Climate interview prep when AI can estimate emissions

Practice setting a baseline, checking evidence and choosing a climate project.

What companies say they’re looking for

01 Compare against a credible baseline

“comparing our reported emissions with a modeled view of where emissions may have been in the absence of four specific interventions” (opens the source)

Brad Smith and Melanie Nakagawa, Vice Chair and President, and Chief Sustainability Officer, Microsoft · Microsoft On the Issues, Jul 9, 2026

Estimate what would have happened under the same conditions without the project.

Climate interview practiceHow much energy did the control change save?Example

02 Check what the estimate covers

“Approaches for estimating emissions vary by subsector and include machine learning models that identify assets or predict activity from satellite imagery” (opens the source)

Climate TRACE, Methodology report · Climate TRACE, 2025

Label which inputs are documented and which use estimates.

Climate interview practiceHow much of the supplier estimate is documented?Example

03 Compare effects over the same period

“it's critical to consider every detail, from raised floors to tile reusability” (opens the source)

Enrico Zara, Global and Asia Pacific Decarbonisation Leader, Arup · Arup, Undated

Include the work a reuse option needs during the service period.

Climate interview practiceWhich equipment plan has lower lifecycle emissions?Example

04 Verify the intervention

“verified by state agencies, industry operators, and follow-up observations.” (opens the source)

Carbon Mapper, Tanager-1 project account · Carbon Mapper, Aug 17, 2026

Check which follow-up observations can support the result.

“The studies conducted enabled a better understanding of the landfill” (opens the source)

Bernardo Ornelas, Landfill Coordinator, COMLURB · Global Methane Hub, Sep 18, 2026

Pair the readings with site records so you can compare like conditions.

Climate interview practiceDid the landfill intervention hold?Example

05 Check partner delivery and budget

“Scaling electric mobility requires infrastructure, and that’s exactly what this partnership with Rubis is building.” (opens the source)

Jit Bhattacharya, CEO and Co-Founder, BasiGo · BasiGo, Jul 20, 2026

Update the forecast when the partner changes its delivery date.

Climate interview practiceWhich bus pilot fits the budget and delivery dates?Example

Sources

Brad Smith and Melanie Nakagawa, Vice Chair and President, and Chief Sustainability Officer, Microsoft, at the time. Microsoft On the Issues, “Responsibly building the AI future”, Jul 9, 2026. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
Climate TRACE, Methodology report, at the time. Climate TRACE, “When, Where, and How”, 2025. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
Enrico Zara, Global and Asia Pacific Decarbonisation Leader, Arup, at the time. Arup, “Four ways to cut embodied carbon and waste in commercial fit outs”, Undated. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
Carbon Mapper, Tanager-1 project account, at the time. Carbon Mapper, “Tanager-1: Two Years of Turning Satellite Data Into Methane Action”, Aug 17, 2026. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
Bernardo Ornelas, Landfill Coordinator, COMLURB, at the time. Global Methane Hub, “The Global Methane Hub, SRON, Carbon Mapper, RMI, Clean Air Task Force, and COMLURB Collaborate to Mitigate Methane Emissions at Major Brazil Landfill”, Sep 18, 2026. Open the source. Checked against the published text.
Jit Bhattacharya, CEO and Co-Founder, BasiGo, at the time. BasiGo, “BasiGo and Rubis Energy Kenya Partner to Expand EV Charging Infrastructure Across Kenya”, Jul 20, 2026. Open the source. Checked against the published text.

Last reviewed Nov 11, 2026