By Dan Milmo
Publication Date: 2026-03-01 16:00:00
Data center developers are under pressure to reveal whether their projects will increase the UK’s net greenhouse gas emissions amid fears the sites could double national electricity demand.
Campaign groups have written to UK technology minister Liz Kendall warning that the energy needed for new AI infrastructure poses a “serious threat to efforts to decarbonise the electricity grid”.
Developers should demonstrate that their projects will not cause an increase in overall CO2 emissions in the UK2 emissions or local water shortages, as part of an upcoming national policy statement (NPS) on data centers, the letter said.
“Without these commitments, such enormous electricity consumption will inevitably lead to enormous climate emissions,” the activists write.
The letter was signed by Foxglove, a group that campaigns against the dominance of big tech companies, and five other non-governmental organizations, including environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth.
This week MPs voted on the environmental audit…
