{"id":17945,"date":"2025-08-14T15:32:52","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T15:32:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?post_type=rbc_tl&p=17945\/the-good-and-the-ugly-in-the-big-beautiful-bill"},"modified":"2025-08-18T15:54:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T15:54:15","slug":"the-power-sapping-ai-deepfake-menace","status":"publish","type":"rbc_tl","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/climate-action-institute\/climate-crunch\/the-power-sapping-ai-deepfake-menace\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Crunch: The power-sapping AI deepfake menace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u2794 The worried, the hopeless and the climate-conscious<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 King Coal\u2019s long rein continues<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 A global gridlock\u2019s holding back renewables<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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Hot takes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Climate literacy for the worried and the hopeless.<\/strong> Ottawa plans to invest14.4 million in 17 projects <\/a>to boost environmental literacy among young people. It ranges from $1.8 million for BC Parks Foundation to inform students about biodiversity loss and several programs that combine climate science with traditional Indigenous knowledge. We are going to need all of it: A recent study<\/a> shows Canadian youth are wallowing in \u201cworry and hopelessness\u201d in response to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Carbon Upcycling is a step closer to cracking the cement emissions challenge.<\/strong> The Calgary-based startup recently broke ground on Canada\u2019s first commercial-scale carbon capture and utilization facility at partner Ash Grove\u2019s Mississauga cement plant. Opening in 2026, the $10-millionproject will capture kiln CO\u2082 and convert it, along with other industrial byproducts, into up to 30,000 tonnes a year of low-carbon cement materials. Funded by federal programs and venture firm CRH Ventures, the initiative aims to embed circular economy solutions into heavy industry. Also read our 2024 case study on <\/em>Carbon Upcycling<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 UN plastics treaty talks are on the brink.<\/strong> There was limited consensus among delegates of 179 nations after a 10-day marathon<\/a> on global plastic pollution that ends today. The scale of the problem is massive, with straws, cups and stirrers, carrier bags and microbeads among the single-use products clogging up oceans and threatening marine life. The 2,000-plus delegates are poring over 32 clauses in a draft text, but, some say<\/a>, countries can\u2019t even agree on the definition of \u201cplastic pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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AI deepfakes\u2019 power problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe<\/a> was the latest target of an AI deepfake video that falsely showed him promoting cryptocurrencies. It\u2019s not just a public menace\u2014it has implications for the climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some AI models gobble up 20.4 million joules to generate a 30-second video, according to data extrapolated from an MIT study<\/a> <\/strong>\u2014that\u2019s enough to power an electric vehicle for 18 kilometres. Eight million AI deepfakes could be shared online this year\u2014doubling every six months, according to Open Fox<\/a>, a law-enforcement consultancy. Add to it millions of meaningless, misleading and near-malicious AI-concocted videos that litter the Internet (countries as mythical monsters<\/a> , anyone?). It\u2019s not nothing: One 30-second video per day, for a month, would be the equivalent of adding 40% to a typical one-bedroom apartment\u2019s utility bill, according to energy policy lead Shaz Merwat who wrote about AI\u2019s power<\/a> needs last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI\u2019s demand on power grids is already formidable:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Datacentres will account for 20% of electricity demand growth to 2030 in advanced economies, the International Energy Agency<\/a> estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Emissions from data centres could rise from 180 million tonnes today to 300 metric tonnes (Mt) by 2035 in IEA\u2019s<\/a> base case, with 500 Mt as a higher estimate\u2014roughly 2.5x the emissions of Canada\u2019s<\/a> oil and gas sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 The United States now has the largest pipeline of gas-fired<\/a> power plants in development globally, surpassing China\u2014with a fifth to power data centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Given the exponential use originating from image and video queries, most likely over time, we could see tiered pricing for heavy data users to match users\u2019 data use for heavier AI tasks, Merwat said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Felippa Amanta<\/a>, who published a study on the AI deepfake challenge for Oxford University, goes a step further: \u201cThe deepfake\u2019s effect on climate information and emotion will be much more significant than the direct energy to produce the deepfake.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

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King Coal\u2019s enduring rein <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Spot the resilient fossil fuel in the chart below. Old King Coal set a new demand record last year, with coal-for-power generation also hitting its highest level ever. Trade in the carbon-intensive commodity also broke records in 2024. Coal is the world\u2019s most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, with emissions on average 50%<\/a> higher than natural gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here are some coal trends that suggests it will endure for some time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n