Energy transition, AI data centers, and critical minerals demand joint water-energy planning, says UAE Assistant Minister Abdulla Balalaa.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Global energy security and investment decisions must formally integrate water availability to prevent future resource bottlenecks, the United Arab Emirates urged on Wednesday. Addressing the growing intersection between the two sectors, UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, His Excellency Abdulla Balalaa, stated that cross-sector planning is now indispensable as electrification and emerging technologies accelerate resource demands.
Large-scale industrial electrification, renewable energy development, critical mineral extraction, and the construction of data centers powering artificial intelligence require massive water inputs. Current energy investment frameworks routinely fail to account for water dependency risks, leaving infrastructure vulnerable to operational constraints and climate-driven shortages.
The water footprint of global data centers reached 4.5 trillion liters in 2025 and is projected to expand to 9.32 trillion liters by 2030, driven by the rapid expansion of AI workloads and digital infrastructure.
The UAE is structuring its domestic policy around these realities through the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036. The program mandates a 21 percent reduction in total water consumption, targets the reuse of 95 percent of treated wastewater, and relies on an operational network of approximately 70 desalination plants to maintain municipal and industrial supplies.
Mitigating mutual stress across power grids and water networks requires renewable-powered seawater desalination, large-scale wastewater recycling, water-efficient industrial cooling systems, and AI-driven monitoring networks. Balalaa called on global investors and financial institutions to incorporate hydrological risk assessments and climate projections into project underwriting from early design stages.
The call precedes the 2026 UN Water Conference, scheduled to run from December 8 to 10 in Abu Dhabi. Co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal, the summit aims to accelerate progress on UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 by mobilizing international investments and policy frameworks to guarantee global water access.
