Should we use AI to fight climate change — even if AI itself is an energy hog?

Training a single large AI model can emit as much carbon as five cars over their lifetimes. Yet AI is also our most powerful tool for optimizing energy grids, discovering new materials for carbon capture, predicting extreme weather, and accelerating climate science. Should we burn carbon now to save the planet later — or is Big Tech using "climate AI" as greenwashing for unchecked expansion?