Panel:
Leila Neimane, Professor – University of Latvia
Neringa Gaubienė, Professor – University of Vilnius
Ferenc Jordán, Professor – University of Parma
Kristóf Fenyvesi, Professor – University of Jyväskylä
Orsolya Tuba, PhD Candidate – University of Jyväskylä

“Artificial intelligence is becoming indispensable for environmental protection, yet its growing ecological footprint raises urgent legal and ethical questions.”

Artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping environmental governance, offering powerful tools for biodiversity protection, climate resilience, and evidence-based decision-making. At the same time, AI systems generate significant environmental impacts through energy-intensive computing, water use in data centres, critical mineral extraction, and expanding e-waste streams. This dual nature places AI at the centre of contemporary debates on sustainability and environmental justice.

Building on comparative research in constitutional environmental law and AI governance, the panel explores how legal systems, public institutions, and societies can harness AI to advance the right to a healthy environment while safeguarding planetary well-being. Particular attention is paid to the intersection between emerging constitutional environmental rights and the environmental obligations arising from international sustainability commitments.

The discussion addresses how AI can be designed, audited, and governed to ensure equitable access to environmental goods such as clean air, water, land, and energy, while also strengthening procedural environmental rights, including transparency, accountability, and public participation. The panel concludes by proposing a practical governance and judicial-review toolkit that translates legal principles into concrete questions and accountability mechanisms for judges, regulators, technologists, and civil society actors.