Datacentres and artificial intelligence are becoming a growing focus of environmental litigation globally, according to a new report from the London School of Economics (LSE). The analysis of approximately 3,600 climate-related lawsuits filed since 2015 reveals a rising number of cases challenging the energy sources, water consumption, and air pollution of datacentres, all of which have significant climate implications.
Early Success in Chile
One of the first such cases was filed in 2020 in Santiago, Chile, where Google planned a massive datacentre in the Cerrillos area. A group of residents and the local council challenged the permits granted to Google, raising concerns about the development's impact on the city's already climate-stressed water supply. The lawsuit successfully halted the Cerrillos project on the grounds that climate impacts had not been properly considered. However, it did not stop the broader expansion of datacentres, which continues to drain Chile's drought-stricken wetlands.
Ireland: A Hotspot for Datacentre Litigation
The LSE report identifies Ireland as a hotspot for litigation against datacentres. The Irish government aims to expand the sector, even though datacentres already consume over a fifth of the nation's electricity. In December 2023, Ireland's Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) ruled that large energy users such as datacentres could operate on fossil fuels for the next six years, after which they must run on at least 80% renewables. Environmental groups including Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), Friends of the Earth Ireland, and ClientEarth are seeking a judicial review of this decision, arguing it will lock Ireland into high-emitting, expensive fossil gas for years. FIE has also brought other claims, including one against the Environmental Protection Agency over its approval of a datacentre project in South Dublin.
Legal Backlash in the United States
In the US, a growing legal backlash against datacentres is evident. In California, the city of Pittsburg now requires a datacentre to use renewable energy for power and recycled water for cooling its servers. In Georgia and Pennsylvania, ongoing litigation challenges state regulators for approving new fossil fuel infrastructure linked to datacentres. Another case in Mississippi argues that Elon Musk's xAI is violating the Clean Air Act by operating portable methane gas generators without the required permits. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) brought the case, stating these generators pose serious public health risks to nearby Black and minority communities. The US Department of Justice is attempting to block the lawsuit, claiming the company's work is essential to the economy.
UK Case Highlights Transparency Issues
In the UK, campaigners took legal action against the government's decision to force through construction of a hyperscale datacentre in Buckinghamshire. Foxglove, a tech justice non-profit, and Global Action Plan, an environmental charity, represented by law firm Leigh Day, argued that the decision ignored the project's electricity and water demands and failed to properly consider its climate impacts. The government later acknowledged flaws in the process, and the lawsuit was dropped. The developer now admits that measures to mitigate environmental impact must be made binding through a contract with the council.
Litigation Drives Change Even Without Positive Judgments
The LSE report notes that cases in the US and UK demonstrate how litigation can drive changes in climate-related decision-making even in the absence of positive judgments. It can improve transparency, as seen in the Buckinghamshire case, where the full scale of environmental impacts would not have come to light without legal action. Joana Setzer, an associate professor at the LSE and co-author of the report, said these cases are not necessarily about stopping development but about avoiding locking in more dependence on fossil fuels. "It is an opportunity to get these massively energy-intensive developments powered by renewables at the moment in time where that is possible," she said.
