On 15 January 2026, SPRI Global participated in the European Seminar on AI for Sustainability and Climate Change, a full-day online event bringing together researchers, students, companies, industry experts, and policymakers.
The seminar provided a timely space to examine how artificial intelligence is shaping climate action and sustainable development in Europe and beyond. Discussions ranged from emerging AI applications for climate analytics and smart systems, to the ethical and practical questions that come with deploying AI at scale. A core aim of the event was to strengthen collaboration between higher education institutions and wider stakeholders, recognising the role universities play in advancing AI solutions that contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The seminar also highlighted the importance of responsible AI implementation. While AI can help improve decision-making, optimise resource use, and strengthen planning for climate resilience, it can also introduce risks if governance and safeguards do not keep pace with deployment. These questions are especially relevant in policy settings where decisions are time-critical and the consequences for people’s lives are significant. Throughout the day, speakers and participants explored how Europe can foster innovation while ensuring that AI systems remain transparent, accountable, and socially beneficial.
A key moment of the seminar was the Awards Ceremony for the European Universities Competition on Artificial Intelligence to Promote Sustainable Development and Address Climate Change, which showcased student-led projects applying AI to real sustainability and climate challenges. The ceremony reinforced how research and education can translate into practical tools, and how future practitioners are already contributing to climate solutions through applied innovation.
SPRI Global was represented by our researchers Míriam Carrera and Dr Stiene Praet, who presented the paper “Bridging the Gap: AI Governance for Equitable Adaptive Social Protection in the Face of Climate Shocks.” Their presentation focused on the growing use of AI in adaptive social protection, including applications for early warning, vulnerability assessment, targeting, and emergency scale-up. As climate shocks intensify, governments and partners are increasingly exploring digital and AI-enabled approaches to deliver support faster and more effectively. Yet, the presentation underscored that many existing AI governance frameworks were not designed with these operational realities in mind.
In adaptive social protection, decisions often need to be made quickly, with incomplete data, under institutional constraints, and in settings where capacity and infrastructure vary widely. These conditions raise specific governance challenges: how to prevent automated exclusion, how to manage bias that may disproportionately affect marginalised groups, how to ensure explainability and appeal pathways in urgent response contexts, and how to build robust systems that remain reliable under stress. The presentation therefore highlighted the need for governance approaches that are better suited to high-stakes social policy use cases, with a clear emphasis on equity, inclusion, and system resilience.
For SPRI Global, the seminar was a valuable opportunity to contribute to an evolving European conversation on AI, sustainability, and climate resilience, while learning from peers working across research, policy, and practice. We are grateful to the organisers for a well-curated programme and for creating a forum where interdisciplinary exchange is genuinely possible. We look forward to continuing the dialogue on responsible AI governance, climate resilience, and the design of social protection systems that protect people fairly in times of crisis.