AI- POWERED CLIMATE MODELLING: A LEGAL ANALYSIS OF DATA GOVERNANCE AND PRECAUTIONARY REGULATION

Abstract

With the advancement of technology and growing climate crisis, artificial intelligence has emerged as a significant tool for Epredicting change in the climate and natural calamities with precision. AI models, today process and analyse large data sets to provide minute details regarding a slight rise in the sea level, extreme changes in weather and increased carbon emissions that traditional physics-based models fail to recognize. However, the integration of artificial intelligence into climate prediction introduces legal challenges that remain largely unaddressed by international as well as domestic frameworks. The core issue addressed in this paper is the responsibility gap created by the ‘black-box’ nature of AI- based climate predictions. When policy-oriented decisions such as urban zoning, investments in infrastructure and emergency evacuations are based on algorithm that later proves to be biased or inaccurate on the basis of data stored in the model, the problem of accountability arises. Furthermore, the paper examines the friction surrounding data governance and the importance of ‘right to information’ for public climate adaptation. The doctrinal analysis of emerging legislations such as the EU AI Act and the India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 will be done in order to evaluate how precautionary principle of environmental law can be implemented within the artificial intelligence framework. This paper proposes Sustainability by Design framework along with other suggestions. This framework advocates for mandatory transparency in training data, standardizing audit protocols for AI based climate model and a multifaceted liability framework to ensure that AI serves as a reliable instrument for climate justice.