7.3 KiB
IGF 2026 WS #178 Who Shapes Green AI? An Intergenerational Multistakeholder
Description
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape economies and societies, its environmental footprint—from energy-intensive data centers to resource-heavy hardware production—demands urgent, collaborative attention. This interactive session brings together voices across generations and sectors to co-create actionable policy recommendations for environmentally sustainable AI development and deployment.
Structured as a time-bound, multistakeholder multistakeholder policy role-play brainstorming exercise, participants will engage in a dynamic roleplay simulation representing key stakeholder groups: governments and regulators, tech industry leaders, civil society and environmental advocates, academia and researchers, and youth representatives based on case study scenario prompting participants to negotiate, debate, and align on proposing the policy recommendation The intergenerational format is central to this session's design. By bringing together experienced policymakers, technical experts, industry representatives and young leaders, the dialogue bridges institutional experience with emerging perspectives, ensuring that policy recommendations reflect both present-day realities and the long-term interests of future generations.
Through facilitated rounds of stakeholder negotiation, participants will collaboratively draft a concise set of policy recommendations addressing energy efficiency standards, transparency in AI's carbon footprint, sustainable hardware lifecycle management, and equitable access to green AI innovation. The session concludes with a synthesis of proposals, capturing consensus points and highlighting areas for further multistakeholder engagement.
To guide the discussion, participants will develop policy recommendations using a structured framework that links each recommendation to the assigned case study. Each recommendation will identify the proposed policy action, the responsible stakeholders, implementation or compliance mechanisms, and the expected environmental impact. This approach will encourage practical, focused and outcome-oriented policy solutions rather than broad or generic recommendations.
Participants will leave with practical frameworks, cross-generational insights, and experience in collaboratively developing case-specific policy recommendations through multistakeholder dialogue. The session aims to demonstrate how inclusive and participatory governance approaches can help shape environmentally sustainable AI policies at national, regional, and global levels.
Policy Question(s)
- How can multistakeholder frameworks balance the growing computational demands of AI development with the urgent need to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions?
- What regulatory, market-based, or voluntary mechanisms can ensure transparency, accountability, and sustainability across the AI lifecycle, including data centre operations, carbon disclosure, AI hardware management, and emerging sustainability certification frameworks?
- How can intergenerational and cross-sectoral dialogue be meaningfully embedded into AI governance processes to ensure that sustainability policies reflect both near-term industry realities and the long-term interests of future generations?
Expected Outcomes
This session will produce a consolidated set of case-specific policy recommendations on environmentally sustainable AI, co-created through multistakeholder role-play and negotiation based on policy-focused case studies. Key outputs include a summary report capturing consensus points and divergent views, intended to feed into broader IGF policy discussions and inform follow-up dialogues within relevant working groups or coalitions on AI governance and sustainability.
Participants will gain practical insight into the trade-offs and tensions between AI innovation and environmental responsibility, informed by real-world case studies. The intergenerational format will expose attendees to diverse viewpoints—bridging experienced policymakers' institutional knowledge with youth perspectives on long-term impact. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of stakeholder incentives and negotiation dynamics in AI environmental governance, together with a practical framework for developing case-specific policy recommendations through multistakeholder collaboration that can be applied in regional, national, and international contexts.
Format
Classroom Duration (minutes): 60 Format description: The session will adopt an interactive classroom and policy laboratory format, where participants learn through real-world case studies, multistakeholder collaboration, and role-play. After a brief introduction to environmentally sustainable AI and the policy context, participants will be divided into diverse groups representing governments, the private sector, civil society, the technical community, academia, and youth. Each group will analyse a policy-focused case study, identify competing interests and trade-offs, and negotiate practical policy recommendations. Facilitators will guide discussions using structured worksheets and collaborative digital tools to ensure equal participation from both onsite and online attendees. Each group will present its recommendations. The session will conclude with a consolidated set of case-specific policy recommendations and a summary report to support future IGF discussions. Participants will gain practical experience in multistakeholder negotiation while developing a framework for balancing AI innovation with environmental sustainability.
Hybrid Format
Hybrid Format: Onsite and online participants will be integrated into the same stakeholder roleplay groups, with a dedicated online moderator relaying remote contributions into each group's negotiation in real time. A hybrid co-facilitation model—one onsite, one online moderator—ensures balanced speaking time and visibility for remote voices during plenary synthesis. To ensure equitable experience, online participants will receive case study materials and stakeholder briefs in advance, join breakout negotiations via video, and use collaborative digital whiteboards to co-draft recommendations alongside onsite tables. Live polling will surface real-time input from both groups during the synthesis phase. We plan to use Zoom breakout rooms (mirroring onsite roundtables), Miro or Mentimeter for collaborative brainstorming and polling, and a shared online document for co-drafting policy recommendations, ensuring all participants—regardless of location—contribute equally to the session's final outputs.
Organizers
Organizer 1: Phyo Thiri Lwin, Myanmar Youth IGF Organizer 2: Sana Nisar, 🔒 Organizer 3: Vinayak Bharadwaz, NetMission.Asia Program Development Lead
Speakers
Speaker 1: Edmon Chung, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group Speaker 2: Saba Tiku Beyene, Technical Community, African Group Speaker 3: Jaewon Son, Technical Community, Western European and Others Group (WEOG) Speaker 4: Fiona Asonga, Private Sector, African Group
Moderator
Phyo Thiri Lwin, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Online Moderator
Sana Nisar, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Rapporteur
Vinayak Bharadwaz, Civil Society, Asia-Pacific Group
Participant Benefits
What will participants gain from attending this session?
SDGs
9.4 9.5 17.16 17.17