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This response was developed by:

• Dr (Research Associate, Centre for Environmental Policy),
• Dr Eduardo Rico Carranza (Research Assistant, Department of Civil and 
  Environmental Engineering)
• Dr Matt Lipson (Deputy Director, Undaunted – the climate innovation programme at the Grantham Institute, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½)
• Rosie Allen (Imperial Policy Forum)
• Cait Hewitt (Policy and Engagement Officer, Grantham Institute, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½).

This evidence was submitted to the to Environmental Audit Committee inquiry into risks and opportunities to the sustainability of data centres in the UK (April 2026).

Download additional evidence from ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½, submitted by Dr Eduardo Rico Carranza, Dr , and Dr : Strategic analysis of the water system impacts of data centre development 

Headlines

•  Future data centre demand in the UK is uncertain, and depends on factors including market demand, national policy, electricity prices and geopolitical factors.
• Even with strong efficiency gains, total energy use and emissions are likely to rise in the near term as AI-driven demand accelerates. This creates unavoidable trade-offs between speed, sustainability, cost, and reliability.
• Increased data centre demand could increase greenhouse gas emissions and worsen local air pollution if demand cannot be met with renewables.
• The environmental impact of data centres will be influenced by: (1) the introduction of more efficient hardware and software, (2) the use of best-in-class infrastructure to minimise energy and water use, and (3) the decarbonisation of the electricity supply.
• The main challenge lies in whether these measures can be deployed fast enough to keep up with data centre demand.
• Data centres are large, repeatable assets and could become a testbed for low-carbon construction methods across the wider built environment, but cost, risk, and delivery pressures can present barriers.
• Using water for cooling data centres can significantly reduce energy requirements compared with using air conditioning (with cooling responsible for a third of total data centre energy consumption in some cases) but some developers are avoiding this option given concerns about unintended consequences on local water supplies.
• The reuse of waste heat from data centres should be considered, but there are often practical barriers to delivering this, and it is only a sustainable option if the energy used to run the data centre is renewable.
• Negative local impacts of data centres have been observed elsewhere, including in Dublin, Ireland, where the grid is under strain, and in Virginia, USA, where electricity prices are going up to fund fossil fuel infrastructure to meet data centre demand.
• The UK should use strategic policy to avoid these negative outcomes for the grid, the environment and for energy consumers.