Datacentre developers face calls to disclose effect on UK’s net emissions | AI (artificial intelligence)
Publish Date: 2026-03-01 11:00:00
Source Domain: www.theguardian.com
- Campaigners urge datacentre developers to ensure their projects do not increase the UK’s overall CO2 emissions and address local water scarcity, in line with new national policy statements on datacentres.
- Concerns are raised that new AI infrastructure could double national electricity demand and pose a serious threat to decarbonising the electricity grid.
- Campaign groups, including Foxglove and Friends of the Earth, warn that failure to mitigate the electricity use of new datacentres could lead to significant climate emissions.
- An inquiry by MPs on the environmental audit committee has been announced to examine the environmental sustainability of datacentres.
- Ofgem predicts that the demand of new datacentre projects could exceed the current peak demand in Great Britain, necessitating an increase in renewable energy output.
- A datacentre boom driven by AI investment is underway, with some projects expected to have electricity demands comparable to nuclear power stations.
- Campaigners highlight the environmental impact of proposed datacentre projects, including the high carbon emissions expected from a new Google datacentre in Essex.
- Calls are made for a framework to assess the environmental impact of datacentres and for developers to fund necessary renewable energy projects while preventing greenwashing practices.
