PPOL Divisional Seminar Series - AI Impacts on Long-term Climate Targets
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Dear Students and Colleagues,
The Division of Public Policy (PPOL) cordially invites you to attend the Divisional Seminar, entitled "AI Impacts on Long-term Climate Targets". We are privileged to host Prof. Charlie Wilson, Professor of Energy and Climate Change in the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) at the University of Oxford, as our distinguished speaker for the talk.
Abstract:
AI is a double-edged sword for climate change. AI impacts range across scales from data centres to the whole economy. In this talk, I survey the evidence on how AI is affecting energy transitions and carbon emissions. I disentangle the hype from the reality, and reveal the optimism bias in AI-climate assessments once the spotlight moves beyond a narrow focus on data centres. I also present new research quantifying AI impacts on global emission pathways out to 2050. I show how alignment between AI and climate action is highly consequential for the feasibility and affordability of long-term climate targets.
Charlie is a Professor of Energy and Climate Change in the Environmental Change Institute (ECI) at the University of Oxford, and a Senior Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria. He is also currently a visiting professor at Tokyo College and the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI) at the University of Tokyo. Charlie works on the drivers and dynamics of energy transitions, both historically and into the future using scenarios and modelling. He has a particular interest in digitalisation, AI, and its implications for climate.
Register now to join us via Qualtrics Survey on or before Thursday, 5 November 2026, 5:00 pm. All are welcome!