Climate Forward Podcast Climate and the A.I. revolution
13 snips
Sep 25, 2025 
Melanie Nakagawa, Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft, and Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google, explore the intersection of AI and climate action. They discuss the rapid expansion of data centers and its impact on emissions, while highlighting their companies' ambitious carbon-negative goals. Investments in clean energy, like nuclear and carbon capture, play a critical role. They also debate AI's reputation and its potential to actually reduce emissions, showcasing initiatives aimed at improving sustainability in tech.
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Climate Work Transcends Politics
- Google frames climate work as transcending politics and seeks common ground on energy policy and workforce training.
- Kate Brandt emphasizes accelerating advanced energy technologies and unlocking the grid to meet growing demand.
Long-Term Contracts Power Climate Goals
- Microsoft treats its 2030 commitments as enduring and makes multi-year investments to match renewable energy to loads.
- Melanie Nakagawa highlights growing Microsoft’s clean energy portfolio from 1.8 GW in 2020 to over 34 GW recently.
Push For Clean Firm Power
- Advocate for clean, firm power like advanced nuclear, enhanced geothermal, and long-duration storage to support AI-driven load growth.
- Work with governments to speed permitting and grid reforms to deploy capacity rapidly.