Artificial intelligence (AI) and energy consumption

Priority question for written answer P-001974/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Eero Heinäluoma (S&D)

Recent media articles have highlighted the significant energy consumption and increasing CO₂ emissions of AI development activities, mainly undertaken by big tech companies. At the same time, some of these companies fail to disclose in a very transparent way the exact sustainability impact of their AI development work. Indeed, in its recent sustainability report, Google makes it clear that it will not make a specific AI disclosure, while they did do so two years ago.

According to Article 95(2)(b) of the AI Act[1], the EU believes that companies will voluntarily disclose the environmental sustainability impact of their AI activities. Google's recent sustainability report clearly indicates that such a voluntary disclosure requirement falls rather short. Given the EU's climate ambitions and established targets, it is hard to see how these can be reconciled with the corporate silence around CO₂ emissions and the energy consumption of AI development activities.

• 1.Does the Commission consider the lack of transparency from some tech companies around the sustainability impact of AI development work acceptable?
• 2.If not, how does the Commission plan to address this? Is it willing to strengthen sustainability disclosure requirements around AI activities, and, as in the MiCA Regulation[2], push to make this disclosure requirement mandatory?

Submitted: 7.10.2024

• [1] OJ L, 2024/1689, 12.7.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj.
• [2] OJ L 150, 9.6.2023, p. 40, ELI: ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1114/oj.