AI Is Power-Hungry. Here’s How Conservatives Can Tame It

Conservative Environment Network
4 hours ago
3 min read

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming everything from our economy to our daily lives. AI certainly has the potential to boost productivity and global GDP. However, people have also rightly raised concerns about how power hungry AI is. Strikingly, a single request chatbot query can use up to 10 times more electricity than a standard Google search.

As we race to plug AI into everything, from our content creation to our energy grids, are we heading towards a smarter, sustainable future or just a more power-hungry one that derails our progress? Major players like Google, Microsoft and Meta have reported sharp increases in emissions, partly due to AI.

But strides in AI don’t have to be at the expense of sustainability; the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. And this is where the Conservatives have a real chance to lead on this mission. By championing a free-market approach with sensible environmental protections and regulation, we can encourage businesses to invest in UK innovation and invest in carbon offsetting projects. Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are leading the way by signing Power Purchase Agreements and investing in carbon-reduction technologies. Microsoft, for instance, is using the power of the free market to create a new model entirely, purchasing millions of tons of nature-based carbon removal credits. This is a powerful demonstration of how private sector innovation is the key to a sustainable future.

The free market is the best way to encourage businesses to innovate and develop economically-viable solutions. Tech companies are financially motivated to invest in efficient, cleaner energy sources, as energy costs become a significant factor in running large AI models. Research and development in the private sector is fuelled by this pressure, producing new services and technologies such as energy-saving software that can be scaled across industries. The end effect is a system that is more adaptable, dynamic, and efficient than any government mandate could be.

What’s striking is that AI, despite its appetite for electricity, could actually help out emissions in the long run. A new study from the LSE Grantham Institute and Systemiq found that, if rapidly deployed across the power, transport, and food sectors, AI could cut global emissions by 3.2 to 5.4 gigatonnes of CO₂-equivalent annually by 2035, more than offsetting the technology’s own carbon footprint. AI could help optimise energy grids, accelerate clean technology innovation, monitor emissions in real time and support consumers to make greener choices. This cutting-edge technology boosts efficiency and innovation, two principles at the heart of conservative values.

As the party emerges from a period of renewal and reflection, the Conservatives should not be afraid to strongly make the case that only a free market approach can drive innovation, incentivise efficiencies, protect the environment, and boost economic growth, particularly when it comes to AI. The Conservatives have always been the party of pragmatism, balancing the need for sensible regulations with the desire to give people and businesses the freedom to pioneer inventive and creative solutions. If we get it right, we won’t just build cleaner machines, we’ll prove that smart, market-led thinking can build a cleaner, stronger Britain too.

The views in this op-ed do not necessarily reflect the views of CEN or our supporters. If you are a CEN supporter, councillor, or parliamentarian and would like to write for the CEN blog, please email your idea to info@cen.uk.com.