Bangladesh's AI policy must factor in the environmental costs

While the world rushes to learn how to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in every sphere of life—from classrooms and hospitals to offices and newsrooms—remarkably little attention is paid to an uncomfortable question: what is the environmental cost of this technological revolution?

AI is often portrayed as something intangible. We interact with it through a simple prompt on a screen, receiving answers in seconds. It feels detached from the physical world. But behind every AI-generated response lies a vast physical infrastructure of data centres, high-performance processors, cooling systems and power grids that consume enormous amounts of electricity and water. The irony is difficult to ignore. At a time when the world is racing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, AI is becoming one of the fastest-growing energy consumers.

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According to a report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the rapid expansion of generative AI has significantly increased electricity demand, not only for training large language models but also for running them every time users submit prompts. Unlike conventional software, generative AI requires enormous computational power throughout its lifecycle. The report also notes that AI infrastructure consumes substantial amounts of water to cool the servers that keep these systems running, while the manufacturing and transportation of specialised hardware carry additional environmental costs. This raises an uncomfortable question: are we becoming so fascinated by what AI can produce that we have forgotten to ask what it consumes?

The environmental footprint extends far beyond electricity.

According to a report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), by 2030, global AI-related data centres could consume around 945 terawatt-hours of electricity annually. Their water footprint could equal the basic domestic water needs of 1.3 billion people in sub-Saharan Africa, while the land required to support AI infrastructure could exceed 14,500 square kilometres.

These figures should concern every country, but perhaps none more than Bangladesh. Ours is among the nations that have contributed the least to global climate change while suffering some of its harshest consequences. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, river erosion, cyclones, floods and salinity intrusion are already placing immense pressure on our economy and natural resources. At the same time, the country is embracing digital transformation with remarkable speed.

Government services, banking, education, journalism and businesses are increasingly integrating AI into their operations. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. AI has extraordinary potential; it can improve disaster forecasting, optimise crop management, enhance healthcare, strengthen scientific research and even help monitor environmental degradation. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), AI is already being used to detect methane emissions, monitor biodiversity and map environmentally destructive activities.

The problem is adopting AI without accounting for its environmental costs. For Bangladesh, this conversation is particularly urgent because our energy resources remain constrained, electricity demand continues to rise, and water security is becoming increasingly fragile. If AI usage expands without investment in cleaner energy, efficient infrastructure and transparent environmental standards, the technology could quietly increase pressure on systems that are already under strain.

The environmental cost of AI is also becoming an issue of global equity. Wealthier countries and technology companies are driving much of the demand for AI computing, yet the environmental consequences—from emissions to water stress—are shared across borders. Countries already vulnerable to climate change could end up paying for a digital transformation that primarily benefits others.

The UN has therefore urged governments to develop standards for measuring AI’s environmental impacts, require greater transparency from technology companies, improve the efficiency of AI systems and power data centres with renewable energy wherever possible. And Bangladesh must take note. As the country develops its own AI strategies, environmental sustainability must become part of the conversation from the outset.

Policymakers should encourage the use of energy-efficient AI models, require greater transparency regarding the environmental footprint of digital infrastructure, and ensure that future investments in data centres align with the country’s renewable energy ambitions. Universities and researchers should also examine how AI can be deployed responsibly in Bangladesh’s unique environmental context rather than simply adopting models developed elsewhere.

Technology has always promised progress, and AI is no exception. But progress should not be measured solely by how quickly we can automate tasks or generate content. It should also be measured by whether innovation strengthens the world we live in or silently depletes the resources that sustain it.

Bangladesh has little choice but to embrace AI. The greater challenge is ensuring that, in doing so, we do not unknowingly deepen the very environmental crisis we are already struggling to survive.

Naziba Basher is a journalist at The Daily Star.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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