As artificial intelligence (AI) transforms economies and societies at unprecedented speed, the UAE has published a new report examining an increasingly important dimension of the AI revolution: its relationship with water and energy.
Crosscurrents: Navigating the AI–Water–Energy Nexus explores the water and energy demands associated with AI across its full value chain, while highlighting the opportunity to use AI itself to improve water management, strengthen resilience, and accelerate solutions to global water challenges.
The report is a follow-up to the UAE’s 2023 report, Ripple Effect: Water Scarcity – The Hidden Threat to Global Security and Prosperity, and comes ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference, which will be co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal in Abu Dhabi from 8–10 December 2026.
Released on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Crosscurrents calls for water to be considered a core part of the infrastructure and planning decisions shaping the AI economy. It puts forward five recommendations for the international community, including a call for the UN Water Conference to advance a global, consensus-driven declaration on efficient and responsible water use in AI.
The report examines water use across the entire AI value chain, extending beyond data centers to include semiconductor manufacturing and the power generation required to run AI systems.
This broader perspective is critical and calls for a more integrated approach to planning — bringing together water, energy, digital infrastructure, urban development, and long-term resilience from the outset.
The report also highlights the potential of renewable energy and other lower-water energy systems to reduce the water intensity associated with powering AI, while identifying opportunities for innovation, circular resource systems and improved water management to reduce demand and strengthen resilience.
At the same time, AI can become part of the solution. From improving the efficiency of water systems and identifying leaks to strengthening forecasting, infrastructure planning, and resource management, AI can help countries see water differently, manage it more intelligently, and invest ahead of a crisis rather than respond after it occurs.
Crosscurrents therefore calls for a shift in perspective: from viewing AI’s water footprint as a challenge confined to technology infrastructure, to recognizing the AI–water–energy relationship as a strategic issue requiring collaboration across sectors and borders.
Marking the importance of the report’s insights, Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, said:
“Given our own climate and environment, the UAE is acutely attuned to the importance of responsible water stewardship. As we enter an AI era, we have an opportunity to shape this transformation responsibly from the outset. Crosscurrents is intended to encourage a global conversation about how we ensure the benefits of AI enhance water resilience — and how we use innovation to build a more secure and sustainable future for people and communities everywhere.”
His Excellency Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, added:
“Water is central to sustainable development, food security, economic prosperity, peace, and stability. AI adds a new dimension to this equation. It creates new demands on water and energy, but it can also give us new tools to manage water more efficiently, anticipate risks, and develop solutions at greater speed and scale.
“The question is not whether AI will transform our water systems — it already has. The question is how we can plan for that transformation wisely. As co-hosts of the 2026 UN Water Conference, and as a country pioneering the intersection of technology, water, and sustainability, the UAE is committed to bringing governments, international organizations, financial institutions, the private sector, researchers, and innovators together to turn this conversation into action.
“The UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi is an opportunity to look beyond the challenges we face today and ask what kind of water future we want to build — and how we can use every tool available, including AI, to help us get there.”
The report was prepared by the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations, supported by analysis from Eurasia Group.
His Excellency Mohamed Abushahab, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN, said:
“AI is developing at extraordinary speed, and we have a responsibility to ensure that the infrastructure supporting this transformation is resilient by design. That means thinking about water and energy from the beginning, not as constraints to be addressed later.
“The UAE’s academic and research institutions are already exploring new approaches to water-efficient AI and the application of AI to water challenges. Crosscurrents lays out a blueprint for how the 2026 UN Water Conference can help bring these experiences together and build a shared international understanding of how AI can be developed and deployed in ways that are responsible, resource-efficient, and centered on people.”
Crosscurrents: Navigating the AI–Water–Energy Nexus explores the water and energy demands associated with AI across its full value chain, while highlighting the opportunity to use AI itself to improve water management, strengthen resilience, and accelerate solutions to global water challenges.
The report is a follow-up to the UAE’s 2023 report, Ripple Effect: Water Scarcity – The Hidden Threat to Global Security and Prosperity, and comes ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference, which will be co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal in Abu Dhabi from 8–10 December 2026.
Released on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Crosscurrents calls for water to be considered a core part of the infrastructure and planning decisions shaping the AI economy. It puts forward five recommendations for the international community, including a call for the UN Water Conference to advance a global, consensus-driven declaration on efficient and responsible water use in AI.
The report examines water use across the entire AI value chain, extending beyond data centers to include semiconductor manufacturing and the power generation required to run AI systems.
This broader perspective is critical and calls for a more integrated approach to planning — bringing together water, energy, digital infrastructure, urban development, and long-term resilience from the outset.
The report also highlights the potential of renewable energy and other lower-water energy systems to reduce the water intensity associated with powering AI, while identifying opportunities for innovation, circular resource systems and improved water management to reduce demand and strengthen resilience.
At the same time, AI can become part of the solution. From improving the efficiency of water systems and identifying leaks to strengthening forecasting, infrastructure planning, and resource management, AI can help countries see water differently, manage it more intelligently, and invest ahead of a crisis rather than respond after it occurs.
Crosscurrents therefore calls for a shift in perspective: from viewing AI’s water footprint as a challenge confined to technology infrastructure, to recognizing the AI–water–energy relationship as a strategic issue requiring collaboration across sectors and borders.
Marking the importance of the report’s insights, Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, said:
“Given our own climate and environment, the UAE is acutely attuned to the importance of responsible water stewardship. As we enter an AI era, we have an opportunity to shape this transformation responsibly from the outset. Crosscurrents is intended to encourage a global conversation about how we ensure the benefits of AI enhance water resilience — and how we use innovation to build a more secure and sustainable future for people and communities everywhere.”
His Excellency Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, added:
“Water is central to sustainable development, food security, economic prosperity, peace, and stability. AI adds a new dimension to this equation. It creates new demands on water and energy, but it can also give us new tools to manage water more efficiently, anticipate risks, and develop solutions at greater speed and scale.
“The question is not whether AI will transform our water systems — it already has. The question is how we can plan for that transformation wisely. As co-hosts of the 2026 UN Water Conference, and as a country pioneering the intersection of technology, water, and sustainability, the UAE is committed to bringing governments, international organizations, financial institutions, the private sector, researchers, and innovators together to turn this conversation into action.
“The UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi is an opportunity to look beyond the challenges we face today and ask what kind of water future we want to build — and how we can use every tool available, including AI, to help us get there.”
The report was prepared by the Permanent Mission of the UAE to the United Nations, supported by analysis from Eurasia Group.
His Excellency Mohamed Abushahab, Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN, said:
“AI is developing at extraordinary speed, and we have a responsibility to ensure that the infrastructure supporting this transformation is resilient by design. That means thinking about water and energy from the beginning, not as constraints to be addressed later.
“The UAE’s academic and research institutions are already exploring new approaches to water-efficient AI and the application of AI to water challenges. Crosscurrents lays out a blueprint for how the 2026 UN Water Conference can help bring these experiences together and build a shared international understanding of how AI can be developed and deployed in ways that are responsible, resource-efficient, and centered on people.”
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