Europe Wants Data Centers. Its Climate Goals Are Getting in the Way

Key points

• Germany planned to double its data centre capacity by 2030 to boost AI access and its economy. However, a 2023 law requiring new data centres to reuse waste heat clashed with that goal.
• In June, the government amended the rules, so operators must only assess whether heat reuse is feasible. Developers had argued the original requirements were impossible to meet, and several projects have since collapsed.
• Critics say climate targets have been sacrificed, and public unease about data centres is growing across Europe.