The COP31 Presidency has floated two flagship pledges for the Antalya summit — an Antalya AI Energy Pledge to steer artificial intelligence toward net-zero data centres, and a 35×35 pledge to raise electricity’s share of final energy from today’s roughly 20% to 35% by 2035 — launched during New York Climate Week on 21 September 2026.
The presidency announced the pledges at a Climate Week event in New York, developed with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and said a draft of the AI pledge will be presented before COP31, with a dedicated technology and AI day on the summit agenda. A draft 2 GW AI-ready clean power concept for data centres was floated as part of the package.
FAKTA
- The COP31 Presidency announced the Antalya AI Energy Pledge and the flagship 35×35 pledge at New York Climate Week on 21 September 2026.
- The 35×35 pledge calls for electricity to reach 35% of final energy by 2035, up from roughly 20% today — doubling the growth rate of electrification this decade.
- The AI pledge aims to reduce AI’s energy and emissions footprint and align artificial intelligence with net-zero data centres, developed together with the ITU.
- Presidency quotes Murat Kurum: “We must openly discuss AI’s growing energy consumption and it is time for governments to start setting the terms.”
- A draft of the AI pledge is to be presented before COP31, with a dedicated technology/AI day planned at the Antalya summit (9–20 November 2026).
- Both pledges are voluntary, backed by a global progress-tracking mechanism, and accompanied by a “portfolio of AI-enabled clean-technology pilots” spanning electric cars and heat pumps.
Antalya AI Energy Pledge: setting the terms for AI power demand
AI is the fastest-growing source of electricity demand in many advanced economies, driven by data centres and model training. The presidency’s AI pledge positions governments — not just cloud companies — to define the rules: how AI infrastructure is powered, how its emissions are measured, and how AI can be deployed to accelerate, not undermine, decarbonisation.
“We must openly discuss AI’s growing energy consumption and it is time for governments to start setting the terms,” the presidency stated. A draft pledge will circulate ahead of COP31 for governments, industry and civil society.
35×35: electrifying final energy faster
Electricity accounts for only about one-fifth of final energy use worldwide — the rest is fossil fuel burned directly in transport, industry and buildings. The 35×35 pledge asks governments to commit to lifting electricity to 35% of final energy by 2035, effectively doubling the electrification growth rate of the current decade, with a global tracking mechanism to keep signatories honest.
The pledges add two deliverables to the COP31 Action Agenda on the road to Antalya. The full story is also available on Watan News International’s main site.
