US firms lobbied EU to keep data center pollution secret
What's the story
An investigation has revealed that Microsoft and other American tech giants successfully lobbied the European Union (EU) to keep the environmental impact of their data centers under wraps. The findings show that a confidentiality clause, nearly identical to requests from Microsoft and industry groups, was adopted by the European Commission in 2024 after industry lobbying. This provision prevents scrutiny of individual data center emissions, leaving researchers with only national-level summaries of their energy footprints.
Industry growth
Legal experts warn of potential transparency rule violations
The rise of AI chatbots has triggered a surge in the construction of power-hungry chip-filled warehouses, some of which are powered by fossil gas. Legal experts have warned that this blanket confidentiality clause could violate EU transparency rules and the Aarhus convention on public access to environmental information. "In two decades, I cannot recall a comparable case," said Prof. Jerzy Jendroska from the University of Opole in Poland.
Information protection
Secrecy clause invoked to protect data centers from scrutiny
Documents obtained by Investigate Europe, an independent journalism cooperative, show that the rules have already been used to protect data centers from scrutiny. A senior commission official had cited the secrecy clause last year in an email reminding national authorities of their obligation to "keep confidential all information and key performance indicators for individual datacentres." All requests for access to documents by media or public regarding this data have so far been refused.
Expansion strategy
EU aims to triple data center capacity for AI push
The EU plans to triple its data center capacity in the next 5-7 years as part of its goal to become a global leader in AI. In 2023, the commission revised its energy efficiency directive requiring data center operators to report on key performance indicators. It also suggested publishing "aggregated" environmental metrics for transparency. However, during public consultations in January 2024, tech companies pushed for all individual information on data centers to be classified as confidential due to commercial interests.
Regulatory response
EU plans to publish sustainability scores in second phase
The EU sees the regulation as a first step toward establishing a common EU rating scheme for data centers. In a second phase, it plans to publish sustainability scores from the database to "make it easier to compare different datacentres in a same region and promote new designs or appropriate efficiency in data centers." However, under current proposals, most of what operators report would remain confidential.