Decarbonising digital infrastructure and urban sustainability in the case of data centres

Decarbonising digital infrastructure and urban sustainability in the case of data centres

Blog Article

Abstract This paper critically assesses the complex interplay between urban transitions of digitisation and sustainability.Building on a mixed-method research design, we unpack the challenges of decarbonising digital infrastructure while attending to urban sustainability goals in a land- and water-scarce country facing significant physical climate risks.We identify transferrable lessons on the economic, technological, and environmental synergies and trade-offs behind data centre development and argue that stewarding the global data centre Nails sector towards sustainability requires an ecosystem-wide approach.We identify implementation gaps across five key dimensions: technological innovation, policy and regulation, finance, infrastructure, and people.

We find that the progress and uptake of sustainability initiatives are often impeded by risk-averse DC operators, who are most concerned with real and perceived risks of downtime.We conclude with recommendations for data centre stakeholders Chassis to align the low-carbon transition of the data centre sector with broader objectives of climate resilience, smart city development, and sustainable finance.