- David Bamidele Olawade
University of East London
This paper examines the critical role of data quality and digital infrastructure in enabling effective AI deployment for environmental services across water, energy, and waste management systems. As cities worldwide grapple with mounting environmental challenges, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a transformative solution, but only when supported by robust data ecosystems and scalable digital infrastructure. Through analysis of real-world implementations in smart cities from New York to Barcelona, this paper explores how data accessibility, quality standards, and infrastructure readiness directly influence AI performance in environmental applications. This paper reveals that AI environmental services attracted £3.4 billion in funding during 2024, a 156% increase from the previous year. Success in unlocking AI’s potential for environmental sustainability and achieving global climate goals depends fundamentally on addressing data quality inconsistencies, infrastructure limitations, and equity considerations that can either unlock or constrain AI’s environmental potential.
