Türkiye Launches AI Climate Pledge at UNGA81 as Data-Centre Energy Demand Surges
By Jahanzaib Saqib | SCN NEWS
NEW YORK, (SCN NEWS) — Türkiye launched a new international initiative on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Monday aimed at bringing artificial intelligence's rapidly growing energy requirements within global climate goals, putting the expanding power demand of data centres onto the diplomatic agenda ahead of November's COP31 summit.
The initiative, known as the Antalya Pledge on Artificial Intelligence, is being developed with the UN's International Telecommunication Union and is intended to establish a political commitment around how AI infrastructure is designed, powered and deployed. A draft of the pledge is expected to be released before COP31 opens in Antalya in November, according to Türkiye's incoming COP presidency.
The move represents an effort to broaden the international debate over AI beyond questions of regulation, safety and governance. As governments and technology companies accelerate investment in data centres and computing infrastructure, the electricity needed to develop and operate increasingly powerful AI systems is emerging as a significant energy-policy challenge.
COP31 President and Turkish Climate Minister Murat Kurum said governments needed to begin setting terms around AI's expanding energy requirements. Türkiye's presidency said it wants technology companies to become more transparent about energy consumption and increase the use of clean electricity to power their operations.
Unlike agreements negotiated formally by nearly 200 countries under the UN climate process, the Antalya AI initiative is expected to operate as a voluntary political pledge. That could allow governments, technology companies and other participants to join the initiative without requiring consensus among all parties at COP31.
Türkiye is also developing an AI for Clean Tech initiative designed to demonstrate how artificial intelligence can contribute positively to the energy transition, including through pilot projects connecting technology developers, industry and investors. The dual approach seeks to address both sides of AI's climate equation: reducing the environmental impact of computing infrastructure while using the technology to improve climate and clean-energy solutions.
The announcement gives AI an unusually prominent place in preparations for this year's UN climate summit. Türkiye will host COP31 in Antalya from Nov. 9 to Nov. 20, while Australia is set to preside over the formal negotiations under the unusual hosting arrangement agreed for the conference.
Türkiye used the New York gathering to unveil another major component of its COP31 agenda: the 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge, which seeks to increase electricity's share of final global energy consumption to 35% by 2035.
The initiative focuses on accelerating electrification in buildings, transport and industry while expanding clean power, energy storage and modern electricity grids. It also calls for greater support for developing economies making the transition away from direct fossil-fuel use.
The two initiatives are closely connected. Greater use of electric vehicles, heat pumps, industrial electrification and AI data centres will increase demand on power systems, making the source of that additional electricity increasingly important to climate targets.
Türkiye's COP31 strategy therefore places greater emphasis on grids, storage and clean electricity infrastructure alongside traditional negotiations over emissions reductions. Its official COP31 programme describes resilient grids and energy storage as critical to integrating growing amounts of renewable power while maintaining energy security.
That challenge is particularly significant for developing economies, where governments must simultaneously expand electricity access and finance costly upgrades to their power systems. Türkiye's COP presidency says its electrification agenda should account for countries' differing levels of development and resources rather than imposing a single transition pathway.
The initiative is also likely to face scrutiny over whether increased electrification translates into lower emissions. Critics note that expanding electricity consumption does not automatically reduce carbon emissions if additional demand continues to be met by coal, gas or other fossil fuels. AFP reported that the 35-by-35 proposal does not explicitly require all additional electricity to come from clean sources, an issue environmental groups are already raising ahead of the summit.
The UNGA81 launch nevertheless marks an attempt by the incoming COP presidency to establish AI's energy footprint as an international climate-policy issue before negotiators arrive in Antalya.
Türkiye will continue promoting its COP31 agenda during high-level week. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is in New York for the General Assembly, and Türkiye says he is expected to participate Wednesday in a high-level climate meeting convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
A COP31-IEA High-Level Energy Transition Dialogue is also being held around the General Assembly, bringing ministers, industry representatives and international institutions together to discuss electrification, grids, storage and financing for emerging and developing economies.
The emerging debate creates a new challenge for governments racing simultaneously to expand artificial intelligence and meet climate commitments. AI infrastructure is becoming strategically important to national economies, but the enormous computing capacity behind it also places additional pressure on electricity systems.
By launching the Antalya Pledge during UNGA81, Türkiye is seeking to ensure that the question of how the AI boom will be powered becomes part of the climate negotiations rather than an issue addressed only by technology regulators.
Whether governments and major technology companies sign onto the voluntary initiative — and whether the final pledge establishes measurable commitments on clean power, transparency and AI infrastructure — will determine how much influence the New York announcement ultimately carries into COP31.