The rapid advancement of quantum hardware brings a host of research opportunities and the potential for quantum advantages across numerous fields. In this landscape, quantum circuit simulations serve as an indispensable tool by emulating quantum behavior on classical computers. They offer easy access, noise-free environments, and real-time observation of quantum states. However, the sustainability aspect of quantum circuit simulation is yet to be explored. In this paper, we introduce for the first time the concept of environmental impact from quantum circuit simulation. We present a preliminary model to compute the CO2e emissions derived from quantum circuit simulations. Our results indicate that large quantum circuit simulations (43 qubits) could lead to CO2e emissions 48 times greater than training a transformer machine learning model.
The rapid advancement of quantum hardware brings a host of research opportunities and the potential for quantum advantages across numerous fields. In this landscape, quantum circuit simulations serve as an indispensable tool by emulating quantum behavior on classical computers. They offer easy access, noise-free environments, and real-time observation of quantum states. However, the sustainability aspect of quantum circuit simulation is yet to be explored. In this paper, we introduce for the first time the concept of environmental impact from quantum circuit simulation. We present a preliminary model to compute the CO2e emissions derived from quantum circuit simulations. Our results indicate that large quantum circuit simulations (43 qubits) could lead to CO2e emissions 48 times greater than training a transformer machine learning model.
As quantum computing progresses from theory to practical systems, its environmental and economic sustainability remains underexplored.This paper analyzes both the carbon footprint and cost implications of quantum computing technologies, with attention to their alignment with global sustainability goals.Key contributors to energy consumption, emissions, and operational costs are identified across the quantum computing lifecycle: hardware manufacturing, cryogenic cooling, runtime power demands, and quantum circuit simulation.The study employs a qualitative methodology, integrating a comprehensive review of scientific literature, environmental assessments, cost analysis reports, and benchmarking frameworks.It further presents a comparative analysis of quantum and classical high-performance computing (HPC), evaluating energy efficiency, environmental impact, and cost-effectiveness across realistic scenarios.By addressing both sustainability and economic dimensions, this research provides new insights for developers and policymakers, supporting the advancement of greener and more costeffective quantum technologies.
Machine Learning (ML) has been widely applied across numerous domains due to its ability to automatically identify informative patterns from data for various tasks. The availability of large-scale data and advanced computational power enables the development of sophisticated models and training strategies, leading to state-of-the-art performance, but it also introduces substantial challenges. Quantum Computing (QC), which exploits quantum mechanisms for computation, has attracted growing attention and significant global investment as it may address these challenges. Consequently, Quantum Machine Learning (QML), the integration of these two fields, has received increasing interest, with a notable rise in related studies in recent years. We are motivated to review these existing contributions regarding quantum circuit-based learning models for classical data analysis and highlight the identified potentials and challenges of this technique. Specifically, we focus not only on QML models, both kernel-based and neural network-based, but also on recent explorations of their integration with classical machine learning layers within hybrid frameworks. Moreover, we examine both theoretical analysis and empirical findings to better understand their capabilities, and we also discuss the efforts on noise-resilient and hardware-efficient QML that could enhance its practicality under current hardware limitations. In addition, we cover several emerging paradigms for advanced quantum circuit design and highlight the adaptability of QML across representative application domains. This study aims to provide an overview of the contributions made to bridge quantum computing and machine learning, offering insights and guidance to support its future development and pave the way for broader adoption in the coming years.
The rising environmental cost of deep learning has placed Green AI, which promotes focus on reducing the carbon footprint of AI, at the forefront of sustainable computing. In this study, we investigate Quantum Machine Learning (QML) as a novel and energy-efficient alternative by benchmarking two quantum models, the Quantum Neural Network (QNN) and Quantum Long Short-Term Memory (QLSTM), on the N-BaIoT anomaly detection dataset. Our first phase of experiments compares the QNN and QLSTM models using ten distinct quantum circuit designs (ansätze A1-A10). We systematically compare trade-offs between classification performance, model complexity, training time, and energy consumption. The results indicate that simpler QNN ansätze can achieve accuracy comparable to more complex ones while consuming significantly less energy and converging faster. In particular, QNN with ansatz A4 provided the optimal balance between performance and energy efficiency, consistently outperforming QLSTM across most metrics. A detailed energy breakdown confirmed GPU usage as the dominant source of power consumption, underscoring the importance of circuit-efficient quantum design. To contextualize QML's viability, we conducted a second phase of experiments comparing quantum models with three benchmark classical machine learning models: Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and CatBoost. We find that the classical models demonstrated faster training times and lower energy consumption, highlighting and contrasting the maturity of algorithmic development that classical ML algorithms have already seen. Finally, we examined the energy implications of developing quantum models on actual quantum hardware. This third phase of experiments compared training on IBM Qiskit's emulation environment (running on GPU servers) versus execution on real IBM Quantum hardware. Highlighting the significant differences in execution time and energy footprint, extrapolated results indicate that quantum hardware still incurs higher energy costs. This suggests that further hardware-aware ansätz optimization and improvements in quantum infrastructure are essential to realizing carbon-efficient QML at scale.
Since computers were invented, the technology of computers has advanced every year. Recently, quantum computing and artificial intelligence have played an important role in computer technology, which has provided an effective platform to address challenges such as climate change and carbon emissions. The main goal of this paper is to demonstrate how the integration of quantum computing and artificial intelligence can transform climate science, with an emphasis on predicting and managing carbon emissions. In this paper, we started with introduction about climate change and technology in combating environmental problems. Then, we moved on to an introduction to quantum computing and its basics. During our research, the benefits of quantum computing over classical systems have been identified with specific reference to climate modeling and handling large data sets. We explained the role of artificial intelligence in climate science with existing AI methods in climate modeling and the gaps that they have. We evaluated the combination of quantum computing and AI to reveal the possibility of future advancements in processing time, prediction, and efficiency. We brought up some AI concerns about its policy-making capacity and carbon altering the conventional approaches to decision-making to foster sustainability. Moreover, our work is supported by real-life examples and cases of how quantum AI is superior to traditional models in estimating carbon emissions. Finally, we specified some future directions for quantum AI, including technological developments, ethical issues, and sustainability, as well as suggestions for researchers and policymakers on how to use quantum AI for solving environmental problems.
Abstract With the demonstrated ability to perform calculations in seconds that would take classical supercomputers thousands of years, quantum computers namely hold the promise of radically advancing sustainable IT. However, quantum computers face challenges due to the inherent noise in physical qubits, necessitating error correction for reliable operation in solving industrial-scale problems, which will require more computation time, energy, and electronic components than initial laboratory-scale experiments. Yet, while researchers have modeled and analyzed the environmental impacts of classical computers using Life cycle assessment the environmental performance of quantum computing remains unknown to date. This study contributes to filling this critical gap in two ways: (1) by establishing an environmental profile for quantum computers based on superconducting qubits; and (2) by comparing it to a functionally equivalent profile of a state-of-the-art supercomputer. With the comparison based on the problem size, the paper shows how the usage time can drive an environmental advantage for quantum computers under specific scaling conditions and quantum error correcting codes. The results emphasize that quantum error correction hardware has a substantial environmental impact due to the numerous electronic components needed to achieve 100 logical qubits. This paper can serve as a basis for designing more environmentally friendly quantum computers and for establishing their environmental profiles, as well as those of the human activities that will use them.
The rapid evolution of Large Language Models (LLMs) has transformed natural language processing, enabling sophisticated applications across various sectors. However, the substantial computational demands associated with training and deploying LLMs result in significant energy consumption and carbon emissions. This study introduces an optimized hybrid quantum-classical framework that integrates variational quantum algorithms (VQAs) with accelerated classical learning techniques. By harnessing quantum computing for complex non-linear optimization and employing prompt learning to minimize full model retraining, the proposed approach enhances both computational efficiency and sustainability. Simulation outcomes indicate that the hybrid method can reduce energy usage by up to 30% and shorten computation time by 25% relative to conventional classical approaches, without diminishing model accuracy. These improvements are substantiated through quantitative analysis and visualized energy metrics. The adaptability of the framework supports its application in diverse areas, including sustainable energy management, supply chain optimization, and environmentally conscious transportation systems. Nevertheless, the broader implementation of such hybrid solutions remains constrained by current quantum hardware capabilities and integration challenges with classical infrastructure. The findings underscore the potential of hybrid quantum-classical optimization as a pathway toward sustainable AI development. Future research should prioritize advancements in quantum hardware reliability and interdisciplinary collaboration to accelerate practical adoption, thereby supporting global efforts in energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.