The EU accused of concealing the environmental impact of datacenters
An NGO has filed a complaint, claiming that the European Commission is hiding data on the energy and water consumption of data centres, thereby infringing on citizens' right to know.
A complaint has been filed against the European Commission, accusing it of opacity over the energy consumption of data centres. The complaint, filed by Lighthouse Reports, claims that the Commission has set up rules preventing the public from knowing the energy and water consumption of individual data centres. The complaint, filed under the Aarhus Convention, alleges that the EU's executive has created a "wall of silence" around the issue.
The Commission's actions will be reviewed in November, and it could be found to have breached its obligations under the Convention. Data centres in Europe consumed 20.7 terawatt-hours of electricity and over 8 million cubic metres of water in 2025.
Written by urgent.news from Politico EU's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
