Seeking Solutions to AIDC Power and Water Demand... Global Green Growth Week Opens

First Talks on the "Global Green AI Partnership"
Green Growth Competitiveness (GGC) Index to Be Unveiled for the First Time
Country Rankings to Be Announced in November

The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), led by Secretary-General Kim Sanghyup, announced that it will hold Global Green Growth Week (GGGW 2026) from October 27 to 30 in the Jeong-dong area of Seoul. This year's event will seek solutions to the sharp rise in power and water demand from AI data centers (AIDCs). It will also unveil for the first time the Green Growth Competitiveness (GGC) index, which measures which countries are leading the green competition.

Attending the Global Green Growth Summit, to be held on October 29 at the Westin Josun Seoul, will be Ban Ki-moon, Chair of the GGGI Assembly and Council and the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations; Lee Hyeong-il, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy; Kim Seong-hwan, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment; Kang Geum-sil, Ambassador for Global Climate and Environment; Ryu Je-myeong, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT; Serge Wilmes, Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity; Gilbert Siame, Zambia's Minister of Green Economy and Environment; Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to South Korea; and senior officials from member and partner countries, including Thailand, the UAE, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Oman and Egypt.

Former Irish President Mary Robinson will send a video message. Prime Minister Han Seongsook will attend the closed-door meeting of the National Committee on Climate Crisis Response on October 28.

On the first day, October 27, the "Competitive Green Industries" session will unveil for the first time the Green Growth Competitiveness (GGC) index, which assesses which countries are leading the green competition.

The GGC is a tool that uses data to assess the competitiveness and opportunities of each country's green industries, helping governments and businesses make investment and policy decisions. GGGI plans to announce country rankings based on the GGC index sometime in November, once its review of country-specific data is complete.

That same day, the "Revaluing Capital: Finance, Risk and the Green Transition" session will bring together the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, the University of Oxford's Sustainable Finance Group and Sustainable Fitch to examine the extent to which climate and nature-related risks are reflected in the cost of capital and investment decisions.

On October 28, the Korea Green New Deal Trust Fund (KGNDTF) Forum, supported by the Ministry of Finance and Economy and operated by GGGI, will take place. Country offices from 19 GGGI member countries and 24 public and private institutions in South Korea will identify projects with the potential to lead to actual investment at roundtables on more than 40 topics, including AI-based green solutions and carbon finance.

At the summit's opening ceremony on October 29, memorandums of understanding will be signed with the ADB's CGIF and Thailand's Department of Climate Change and Environment.

In the first session, Kim Seong-hwan, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment; Julie Becker, CEO of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange; and Bae Chungsik, president of KAIST, will deliver opening remarks. Kim Chang-beom, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Enterprises Federation; government representatives from Luxembourg, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Thailand; and the UAE's Abdullah Al Ghurair Foundation will take part in a panel discussion on international cooperation models to accelerate the green transition amid geopolitical fragmentation.

The summit's third session will address the sharp increase in power and water demand driven by the spread of AI as a new challenge for the green transition and discuss the "Global Green AI Partnership" to respond to it.

Following opening remarks by Luxembourg Minister Serge Wilmes and a keynote address by Ryu Je-myeong, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT, Um Jiyong, dean of KAIST's Graduate School of Green Growth and Sustainability, will present projections of AI's power, water and carbon footprints through 2050.

Panel participants will include the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the World Bank Group, German energy company RWE and SK Innovation. They will examine the entire AI value chain, from low-carbon semiconductors to data centers, clean power and power grids, cooling and water, and the communities where data centers are located. A representative of Movilizatorio, a Colombian civic engagement platform, will deliver the closing address.

On October 30, participants will explore ways to transition industries to hydrogen under the theme "Public-Private Partnerships for Industrial Decarbonization."

GGGI will sign an agreement with Taebaek City and hydrogen energy partnership agreements with the Alatau City Development Authority in Kazakhstan, Caspian and Doosan Enerbility. Participants will then discuss projects including hydrogen co-firing power generation in Alatau City, hydrogen mobility in Alberta, green steel in Pohang and green methanol in Taebaek, and launch joint research with KAIST and Peking University.

Meanwhile, a climate art exhibition will be held at Jeongdong 1928 Art Center during the event, alongside programs spanning future generations and culture.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.