UK lawmakers have launched a sweeping inquiry into the environmental impact of data centres, piling pressure on ministers to explain how the sector’s looming energy demands can be squared with the government’s strict net zero targets. 

Amongst the issues the Environmental Audit Committee will examine includes how much energy and water data centres are likely to use, what impact data centres are having on climate change, and how emerging tech can be used to minimise their environmental impact, even as AI continues to accelerate.

Data centres are regarded by the government as central to UK economic growth, and were designated critical national infrastructure soon after Labour took office in 2024. 

While being labelled as CNI offers data centres more legal protections, questions are mounting over the sustainability of their electricity consumption, which is expected to quadruple by 2030, according to the National Energy System Operator. 

In their inquiry, MPs will probe whether existing policies, such as the Environmental Improvement Plan and the Planning and Infrastructure Act, adequately take into account the potential impact of data centres, and how the resource demands of data centres will impact other sectors, concerning competition for resources and decarbonisation.

The inquiry will also consider the myriad benefits data centres might bring, especially regarding the role they might play in powering and heating local communities and amenities.

“Will data centres power the UK’s economic growth? Perhaps. But what kind of implications will they have for energy and the environment? How will they impact the already tortuous queues for grid connections and the Government’s plans to bring down energy bills?” said Toby Perkins MP, committee chair.

“It’s critical that we really consider what the impacts of data centres will be before we charge into approving them en masse. 

“Our inquiry will take a detailed look at the consequences of data centres for the local environment, including their water and energy use, and how the Government is taking account of their impact as they prepare plans for the next Carbon Budget. I encourage anyone with knowledge of this area to send in evidence.”

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The launch of the inquiry follows a letter from Perkins to energy secretary Ed Miliband earlier this month, haranguing the government for a lack of any mention of data centres’ energy use in its Seventh Carbon Budget, an omission the new inquiry will now examine in detail.

Responding to the EAC Chair’s concerns, Miliband said that the government’s modelling for CB7 does include emissions from data centres, but will also test “a range of trajectories”, given the uncertainty of future demand from data centres.