Climate Goals

• EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson (Jorgensen) has urged Big Tech companies to align AI data centers with climate goals by supporting clean power and recycling waste heat. • The directive comes ahead of the June 3 unveiling of the European Technological Sovereignty Package, which features a Cloud and AI Development Act. • This legislative package aims to triple the European Union's data center capacity within the next five to seven years.

• The tech sector warns that Europe must choose between its AI ambitions and climate goals, claiming only carbon-emitting gas plants currently provide the reliability needed to power data centers. • EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen countered that data centers are only welcome if they actively support the energy transition through renewable energy deployment and waste heat recycling. • To address these challenges, the European Commission is developing a sustainability label for data centers based on water use, energy efficiency, and heat recovery.

Senior climate figures warn North Sea drilling would encourage fossil fuel exploitation by developing countriesOpening new oil and gas fields in the North Sea would “send a shock wave around the world”, imperilling international climate targets, undermining the UK’s climate leadership and encouraging developing countries to exploit their own fossil fuel reserves, experts have warned.The UK government is under stiff pressure from the oil industry, the Conservatives, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, some trade unions and parts of the Treasury to give the green light to new oil and gas fields, despite clear evidence that doing so would not cut prices and would have almost no effect on imports. Continue reading...