The global pledge to use AI for climate good is a cruel joke

Murat Kurum (left), Turkey’s minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change; and Chris Bowen, Australia's minister for Climate Change and Energy, raise their hands together at the COP31 UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Turkey, on November 9th, 2026. | Photo: AFP via Getty Images At this point, reading through the latest splashy pledge to use AI for the good of the environment feels like downing a nonalcoholic beer. Admittedly, I'm suspicious from the onset. How can this be good? But I love beer and our planet enough to give it a whirl - and hey, why not try a little harm reduction ? Negotiators from more than 190 countries around the world are in Antalya, Turkey, this month for the annual United Nations climate summit, called COP31 (the 31st "Conference of the Parties" that ratified the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change).