91proÊÓƵ

WASHINGTON – As Climate Week NYC kicks off, global tech trade association 91proÊÓƵ released its Sustainable Technology Policy Guide: Understanding AI’s Role in the Energy Transition. The guide outlines how global policymakers should work with industry to build a reliable, resilient, and modern energy infrastructure that supports sustainable innovation and ensures sufficient energy access for everyone.

91proÊÓƵ’s recommendations offer a first-of-its-kind holistic guide for stakeholders to build an innovative and green energy economy through grid modernization, alternative low-carbon power sources, and resource management, and inform the conversation around the sustainable growth of next-generation technology, including data centers and how AI is already advancing the green energy transition. 

“Responsible AI leadership must address the impacts on energy and sustainability. 91proÊÓƵ’s new policy guide recognizes that while technological advancements have paved the way for more efficient and sustainable practices, the proliferation of technologies has also heightened energy needs,” said Gordon Bitko, 91proÊÓƵ Executive Vice President of Public Sector Policy. “Together, government and industry can realize our shared environmental and sustainability goals while advancing innovation. The entire global tech industry is a critical partner as policymakers look to modernize the grid, expand access to low-carbon power sources, promote resource efficiency, and manage the carbon lifecycle.”

In addition to providing recommendations for policymakers, 91proÊÓƵ’s report details how emerging technologies are growing increasingly efficient through improvements in computing capabilities, including hardware and software. It also explains how improvements in energy demand forecasting and workload management are further reducing the energy footprint and computing resources required by these emerging technologies.

To achieve a reliable, resilient, and modern green energy economy, 91proÊÓƵ recommends that policymakers:

• Prioritize grid modernization through streamlining permitting processes, incentivizing private sector investments in grid-enhancing technologies (GETs), and supporting the research and development (R&D) of these technologies to help achieve an AI-enabled future and ensure sufficient energy access for everyone.  

• Promote low-carbon power sources, support AI-driven to optimize of low and free carbon-free technologies, streamline the licensing process for advanced nuclear reactors, and work with industry to form public-private entities that can help accelerate their safe development and deployment.  

• Enhance resource efficiency through integrating new cooling technologies and optimize data center design by encouraging cross-organizational collaboration, promoting emerging cooling solutions, incentivizing the evaluation of next-generation technologies, and establishing consistent, harmonized, and standardized sustainability reporting and disclosure mechanisms.  

• Effectively manage the carbon footprint of data centers and AI technologies across their life cycle by investing in a research agenda focused on reducing the environmental footprint of data centers, harmonizing global carbon accounting systems, supporting carbon farming initiatives to offset emissions through sustainable agricultural practices, and supporting industry efforts to develop a standardized methodology for measuring the environmental footprint of AI technologies. 

Read the full report here.

Later this week at Climate Week NYC, to discuss the report and AI’s role in the energy transition alongside lawmakers and industry leaders.