AI is no longer a future-facing concept. It is shaping classrooms, careers, climate solutions and everyday decision-making often faster than conversations around responsibility, ethics and impact can keep up. Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, has publicly warned about the hidden cost of advanced AI systems, noting that “one of the under-appreciated facts about the current state-of-the-art AI is how extraordinarily energy inefficient it is.” As AI becomes embedded across sectors, one pressing question stands out: how prepared is the next generation to tackle the environmental impact related to AI and to use it as a force for environmental good?
 
At the Youth Eco Summit, this question took the center stage. With participation from 66 cities across India, young students arrived not to debate whether technology is good or bad, but to understand and showcase how it can be used more responsibly. With a clear focus on putting young people as solution-builders rather than passive stakeholders, the Summit featured voices such as Prasiddhi Singh, GenAlpha Climate Leader and PM National Child Award recipient, Viraansh Bhanushali, Chief of Staff at the Oxford Union and Raul John Aju, known as the AI Kid of India. Together, they unpacked the challenges, responsibilities, and opportunities emerging from the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence. The Summit also saw participation from Environmentalist and Model Milind Soman; Actor Rohit Saraf and UNDP India Youth Champion & Actor Sanjana Sanghi, along with key policy voices including Seep Agrawal, Lead - Civic Engagement at UNICEF YuWaah, reinforcing the importance of collaboration between youth, culture and institutions in shaping a more responsible tech-led future.

One of the key highlights of the Summit was MINI COP30, a youth-focused climate simulation modelled after the United Nations Conference of the Parties, where students from 28 schools across Jaipur took on the roles of countries, industries, civil society groups, workers’ collectives, and global institutions to discuss and deliberate on critical themes of E-waste, AI and Climate Change. The resolutions adopted were later presented on the Youth Eco Summit stage by lead student delegates, placing youth voices directly into the larger climate and technology conversation.