The scorching nightmare of AI data centres
Dear friends and readers!
The mask has now come off. What the Big Tech lobby – comprising Microsoft, Google, Amazon and the like – has always denied, they have now admitted themselves: their approach to expanding AI infrastructure runs counter to climate targets. That is why they are now calling for the watering down of the EU’s climate targets.
So whilst the whole continent is sweltering and European countries are breaking one temperature record after another this weekend, Big Tech is lobbying the European Commission heavily to allow them to power their AI data centres with gas-fired power stations. We are already seeing the direct consequences of this in the US: air pollution, skyrocketing electricity prices and constant noise (more on this here).
Their argument: if the EU wants to achieve its target of tripling computing capacity for AI by 2032, this would only be possible with gas-fired power stations or small modular reactors (SMRs) – which even the industry itself does not believe in. This highlights the close links between the fossil fuel lobby and Big Tech.
Share my video on this topic here now!
The European Commission is still holding firm against this
EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen made it clear just a few weeks ago: either AI data centres make a positive contribution to the energy and heating decarbonisation, or they won’t be allowed into the EU. Jørgensen’s clear stance is to be welcomed! But now Big Tech and the fossil fuel lobby are really stepping up their game. And I can tell you from my own experience: their influence in Brussels is huge.
That’s why we – politicians and society alike – must apply pressure, back Jørgensen and insist on the sustainable use of AI.
And of course it’s possible: with smaller AI models, efficient data centres that feed their waste heat into the district heating network, and powered 100 per cent by renewables. None of this is rocket science. Yet the big AI companies have set their course: ever-larger models with ever-increasing amounts of data and ever-more data centres.
The German government has already caved in
On Wednesday, the German Energy Efficiency Act is due to be passed by the Federal Cabinet. That would be the ideal moment to commit AI data centre operators to the climate targets. Yet the federal government, comprising the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD), is planning exactly the opposite: it wants to water down the efficiency requirements specifically for data centres. At the same time, reporting obligations regarding environmental data are to be relaxed, so that the energy consumption of data centres becomes a trade secret. Public scrutiny? None whatsoever.
The obligation to use waste heat for district heating is also set to be scrapped. All in all, this amounts to a blank cheque for AI companies and a failure to set a political course for the sustainable use of AI. Under the guise of cutting red tape, the federal government is handing out favours to the fossil fuel industry and Big Tech.
Now is the time to speak out and make our voices heard!
I keep hearing people say that AI laws are too complicated – that they’re only for experts. Let me tell you: that’s not true. If, like me, you’re trying to get by in temperatures of 40 degrees and above, then you have a say in this. Talk to your colleagues, friends and family, and tell them about the AI lobby’s plans.
It’s not complicated – it’s quite simple: a select few want to get even richer through AI at the expense of the climate, the environment and people.
I’ve also made an Instagram video about this. Feel free to share it here!
And, of course, please forward this email.
Thank you very much for your support. With determined regards,
Yours, Alexandra Geese