ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
FOR
CLIMATE CHANGE
MITIGATION
ROADMAP
(SECOND EDITION)
November 2024
Innovation for Cool Earth Forum
,ICEF AI for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (Second Edition)
AUTHORS
LEAD AUTHOR
David Sandalow
Columbia University
Chair, ICEF Innovation Roadmap Project
PRINCIPAL CO-AUTHORS
Colin McCormick
Georgetown University and Carbon Direct
Alp Kucukelbir
Columbia University and Fero Labs
Julio Friedmann
Carbon Direct
Michal Nachmany
Climate Policy Radar and London School of Economics
DISTINGUISHED CO-AUTHOR
Hoesung Lee
Carbon-Free Alliance
former Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
CO-AUTHORS
Alice Hill Daniel Loehr
Council on Foreign Relations Georgetown University
Matthew Wald Antoine Halff
Breakthrough Institute Columbia University and Kayrros
Ruben Glatt Philippe Benoit
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050
Kevin Karl Fan Zhiyuan
Columbia University and Columbia University
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
November 2024 Authors
LLNL-TR-2001734
,ICEF AI for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (Second Edition)
CO-AUTHORS
Trishna Nagrani Lily-belle Sweet
Climeworks Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Ivo Steklac Cameron Kruse
ConnectDER Earth Genome
Mariah Frances Carter Matteo Turchetta
Lumora Technologies Kora Labs
Rama Ponangi Sarah Garland
Columbia University Triple Helix Institute
Alex C. Ruane Elena Méndez Leal
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Columbia University
Ranveer Chandra
Microsoft Corporation
This roadmap was prepared to facilitate dialogue at the 11th Innovation for Cool Earth Forum
(October 2024), for final release at COP29 in November 2024. We are deeply grateful to the Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development
Organization (NEDO), Japan for launching and supporting the ICEF Innovation Roadmap Project of
which this is a part.
Cite report as: David Sandalow, Colin McCormick, Alp Kucukelbir, Julio Friedmann, Michal Nachmany,
Hoesung Lee, Alice Hill, Daniel Loehr, Matthew Wald, Antoine Halff, Ruben Glatt, Philippe Benoit,
Kevin Karl, et al., Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (Second Edition) (ICEF
Innovation Roadmap Project, November 2024) https://doi.org/10.7916/2j4p-nw61.
Available at icef.go.jp/roadmap and transitiondigital.org/ai-climate-roadmap.
November 2024 Authors
, ICEF AI for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (Second Edition)
PREFACE
The first ICEF Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap was released in
December 2023. Since that time, attention to artificial intelligence (AI) has continued to grow at a
rapid pace. Tens of billions of dollars have poured into AI projects, policymakers around the world
have considered new AI policies, and OpenAI reports that each month more than 200 million people
now use ChatGPT.
Signs of a changing climate continue to grow as well. Based on global average temperatures, July 22,
2024 was the warmest day ever recorded; 2023 was the warmest year ever recorded; and the 10
warmest years on record are the past 10 years. Yet global emissions of greenhouse gases continue to
climb.
Can AI help cut emissions of greenhouse gases? This Roadmap explores that question. In this second
edition of the Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap, a team of 25 co-authors
builds on last year’s roadmap—comprehensively updating all old chapters, adding six new chapters
and offering 5–10 specific, actionable recommendations in each chapter.
Our goal is to provide a useful resource for experts and non-experts alike. In Part I of this Roadmap,
we provide brief introductions to both AI and climate change. In Part II, we explore eight sectors in
which AI is helping respond to climate change and could do much more. In Part III, we explore cross-
cutting issues. We close with findings and recommendations.
This roadmap builds on the body of literature produced annually in connection with the ICEF
conference. Previous roadmaps have addressed the following topics:
• Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation (2023)
• Low-Carbon Ammonia (2022)
• Blue Carbon (2022)
• Carbon Mineralization (2021)
• Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) (2020)
• Industrial Heat Decarbonization (2019)
• Direct Air Capture (2018)
• Carbon Dioxide Utilization (2017 and 2016)
• Energy Storage (2017)
• Zero Energy Buildings (2016)
• Solar and Storage (2015)
November 2024 Preface
INTELLIGENCE
FOR
CLIMATE CHANGE
MITIGATION
ROADMAP
(SECOND EDITION)
November 2024
Innovation for Cool Earth Forum
,ICEF AI for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (Second Edition)
AUTHORS
LEAD AUTHOR
David Sandalow
Columbia University
Chair, ICEF Innovation Roadmap Project
PRINCIPAL CO-AUTHORS
Colin McCormick
Georgetown University and Carbon Direct
Alp Kucukelbir
Columbia University and Fero Labs
Julio Friedmann
Carbon Direct
Michal Nachmany
Climate Policy Radar and London School of Economics
DISTINGUISHED CO-AUTHOR
Hoesung Lee
Carbon-Free Alliance
former Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
CO-AUTHORS
Alice Hill Daniel Loehr
Council on Foreign Relations Georgetown University
Matthew Wald Antoine Halff
Breakthrough Institute Columbia University and Kayrros
Ruben Glatt Philippe Benoit
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050
Kevin Karl Fan Zhiyuan
Columbia University and Columbia University
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
November 2024 Authors
LLNL-TR-2001734
,ICEF AI for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (Second Edition)
CO-AUTHORS
Trishna Nagrani Lily-belle Sweet
Climeworks Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Ivo Steklac Cameron Kruse
ConnectDER Earth Genome
Mariah Frances Carter Matteo Turchetta
Lumora Technologies Kora Labs
Rama Ponangi Sarah Garland
Columbia University Triple Helix Institute
Alex C. Ruane Elena Méndez Leal
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies Columbia University
Ranveer Chandra
Microsoft Corporation
This roadmap was prepared to facilitate dialogue at the 11th Innovation for Cool Earth Forum
(October 2024), for final release at COP29 in November 2024. We are deeply grateful to the Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development
Organization (NEDO), Japan for launching and supporting the ICEF Innovation Roadmap Project of
which this is a part.
Cite report as: David Sandalow, Colin McCormick, Alp Kucukelbir, Julio Friedmann, Michal Nachmany,
Hoesung Lee, Alice Hill, Daniel Loehr, Matthew Wald, Antoine Halff, Ruben Glatt, Philippe Benoit,
Kevin Karl, et al., Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (Second Edition) (ICEF
Innovation Roadmap Project, November 2024) https://doi.org/10.7916/2j4p-nw61.
Available at icef.go.jp/roadmap and transitiondigital.org/ai-climate-roadmap.
November 2024 Authors
, ICEF AI for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap (Second Edition)
PREFACE
The first ICEF Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap was released in
December 2023. Since that time, attention to artificial intelligence (AI) has continued to grow at a
rapid pace. Tens of billions of dollars have poured into AI projects, policymakers around the world
have considered new AI policies, and OpenAI reports that each month more than 200 million people
now use ChatGPT.
Signs of a changing climate continue to grow as well. Based on global average temperatures, July 22,
2024 was the warmest day ever recorded; 2023 was the warmest year ever recorded; and the 10
warmest years on record are the past 10 years. Yet global emissions of greenhouse gases continue to
climb.
Can AI help cut emissions of greenhouse gases? This Roadmap explores that question. In this second
edition of the Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap, a team of 25 co-authors
builds on last year’s roadmap—comprehensively updating all old chapters, adding six new chapters
and offering 5–10 specific, actionable recommendations in each chapter.
Our goal is to provide a useful resource for experts and non-experts alike. In Part I of this Roadmap,
we provide brief introductions to both AI and climate change. In Part II, we explore eight sectors in
which AI is helping respond to climate change and could do much more. In Part III, we explore cross-
cutting issues. We close with findings and recommendations.
This roadmap builds on the body of literature produced annually in connection with the ICEF
conference. Previous roadmaps have addressed the following topics:
• Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation (2023)
• Low-Carbon Ammonia (2022)
• Blue Carbon (2022)
• Carbon Mineralization (2021)
• Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) (2020)
• Industrial Heat Decarbonization (2019)
• Direct Air Capture (2018)
• Carbon Dioxide Utilization (2017 and 2016)
• Energy Storage (2017)
• Zero Energy Buildings (2016)
• Solar and Storage (2015)
November 2024 Preface
