What happened
Published 21 September 2026 by the World Economic Forum during its New York Sustainable Development Impact Meetings, this decision playbook addresses the sustainability and resilience constraints on the data centre buildout powering AI. The report frames global data centre investment as reaching roughly US$7 trillion by 2030 and estimates that supporting data centre sustainability and resilience could unlock US$700 billion to US$1 trillion in global investment by 2030. It is structured as a decision tool for operators, investors and policymakers weighing energy, water, grid and equipment-lifeline choices for AI infrastructure, part of WEF's broader AI-infrastructure workstream that also covers data sovereignty (e.g., its companion 'AI Infrastructure in the Age of Sovereignty' framework).
Why it matters
Board-relevant because AI strategy is now gated by infrastructure economics — energy, water and grid capacity are becoming the binding constraints on AI scale-up and represent one of the largest capex decisions of the decade.
Action needed
If you operate, fund or procure AI infrastructure, use the playbook to incorporate energy/water/grid resilience trade-offs into site-selection and build-out decisions.