Activists across Europe are conducting two days of protests against datacentres this week, with demonstrations planned in 15 countries. More than 100 groups are uniting for the "Stop Dirty Data Centres" events on Friday and Saturday, advocating for a halt to large datacentre projects.
Organisers are highlighting environmental and social costs, which they state "we can no longer afford". Actions include a protest outside the Polish parliament in Warsaw, a march in Dublin, a demonstration outside a Microsoft datacentre in Denmark, and an event in the Brick Lane area of east London.
Concerns include the environmental impact, with research from the Öko-Institut of Germany suggesting that carbon dioxide emissions from AI datacentres could be six times the 2023 level by 2030. In the UK, energy use by AI datacentres could lead to up to 123m tonnes of CO2 emissions over the next decade.