AI is dominating the conversation at Climate Week

Artificial intelligence dominates this year’s Climate Week, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres noting AI could both mitigate and worsen climate challenges. Global climate-tech venture capital reached $26 billion in H1 2026, 55% higher than last year, largely funding data-center-related energy projects for Google, Meta, and Microsoft, while carbon-management and low-carbon fuel investments fell. The rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers is driving natural-gas power plant construction, raising emissions and public concern.