UN report: Carbon-only metrics miss AI's full environmental cost; SEC moves to kill climate disclosure rules

A new UN University report warns that measuring AI's environmental impact only by carbon emissions misses the bigger picture. It projects global data centers will consume 945 TWh of electricity by 2030, 9.3 trillion liters of water, and occupy over 14,500 square kilometers of land. The report argues that water use and land footprint must be included in any honest assessment of AI's toll on the environment. In the same news roundup, the SEC is moving to scrap existing climate disclosure rules, a shift that would reduce mandatory reporting of emissions and climate risks for public companies. This comes as other regulators push for more transparency. The combination of these stories highlights a growing tension between expanding data infrastructure and weakening climate accountability.