Regulating the AI-Climate Nexus: Current trends, emerging issues, and ways forward

The climate-related impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), including both risks posed by increased resource use and opportunities presented by new technologies, are receiving growing attention. Legal and governance frameworks will be crucial to managing these impacts. In this brief working paper, we outline legal issues emerging from the intersection between law and climate change and consider how these might develop in the future. First, we examine climate-related risks and opportunities stemming from AI and argue that policy, legal, and regulatory mechanisms are likely required to minimise risks while maximising opportunities. Next, we evaluate existing and proposed legislation across multiple jurisdictions to identify provisions which address the AI-climate nexus, finding a range of existing examples which, while relatively limited, point to certain emerging trends. Using these examples, we categorise legislative interventions focused on AI and climate change and consider the impact of each category on policy goals. We then outline how AI’s environmental impacts might interact with other legal regimes, finding a wide variety intersections between the growth of AI and climate-related legal issues. We conclude with general recommendations for future work in this area.