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Concerns over the environmental impact of artificial intelligence (AI) development have surfaced in the European Parliament, as tech giants face criticism for limited transparency in their reporting on energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
Eero Heinäluoma, a Finnish MEP from the centre-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) grouping, has formally raised the environmental issue with the European Commission, suggesting that current voluntary disclosure guidelines are not enough.
In a written parliamentary question, Heinäluoma highlighted recent media reports that call attention to the substantial energy consumption and rising carbon footprint of AI development, particularly by major technology companies.
These reports suggest that some firms, including Google, have scaled back their transparency efforts, with Google's latest sustainability report notably opting to omit specific information about the environmental impact of its AI operations, in contrast to disclosures that were made by the company two years prior.
The EU’s AI Act, particularly Article 95(2)(b), encourages companies operating in the trading bloc to voluntarily disclose the environmental effects of their AI-related activities.
However, Heinäluoma pointed out that Google’s reluctance to provide detailed AI-related emissions data raises concerns about the effectiveness of voluntary measures.
“Given the EU’s ambitious climate goals, how can we reconcile these with the lack of corporate transparency on AI’s environmental impact?” Heinäluoma asked.
Aligning with MiCA
Heinäluoma also pressed the Commission to consider stronger sustainability disclosure regulations for AI, similar to the mandatory requirements that are found in the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, the EU’s incoming legal framework for crypto-assets.
During the negotiations on MiCA, the MEP was one of the biggest advocates for the legislation to have stringent energy consumption rules.
At the time of passing, he said “the new legislation falls short on the ecological front”, pointing out the impact of processes such as bitcoin mining.
“The S&Ds pushed for clearer rules on the minimum sustainability standards on crypto-assets, but the conservatives and the liberals, with the support of the far-right, blocked these efforts.”
Under MiCA, issuers and service providers in the crypto space will be required to identify and disclose any principal adverse effects on the climate or environment caused by these mechanisms.
EU supervisory authorities have been delegated to develop regulatory technical standards to ensure that these disclosures are clear, consistent and proportional to the size and volume of crypto-assets.
The standards will cover sustainability indicators, methodologies, and energy usage to harmonise reporting and minimise the compliance burden on companies.
Although the AI Act has now been signed into law by the EU, it will be reviewed by the Commission in a few years.
Such a review could conclude that stricter environmental rules are necessary for firms harnessing AI, which could lead to the introduction of more burdensome compliance rules relating to the emerging technology.
