By Gelila T. Geletu and Raymond B. Amumpaire |

Artificial Intelligence (AI), a buzzword connoting a machine-based system that infers, from the input it receives, how to generate outputs or decisions that can influence physical or virtual environments. AI has been credited for its disruptively massive contribution to society. AI has brought about opportunities, for instance, towards exploring and innovating around eco-friendly alternatives. Conversely, AI has also brought with it disruptive potentials towards environmental sustainability.  The Digital Rights Alliance Africa (DRAA) and its membership as part of the wider agenda is focussing on increasing the capacity of civil society organisations, human rights defenders, media, journalists and other civic actors to effectively understand, monitor and navigate the use of surveillance technologies and advocate for legal and policy frameworks that protect players surveillance. In this article, DRAA critically explores modern technology and its impact on a sustainable Africa ahead of Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063.

What do guiding instruments say?

Article 4(1) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) calls on all state parties to promote and cooperate in technological, technical, research and development of data archives, related to the sustainable and resilient climate systems. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a recent advisory opinion requires States to ensure that companies and individuals subject to their jurisdiction comply with due diligence duties before acting in ways that could potentially cause environmental damage, mirroring  the spirit of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Further, Agenda 2063, the  AU Continental AI Strategy, the Digital Transformation Strategy for African 2020-2030 and Africa Digital Compact (ADC) propose harnessing and accelerating the integration of AI to improve the livelihoods of Africans including tackling climate change through climate technology. According to the 2025 State of Internet Freedom in Africa Report, countries like Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria and Senegal have aligned technological progress with broader national development goals. These are complemented by the Windhoek Statement on Artificial Intelligence in Southern Africa, Nairobi Statement on Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies in Eastern Africa and the Africa Declaration on Artificial Intelligence which recommend leveraging AI for  climate resilience and adaptation.

The Addis Ababa Action Agenda equally creates a coherent framework for financing sustainable development, which, according to General Assembly resolution 70/1, para. 40,  is critical for the realisation of the SDGs and Agenda 2030.

Although these strides are remarkable, critical gaps continue to plague the current regional AI governance frameworks. These primarily include the absence of comprehensive, AI-specific legislation to clearly define AI, mandate algorithmic impact assessments, establish clear accountability mechanisms, guide independent oversight, mandatory impact assessments for high-risk AI systems, and provide specific redress for AI-driven harms.

Additionally, there is a lack of explicit guidelines for public-sector AI deployment, inadequate provisions for algorithmic transparency and explainability, measures to address algorithmic bias, weak data sovereignty mechanisms, and limited enforcement capacity of regulatory bodies.

AI and Environmental Sustainability

Defined as ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs,’ the ethos of sustainability aims towards a responsible, efficient, and equitable use of resources, including natural resources.

The construction of AI data centres have been criticised for ‘guzzling a lot of water.’ A 2025 study indicates that a medium-sized data centre can consume up to roughly 110 million gallons of water annually for cooling purposes (equivalent to the annual water usage of approximately 1,000 households) while larger data centres can each “drink” up to 1.8 billion annually (equivalent to a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people).

These data centres have also been faulted for having serious carbon emissions, exacerbating the e-waste problem, driving depletion of resources and inflating electricity costs. Indeed, by 2030, data center power demands are expected to increase by 160%. This has made ecology-friendly digital policies and  innovations a much needed elixir.

AI systems also have the potential to exacerbate the systemic biases and social inequality vis-a-vis the most vulnerable, especially women, and marginalised communities living in climate-sensitive areas. Additionally, AI has been cited as having a potential risk to spread climate disinformation and perpetuate the repression of environmental defenders.

Within the African context, the lack of safely managed water and sanitation remains a critical equality issue, disproportionately affecting women and girls. They often bear the burden of water collection, face heightened risks to health and safety, and experience barriers to education and economic participation. The African Union (AU) has declared 2026 as the Year of “Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063.” The theme elevates water and sanitation to a continental political priority, recognizing them as catalysts for economic transformation, climate resilience, public health, food security, and regional stability.

Furthermore, Africa’s expansive resources and rising data needs make it well-suited for greenpowered data hubs, enhancing digital inclusion and resilience. A great example of such initiatives is the Africa Data Centre (ADAC) which signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with DPA Southern Africa (DPA SA) and iColo that is poised to become one of the greenest global connectivity hubs in Kenya which may serve as a strategic pilot which may be upscaled across the continent. Hence, there is an opportunity to align the operations and expansion of AI technologies with the AU agenda on sustainable water resource management. However, in the recent past, the AUC signed a memorandum of understanding to advance Africa’s sovereign AI and digital capacity with Google despite Google facing increasing criticism over adverse environmental impact of its data centers.

Nonetheless, the ‘corporate-everything’ model behind the AI eco-system encourages companies to prioritise profit over environmental protection, externalising costs, influencing regulations and pushing environmental responsibility to the backseat.

The Way Forward

Notwithstanding the above progresses and critical challenges, there is hope for stakeholders to take actions that potentially align AI technologies to environmental sustainability goals in Africa and beyond. The key actions include:

1. Member states adhering to digitally and ecologically forward-looking laws via legal harmonisation, reform, and effective implementation through tailored awareness-raising, and capacitation initiatives for legislative and judiciary bodies, as well as  public institutions;
2. Big-tech meaningfully uptakingaccessible, explainable, accountable, transparent, and competent AI governance mechanisms which embed the ethos of environmental sustainability and reflect the lived experiences of Africans, especially the most vulnerable;
3. Human rights advocates, academia, researchers, think tanks, and networks  figureheading need-based research and human rights advocacy initiatives to ensure the effective and timely enforcement of laws, and as means of building robust cross-sectoral partnership in and around  environmental due diligence and inclusive digital transformation; as well as
4. Civil society through training and capacity building empowering grassroot initiatives which leverage AI technologies to protect and preserve indigenous ecological practices geared toward environmental sustainability and social transformation within their communities.