TECH & AI
he rapid growth of AI is heightening demand for data and compute power, while climate change is creating additional physical and resource pressures for the infrastructure that supports it. Discussion is increasingly focused on how data-centre growth can be reconciled with constraints around energy, water and climate resilience.
Amid rising reporting expectations, operators are facing closer attention to the energy, water and emissions implications of data-centre growth, particularly in resource-constrained locations. Tech companies and datacentre operators have therefore become major buyers of clean energy, as they seek to meet growing power demand and advance their sustainability commitments.
As the backbone of the AI revolution, data centre operators must find ways to curb resource intensity while ensuring that rising ambient temperatures and extreme weather events do not compromise operational efficiency or scalability.
As noted by Gaurav Batra, Associate Director, Thematic Insights, Clients & Industries at EY, the pressures of compute demand and environmental instability are converging directly on the industry.
“ Operators are preparing for a convergence of pressures, rather than one isolated event,” he says.“ Rapidly growing AI demand is colliding with finite local infrastructure, including constraints on power, cooling, grid and equipment supply chains.
64 October 2026