DIMPACT commissions new research to manage the carbon impact of AI video generation
- Post Date
- 30 June 2026
- Read Time
- 4 minutes
DIMPACT, founded by SLR, is a coalition of leading media organisations including the BBC, Netflix, and Spotify. It has commissioned new research from the Carbon Trust to address a critical gap in understanding the environmental impact of AI video generation.
The report, 'The Carbon Impact of AI Video Generation', was presented at London Climate Action Week as part of a session on the 'Energy and carbon impact of AI in media workflows’.
As generative AI is rapidly adopted across media production, the research highlights a key challenge: the industry currently lacks consistent data and agreed methodologies to measure and compare the carbon impact of AI video tools with confidence.
AI video generation is identified as one of the more energy-intensive generative AI applications. Estimates suggest that a 5.4-second AI-generated video at 720p may have a lifecycle carbon impact of around 50–100 gCO2e, depending on model design, training and video settings.
The research also underscores a significant transparency gap across the value chain, with most AI models lacking environmental disclosure.
Taken together, these findings point to a growing need to better understand and manage the carbon impact of AI video generation.
Key insights from the research
The research highlights several key insights for the media industry:
- AI video generation is one of the more energy-intensive AI use cases, requiring significantly more computational power than simpler applications such as text generation.
- Carbon impact varies widely depending on how the technology is used, including factors such as resolution, model design, and electricity source.
- A significant transparency gap remains across the AI value chain, with limited environmental disclosure from most model providers.
Together, these findings highlight both the complexity of measuring AI-related emissions and the need for clearer, more consistent approaches.
Why this matters for the industry
As generative AI becomes embedded across media production workflows, the lack of consistent data and methodologies creates real challenges for organisations.
Without clear and comparable information, companies face increasing difficulty in:
- Evaluating the environmental impact of different production approaches
- Integrating AI into sustainability reporting and decision-making
- Identifying opportunities to reduce emissions
Addressing these challenges will be critical as both AI adoption and expectations around environmental transparency continue to grow.
From insight to action
Commissioned through DIMPACT and authored by the Carbon Trust, the report provides a first step towards establishing a consistent approach to measuring the carbon impact of AI video generation.
It introduces a methodological framework based on lifecycle assessment and highlights the need for industry-wide alignment on Product Category Rules (PCRs) for AI systems.
Building on this work, DIMPACT will continue to convene industry stakeholders, technology providers and policymakers to support the development of shared standards, improve transparency, and enable more sustainable use of AI across the sector. At the same time, DIMPACT is working with participant companies to explore new and diverse use cases which will unlock a wide range of opportunities to extend and scale this work across the industry.
How to get involved
As the industry works to better understand and manage the carbon impact of AI, collaboration across the value chain will be critical.
DIMPACT welcomes engagement from organisations across media, technology and the wider AI ecosystem that are interested in contributing to this work including developing consistent methodologies, improving transparency and sharing best practice.
Organisations interested in getting involved are encouraged to contact DIMPACT at info@dimpact.org to explore opportunities for collaboration.
About DIMPACT
DIMPACT is a “think and do” coalition working to align industry changemakers and policymakers around meaningful, science-based solutions that reduce the environmental impacts of serving digital media products. DIMPACT convenes and unites industry leaders and changemakers, sharing research, resources, and best practices to catalyse collaboration and accelerate action.
About the Carbon Trust
The Carbon Trust is a global climate consultancy driven by the mission to accelerate the move to a decarbonised future. Climate pioneers for over 20 years, it partners with businesses, governments and financial institutions to drive positive climate action. From strategic planning and target setting to activation and communication, the Carbon Trust supports organisations in turning climate ambition into impact. To date, its 350+ experts have helped set over 200 science-based targets and guided more than 3,000 organisations in 70 countries on their route to net zero.
