Innovation, Emissions, and the Urgency of Systems Thinking

Author: Ben Richardson, CEO, Sulnox Group PLC

“Great, thank you!”

“Brilliant, very much appreciated.”

They say manners cost nothing and as humans, we’re very used to being polite and respectful. As a Brit, I certainly feel it was drummed into me from a young age.

But when it comes to artificial intelligence, those simple words carry more weight than we might think.

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries and societies, its environmental footprint is becoming impossible to ignore. According to Goldman Sachs, global power demand from data centres is projected to rise by around 50% by 2027 and a staggering 165% by 2030.

This surge is largely driven by hyperscale cloud providers and corporations racing to build and deploy large language models (LLMs), the very systems behind today’s generative AI tools.

These models are capable of remarkable achievements such as dramatically saving us time on tedious tasks, supporting content generation, and helping us to solve complex problems. But they’re also insatiable consumers of energy and water, requiring vast resources to operate and cool the servers that power them.

Interestingly, our relationship with AI is more than technical in some cases. A recent survey by Future asked over 1,000 U.S. respondents about their interactions with AI. Of those who use it (roughly half), 67% said they’re polite to it, regularly saying “please” and “thank you.” While most (82%) do so out of courtesy, 12% admitted they’re hedging their bets, in case of a robot uprising.

And whilst it’s important to remain respectful as there’s an argument that this supports the helpful responses AI provides us with, politeness won’t offset the environmental cost.

According to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), it takes ten times more energy to ask ChatGPT a question than to run a standard Google search without AI-generated summaries. And that’s just one query. Multiply that by billions of interactions daily, and the scale becomes clear.

AI vs. the Grid

This surge in demand is arriving at a precarious moment for the planet. The global south is experiencing rapid growth in energy consumption, outpacing the expansion of renewable infrastructure. Despite global efforts to transition to cleaner energy, peak oil is still projected to be as far off as 2040. Meanwhile, power grids are already under strain.

As AI adoption increases, the pressure on energy infrastructure will only intensify. Researchers at MIT Energy Initiative are studying “smarter” data centres where the AI workloads of multiple companies using the same computing equipment are flexibly adjusted to improve energy efficiency.

“By looking at the system as a whole, our hope is to minimise energy use as well as dependence on fossil fuels, while still maintaining reliability standards for AI companies and users,” says Deepjyoti Deka, a research scientist in the MIT Energy Initiative.

There are further ways to support the energy usage. Microsoft, Google and Amazon have recently struck deals with operators and developers of nuclear power plants to fuel the demand in data centres. While nuclear energy remains controversial, its potential to deliver consistent, low-carbon power at scale could be a turning point for a more sustainable future.

But this is just one part of the environmental puzzle. As we tackle climate change, we also need to confront other pressing issues that are harming our planet.

The Biodiversity Crisis

Another crisis that’s unfolding is biodiversity loss. During a recent visit to New York, I met Patricio Lombardi, Executive Director of the Environmental Markets Fairness Foundation and former Minister of Climate Change in Argentina. We agreed that biodiversity loss may be an even greater challenge than global warming.

The degradation of ecosystems is weakening the planet’s resilience to climate change. Forests, wetlands, and other natural habitats play a critical role in regulating the climate, absorbing carbon, and protecting against floods. When these ecosystems are lost or degraded, the planet’s ability to self-regulate diminishes.

This isn’t just an environmental issue, it’s a human one.

Nature underpins everything from the air we breathe to the food we eat and the clothes we wear. Even our healthcare systems rely heavily on nature, with an estimated 50-60% of medicines derived from or inspired by natural compounds.

During recent travels, I have been struck by how much land has been cultivated to meet food demands. Outside of protected nature reserves, natural environments are often non-existent. It’s a stark reminder of the tension between human development and ecological preservation, a balance we must urgently address.

Particulate Matter and Black Carbon

Alongside biodiversity, we’re also witnessing other threats with devastating consequences. Particulate matter (PM) and black carbon are pollutants which are released when fuel burns incompletely, producing the black smoke seen from vehicle exhausts and ship funnels.

When these particles settle on Arctic ice, they disrupt the albedo effect (the natural process by which white surfaces reflect sunlight). Instead of reflecting heat, the soot absorbs it, increasing the pace of ice melting. The effect is astonishing. The Arctic is now warming three times faster than the rest of the planet, and black carbon is believed to be a significant contributor.

Beyond climate impact, black carbon poses serious health risks. Air pollution, largely driven by particulate matter, is responsible for an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths globally each year.

The Illusion of Progress

From all the threats I’ve discussed above, it’s easy to understand the fragile state of our planet and the urgent need for change. And yet, it’s easy to believe we’re making progress on the energy transition, especially in the West. We see more electric vehicles on the road, wind turbines on the horizon, and green energy tariffs on our bills. But this perception doesn’t reflect the global reality.

While some progress is being made in developed nations, it’s dwarfed by the growth in energy consumption across the global south. The pressure to reduce energy use is mounting, yet the infrastructure and policy support needed to meet that challenge are still lagging.

Even small, practical steps are being overlooked. For example, it can be frustrating to see new buildings approved without requirements for solar panels, green roofs, or vertical gardens. These features should be standard in urban planning, not optional extras.

Recently, I stayed in a city hotel and was pleased to see several green roofs from my window. But many new buildings still lacked them. It’s a missed opportunity to support biodiversity and reduce urban heat island effect. These simple interventions can make a big difference and should be prerequisites for any new development.

A Systems-Level Response

We must act now. The challenges we face such as rising energy demand, biodiversity loss, and air pollution are deeply interconnected. Addressing them requires a systems-level response that spans industries, governments, and communities.

• Decarbonising heavy industries: Sectors like shipping and travel industries are among the largest contributors to global emissions and among the hardest to decarbonise. In shipping, for example, the consumption of fossil fuels is gigantic and transitioning away from that is an exceptionally costly process. The challenge of reducing emissions from liquid fuels is why Sulnox developed Sulnox Eco, an innovative fuel conditioner that makes conventional fuels work smarter. It delivers more complete combustion, improving fuel efficiency, and reducing harmful emissions right away. I joined Sulnox because of how much I believed in this product. It makes a huge difference to our planet as well as driving cost savings for our clients. I remain incredibly determined to drive the adoption of it across the globe.

• Tech industry accountability: Companies building and deploying AI must take responsibility for their energy consumption. This includes investing in clean energy solutions, optimising model efficiency, and transparently reporting environmental impact.

• Policy and regulation: Governments must accelerate the transition to renewable energy and enforce stricter emissions standards. Incentives for biodiversity conservation and penalties for environmental degradation can help shift behaviour.

• Global collaboration: The energy and biodiversity crises are global in nature. Solutions must be inclusive, ensuring that the global south is supported in its transition to sustainable development.

• Public awareness: Education and advocacy are critical pieces to the puzzle. The public must understand the trade-offs of technological progress and be empowered to demand sustainable practices from corporations and policymakers.

Looking Ahead

Innovation is tough. Climate change is not an easy problem to solve and frankly, we just need to all be doing more. Whether it's making conscious choices in our daily lives, advocating for sustainable policies, or supporting innovation that drives environmental progress, every action counts.

The scale of the climate and biodiversity crises can feel overwhelming, but change begins with each of us doing our bit.

At Sulnox, we’re proud to be contributing by supporting industries to reduce greenhouse gases, helping them to transition away from the use of fossil fuels.

Together, we can make a meaningful difference.