AI and Climate Action in Canada’s Cities: What We’re Hearing
Every day, artificial intelligence (AI) is making headlines and showing up everywhere, from the apps on our phones to the tools shaping our workplaces and daily lives. At Urban Climate Leadership (UCL), we’ve been asking a key question: what does AI mean for local governments and for equitable climate action in Canadian cities?
While examples of Canadian municipalities using AI for asset management, procurement, urban forestry, and future planning are increasingly common, it’s more challenging to surface how communities are tackling challenges related to the governance of AI and navigating the opaque conversation around AI’s overall environmental impact.
What we’ve been up to
Over the past year, UCL has been convening and consulting with leaders and partners across sectors to discuss the key issues. In February, UCL’s Shauna Sylvester and Mairin Loewen attended the AI Action Summit in Paris, sharing key insights in a Paris Diary series published by The Energy Mix.
In May, following Mairin’s participation in a panel at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Annual Conference, UCL released a discussion primer on AI, Cities, and Equitable Climate Action to set the stage for our first dialogue.
In late June, UCL brought together local government administrators, private sector representatives, non-profit organizations, and organized labour to identify the key challenges and opportunities presented by the proliferation of AI technologies. In addition, we sought to identify the principles that need to be in place for AI to be deployed in ways that facilitate equitable climate outcomes.
This dialogue identified several potential applications for AI, as well as obstacles to achieving sustainable AI outcomes, including concerns about water and energy usage, the lack of public trust, data sovereignty, and literacy and capacity within local governments. Additionally, participants identified key principles for sustainable and equitable AI use, including transparency, data quality and governance, accessibility, workers' rights, and the involvement of multiple levels of government in supporting sustainable AI. You can read more insights for this dialogue session in our [summary report].
What’s Next
Urban Climate Leadership will continue to engage with stakeholders to explore further and frame the opportunities and challenges to sustainable, equitable AI approaches for local governments and their partners.
On September 26, 2025, UCL will participate in Vancouver Climate Day and will host a workshop on AI, Climate, and Local Leadership in Canada. We would love to hear your voice in this conversation. If you are in the Vancouver area and would like to attend this session, please register at the link.
Read more in our AI, Cities, and Equitable Climate Action dialogue summary report.
You can access it here.
