Lynn Kaack advises federal officials on AI and sustainability

Germany can be competitive in the field of AI without compromising on environmental and sustainability goals, according to recommendations from the advisory panel on AI and Sustainability. Lynn Kaack, Assistant Professor of Data Science and Public Policy, is a member of the international five-person panel, which was convened in March 2025 by the German Federal Environment Ministry (BMUKN) to advise the German government on the technical developments and environmental implications of artificial intelligence.

Since that time, the experts have been working to analyse key trends and developments in the field of AI from a national and European perspective. They have presented their findings to Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider. The central argument made by the panel in its paper, “Towards a Sustainable and Competitive AI Economy”, is that environmentally sustainable AI and economic competitiveness go hand in hand. They structure their policy recommendations around four key pillars:

• emphasising and supporting the development of smaller, more specialised AI models;
• increasing transparency around AI models to create more efficient markets and give users more choice;
• building sustainable AI infrastructure, for example by strengthening reporting requirements and renewable energy obligations for data centres;
• and aligning regulation and incentives for AI infrastructure development with energy transition goals. 

The findings of the advisory panel have been covered by theTagesspiegel Background  and the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The full policy paper is available here (in English).

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