Ceres: Pricing Carbon and Building AI Responsibly
- World Climate Foundation
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Every year, billions of dollars pour into new data centres, energy systems and infrastructure. The decisions made now about how that money gets spent will shape whether we build a cleaner future or lock in decades more of fossil fuel dependence.
In a recent interview, Mindy Lubber, CEO and President of Ceres, shares her perspective on carbon pricing, the AI driven data centre boom, and why leaders need to stop waiting for a perfect solution.
Watch the full interview below:
Here are the key takeaways from the conversation with Mindy Lubber.
1. Price carbon pollution to drive the right investment
For Mindy, the single most important action today is putting the right financial incentives in place. She argues we need to price carbon pollution. Right now, in many parts of the world, polluters treat carbon as a free externality.
Pricing it properly will push investment toward renewables and away from the fossil fuel subsidies that have persisted for decades. Although carbon prices will differ across the globe, every country needs to put the right incentives in place.
2. Building AI data centres the right way demands collaboration
Asked which challenge most needs cross sector collaboration, Mindy points to the unprecedented race to build data centres for AI. Tens of billions of dollars are going into this build out. She sets out four things that need to happen:
Use renewable energy and the right materials.
Avoid straining local water supplies and instead recycle water back into the system.
Respond to what host communities actually need.
Power these systems with renewable energy rather than new fossil fuels.
The last point is the hardest, and it will take investors, companies and policymakers working together. The decisions being made today will determine whether this AI boom builds a cleaner future or a more carbon intensive one.
3. Act now, on whatever piece of the system you can influence
Mindy's call to action is direct: act today and don't wait. There's no single perfect solution, so stop waiting for one. Investors should get money into new markets. Corporates should make sure their transport and refrigeration systems run on renewables, not fossil fuels. Last year, 2.3 trillion dollars went into renewables. Her challenge to leaders is to double that.
The transition won't happen because one organisation gets it right. It depends on pricing carbon properly, building AI infrastructure responsibly, and everyone acting now instead of waiting for a perfect answer that doesn't exist.
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