Scotland’s AI Data Center Boom Threatens Climate Targets By 2030
News originally published by
MENAFNFriends of the Earth Scotland assessed the potential environmental impact of 23 proposed data center projects currently undergoing planning procedures across different Scottish local authorities.
The organization estimated that approving and completing all the projects could result in annual greenhouse gas emissions reaching 14 million tonnes by 2030. Their combined lifetime emissions could amount to 208 million tonnes, representing 51% of Scotland’s remaining carbon budget.
Scotland has established a carbon limit of 406 million tonnes through 2045, the deadline by which the government has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions.
The campaigners also projected a dramatic increase in the country's data center infrastructure. Scotland currently has approximately 50 megawatts (MW) of operational data center capacity, but this figure could rise 182-fold to reach 9,100 MW if all the proposed developments move forward.
Kim Pratt, a senior campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, warned that the projects could undermine the country's environmental commitments.
“Data centres risk torpedoing Scotland’s climate plans. If ministers approved all these projects, every other sector of Scottish life would have to cut its climate pollution further and faster,” she told the National.
She also argued that the country's limited remaining carbon allowance should be directed toward essential needs rather than unnecessary AI applications.
“We can’t allow our remaining climate budget to be wasted on AI slop instead of vital services, food production and things people genuinely need,” she added.
Meanwhile, Kat Jones, director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, raised concerns about the potential pressure that large-scale data center developments could place on the electricity network.
She warned that constructing every hyperscale data center currently waiting in the electricity grid connection queue could push Scotland's peak power demand to three times its current level.
“If every hyperscale data centre in the grid queue was to be built it would triple Scotland’s peak energy demand, we would see new records set for air pollution, and the process of decarbonising our economy would be set back by decades,” she said.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
