design phase that we will be able to reconcile technological innovation and ecological transition. This requires reliable indicators, greater transparency and constant dialogue with all our stakeholders – three requirements that are part of our AI roadmap.’ The company’s call for common and transparent measurement standards aims to foster a more accountable and sustainable future for AI development and deployment.
