Session
Organization's Website
Classroom
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: This session will combine expert presentations, interactive discussions, and audience engagement, making a classroom layout the most suitable format for fostering learning and dialogue. The 60-minute duration allows for structured content delivery while ensuring ample time for discussion and Q&A. The classroom setting supports dynamic interaction between speakers and participants, both onsite and online, enabling knowledge-sharing and practical takeaways for policymakers and practitioners.
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: This session will combine expert presentations, interactive discussions, and audience engagement, making a classroom layout the most suitable format for fostering learning and dialogue. The 60-minute duration allows for structured content delivery while ensuring ample time for discussion and Q&A. The classroom setting supports dynamic interaction between speakers and participants, both onsite and online, enabling knowledge-sharing and practical takeaways for policymakers and practitioners.
Description
As AI adoption accelerates, so do concerns about its environmental footprint. This workshop, organized by UNESCO’s Communication and Information and Natural Sciences sectors in partnership with University College London’s Computer Science department, will explore strategies to mitigate AI’s energy demands while fostering inclusive and sustainable innovation.
The session will introduce key resources, including the "Sustainable AI Playbook: A Guide for Policymakers", which offers actionable strategies for integrating sustainability into AI governance, and the "Environmeter", an online tool designed to help policymakers and practitioners assess the environmental impact of generative AI models.
Aligning with the IGF 2025 subtheme of Sustainable and Responsible Innovation, this session will provide a deep dive into the intersection of AI, sustainability, and governance. Discussions will focus on:
- Policy and regulatory framework that encourage energy-efficient AI development and deployment.
- Best practices from industry, academia, and international organizations for reducing AI’s environmental footprint.
- The role of renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure in AI innovation.
- International cooperation and multi-stakeholder approaches to advancing greener AI ecosystems.
By convening policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and civil society representatives, this session aims to foster cross-sectoral dialogue and drive actionable solutions for a more sustainable digital future.
Session Interaction and Participation in a Hybrid Meeting 1) How will you facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees? The session will feature live Q&A, allowing both onsite and online participants to pose questions. A dedicated online moderator will manage virtual interactions, ensuring remote participants are actively included in discussions. 2) How will you design the session to ensure the best possible experience for online and onsite participants? The session will use interactive polling tools, audience Q&A via Slido or Mentimeter, and real-time discussions on AI’s environmental impact. Speakers will engage with online and in-person participants equally, and key materials (e.g., the Sustainable AI Playbook) will be made available for download. 3) Complementary online tools/platforms for participation and interaction: • Slido/Mentimeter (for audience polling and Q&A) • Zoom Chat and Q&A (for virtual participant engagement)
Session Interaction and Participation in a Hybrid Meeting 1) How will you facilitate interaction between onsite and online speakers and attendees? The session will feature live Q&A, allowing both onsite and online participants to pose questions. A dedicated online moderator will manage virtual interactions, ensuring remote participants are actively included in discussions. 2) How will you design the session to ensure the best possible experience for online and onsite participants? The session will use interactive polling tools, audience Q&A via Slido or Mentimeter, and real-time discussions on AI’s environmental impact. Speakers will engage with online and in-person participants equally, and key materials (e.g., the Sustainable AI Playbook) will be made available for download. 3) Complementary online tools/platforms for participation and interaction: • Slido/Mentimeter (for audience polling and Q&A) • Zoom Chat and Q&A (for virtual participant engagement)
Organizers
UNESCO
Leona Verdadero, UNESCO Soichiro Yasukawa, UNESCO Ivana Drobnjak, Director, University College London (UCL) Computer Science
Leona Verdadero, UNESCO Soichiro Yasukawa, UNESCO Ivana Drobnjak, Director, University College London (UCL) Computer Science
Speakers
• Guilherme Canela de Souza Godoi, Director, Digital Inclusion and Policies and Digital Transformation, UNESCO
• Ivana Drobnjak, Director, UCL Computer Science
• David de Francisco*, Deputy Director General, Ministry of AI and Digital Transformation, Spain
• Loubna Ben Allal*, Lead, Small Language Models, Hugging Face
• Marco Zennaro*, Edge AI Expert, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics
*Speakers to be confirmed.
Onsite Moderator
Leona Verdadero, UNESCO
Online Moderator
Soichiro Yasukawa, UNESCO
Rapporteur
Leona Verdadero, UNESCO
SDGs
7.2
9.4
12.6
13.2
Targets: Selected SDG Targets: • SDG 7.2 (Increase the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix) • SDG 9.4 (Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable) • SDG 12.6 (Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices) • SDG 13.2 (Integrate climate change measures into national policies) How this proposal links with SDG targets The workshop will promote sustainable AI practices by showcasing energy-efficient AI models and tools that support policy decision-making. The discussion will highlight ways AI can reduce its environmental footprint through improved efficiency, the use of renewable energy, and sustainable governance frameworks. These efforts contribute to building greener infrastructure (SDG 9), responsible production and consumption (SDG 12), and climate resilience (SDG 13).
9.4
12.6
13.2
Targets: Selected SDG Targets: • SDG 7.2 (Increase the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix) • SDG 9.4 (Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable) • SDG 12.6 (Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices) • SDG 13.2 (Integrate climate change measures into national policies) How this proposal links with SDG targets The workshop will promote sustainable AI practices by showcasing energy-efficient AI models and tools that support policy decision-making. The discussion will highlight ways AI can reduce its environmental footprint through improved efficiency, the use of renewable energy, and sustainable governance frameworks. These efforts contribute to building greener infrastructure (SDG 9), responsible production and consumption (SDG 12), and climate resilience (SDG 13).