Tag: the un

Guterres urges renewed commitment to multilateralism on UN Charter Day

Stuart Mitchell

Secretary-General António Guterres and General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock reaffirmed the principles outlined in the UN Charter and called for a renewed commitment to multilateralism at a General Assembly meeting on Friday marking the Charter’s 81st anniversary.  “The Charter was a promise to the world: That humanity can choose cooperation over chaos; law over lawlessness; dignity over domination; and hope over fear,” Mr. Guterres said.  Signed on 26 June 1945, the Charter is the founding document of the United Nations. It codified the major principles of international relations and outlined the UN’s goals of maintaining peace and security,…

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AI’s environmental costs threaten water, land and climate

Stuart Mitchell

Data centres, the global infrastructure powering AI, could consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity annually by 2030 – nearly triple the combined annual electricity use of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria, countries collectively home to more than 650 million people.  However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. On top of the carbon footprint, every unit of electricity used by data centres also carries a “water footprint” for cooling and energy production, and a “land footprint” associated with power generation and supply chains.  Rethinking how sustainability is measured According to a…

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