The global boom in artificial-intelligence data centers is accelerating demand for electricity and, in some countries, new natural-gas plants — yet the technology’s climate impact will not be formally debated at the United Nations climate summit in Turkey this November. No country has proposed adding data centers to the official agenda for the talks, according to an official involved with COP31, the annual U.N. climate conference. The omission is raising questions about whether the consensus-driven process can respond quickly to an industry expanding faster than international climate policy. “I do think we’re moving too slowly,” said Erwin Rose, a former U.S. climate diplomat who chaired a technology committee under the U.N. climate process. “All governments are moving too slowly on climate, and there’s nothing that moves more quickly than technology, especially AI.” The International Energy Agency estimates that emissions associated with data centers could double by 2035, reaching about 350 million metric tons of greenhouse gases annually — roughly equivalent to the United Kingdom’s emissions in 2025. Data centers require large amounts of electricity to train and operate AI systems, and their growth is adding pressure to power grids around the world. In the United States, developers are pursuing natural-gas generation to meet the industry’s demand for speed. One analysis estimated that gas plants proposed to serve data centers could produce carbon pollution comparable to Australia’s emissions. In Europe, where operators more often seek renewable electricity, some facilities are also planning diesel backup systems. Proposed on-site gas generation at two data centers in the United Kingdom could produce more emissions than ExxonMobil’s operations there, according to an analysis by the group Foxglove. The U.N. climate process has addressed data centers directly only once. A 2023 agreement in Dubai mentioned artificial intelligence primarily as a potential tool for climate solutions, while briefly acknowledging that the technology could create environmental risks. The organization has since taken up the issue through separate initiatives. A program launched in 2023 is examining AI’s possible benefits and dangers for climate action, while U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has urged AI companies to disclose their environmental impacts and use clean energy by 2030. Some climate advocates argue that data centers do not necessarily need their own formal negotiating track. Their effects could instead be addressed through discussions about electric-grid management, energy efficiency and electrification. Turkey’s COP31 presidency has made electrification a priority, proposing that electricity account for 35 percent of global energy use by 2035. “The key climate question is not simply how much electricity data centers consume, but how that additional electricity demand is met,” Halil Hasar, the COP31 presidency’s chief climate diplomacy officer, said in an email. The goal, he said, should be to meet demand with cleaner power, stronger grids and greater efficiency. Artificial intelligence could also help reduce emissions by improving grid operations, expanding renewable-energy use and strengthening early-warning systems for extreme weather. The IEA has said those applications could potentially prevent more emissions than data centers generate. But experts warn that those gains are not guaranteed. Unequal access to AI could deepen disparities between countries, while rapid construction could strain electricity supplies and increase prices for households and businesses. Countries are already off track to meet their climate commitments; emissions would need to fall 35 percent from 2019 levels by 2035 to align with the Paris Agreement’s temperature goals. “There’s nothing on the face of it that’s contradictory about a country using more energy for data centers,” said Kaveh Guilanpour, vice president for international strategies at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. “But it then needs to find the emission savings elsewhere in the economy to achieve the target that it set.” U.N. climate chief Simon Stiell has called for data centers to rely on greater efficiency and clean electricity, warning that they cannot come at the cost of wider development gaps, higher emissions or higher prices. Local governments are also beginning to respond. Dozens of mayors have endorsed a pact focused on where data centers are built and how they are powered. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, the outgoing chair of Climate Mayors, a network of about 350 city leaders, said international negotiations could eventually help establish common expectations, although other forums may produce results sooner. “I would like to see the issue around data centers elevated in the international arena,” Gallego said. “The U.N. talks are also a really important way to bring together global countries, but in the short term, I suspect other venues will be more impactful.” For small island nations and other communities already facing severe climate impacts, the concern is that AI infrastructure could add demand for energy without corresponding emissions cuts elsewhere. “Technological progress must come hand in hand with the rapid decarbonisation of the global energy system,” said Anne Rasmussen, lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States. “We absolutely cannot afford to build the technologies of tomorrow on the destructive systems of the past.” Bill Hare, head of the climate science and policy institute Climate Analytics, said national and local governments that impose standards on data-center development may ultimately push the issue onto the international agenda. “I wouldn’t have the hope that the COP will suddenly solve this problem,” Hare said.