AI’s positive impacts on emissions tracking, climate resilience, and adaptation far outweigh energy costs when paired with renewables.
India is rapidly advancing in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), positioning itself as a global leader through initiatives like the IndiaAI Mission (approved in 2024) and the India-AI Impact Summit in February 2026. The country is building a comprehensive AI ecosystem focused on democratizing access, fostering innovation, and aligning with national priorities, including inclusion, economic growth, and sustainability. Key efforts include expanding GPU infrastructure, establishing data labs, and developing governance frameworks that emphasize risk-based, light-touch regulation to promote the adoption of ethical and responsible AI. Investments from global players such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are accelerating AI infrastructure development. At the same time, the AI summit, anchored in the “Three Sutras” (People, Planet, Progress) and “Seven Chakras” (including resilience, innovation, and efficiency), highlighted India’s commitment to sustainable, impactful AI.
The recently concluded India AI Impact Summit 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, placed climate action at the centre of global AI discourse. As the first such summit in the Global South, it concluded with the New Delhi Declaration and commitments totaling more than $200 billion in investments. Anchored in the three pillars of People, Planet, and Progress, the summit showcased how India is harnessing artificial intelligence not just for economic growth but for sustainable development and climate resilience.
In the context of climate change, AI is proving transformative for monitoring and managing environmental challenges in India. AI-powered tools enhance tracking of greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, deforestation, and temperature variations. Collaborations among the India Meteorological Department (IMD), IITs, ISRO, and other institutions have produced practical tools such as the Bharat Forecasting System (BharatFS), transformer-based neural networks for monsoon prediction, and AI chatbots such as MausamGPT. These systems deliver hyper-local forecasts to nearly every gram panchayat, directly supporting farmers, urban planners, and disaster managers. For instance, satellite imagery combined with AI analyzes real-time data to detect pollution sources, predict urban heat vulnerability (down to building level in initiatives like “Sunny Lives”), and model climate risks more accurately. AI improves climate forecasting by integrating variables such as precipitation, wind patterns, and emissions, thereby supporting better disaster preparedness and precision agriculture to reduce methane emissions from rice fields (e.g., programs achieving 48% emission cuts). These applications aid in monitoring emissions intensity, forest biodiversity loss, and urban pollution, enabling proactive interventions and compliance with environmental regulations.
This surge strains the grid, especially in coal-reliant regions, and could conflict with sustainability goals if not managed effectively.
On the flip side, AI’s massive energy appetite cannot be ignored. India’s data center capacity has grown to around 1.5 GW in 2025, projected to reach 9-17 GW by 2030. To meet this demand sustainably, India is accelerating the integration of renewable energy. The Deloitte report released at the summit urges solar-wind hybrid projects with storage, long-term green power purchase agreements, captive renewable installations, and dedicated data-centre economic zones. Bureau of Energy Efficiency guidelines now mandate Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ≤ 1.3 and at least 50% renewable sourcing. At the same time, AI itself is used to schedule computing tasks during periods of abundant clean power.
The government targets 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, alongside pumped storage and battery systems. Policies incentivize green data centers through tax exemptions, subsidies, and mandates for 100% renewable sourcing in states like Maharashtra. Companies are securing power purchase agreements (PPAs) for solar/wind, adopting efficient cooling, and aligning with net-zero goals. The IndiaAI Mission and the AI summit emphasize “Planet” as a core pillar, promoting energy-efficient AI models and sustainable infrastructure.
The trade-off between AI’s benefits and constraints is worthwhile and increasingly manageable. AI’s positive impacts on emissions tracking, climate resilience, and adaptation far outweigh energy costs when paired with renewables. Events like the UNEP-hosted side event on “Role of AI for Environmental Resilience” highlighted India’s push to overcome bottlenecks and deploy high-impact pilots in forests, biodiversity, climate risk, and management.
Looking ahead, AI will strengthen India’s ability to meet its Paris Agreement commitments, including enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions and the 2070 net-zero target. By optimising renewable output, enabling sustainable agriculture, improving disaster preparedness, and providing transparent carbon tracking, AI is becoming a force multiplier for resilience in the Global South. The New Delhi summit has set the tone: India is not choosing between AI progress and climate action; it is building both together.
This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard India Country Manager, Ankita Padelkar.