The gist: Data centers already consume three percent of EU electricity; without transparency requirements and regulation, AI expansion threatens Europe’s climate neutrality.
The European Environment Agency warns of the massive energy footprint of planned AI infrastructure expansion in the EU and calls for mandatory disclosure obligations for data centers. Without transparent measurement, the Union cannot maintain its climate course.
The European Environment Agency (EEA), based in Copenhagen, is demanding that the EU require technology companies to disclose the environmental impact of their data centers. Director Leena Ylä-Mononen made clear in an interview with Politico: “What you cannot measure, you cannot manage.” To date, standardized measurements and best-practice standards for the environmental balance of data centers are lacking.
The numbers illustrate the scale: data centers already consume three percent of European electricity, with the share in Ireland reaching up to 20 percent. The EU is planning to triple computing capacity within seven years to keep pace with China and the US in the AI race. Separate Commission documentation obtained by Politico reveals a transparency deficit: only 36 percent of data centers obligated to disclose their energy efficiency have complied with this requirement so far.
Ylä-Mononen warns of exponential load growth: should the AI boom continue to accelerate, significant electricity supply problems will emerge. Demand is growing faster than supply and increasingly competing with other sectors. A critical problem remains the source of energy: so far it comes only partially from renewable sources.
The European Commission is working on regulations to control the energy consumption of data centers. A rating system for data centers is part of these new rules and is intended to lead to mandatory minimum energy efficiency standards from 2030 onwards. The presentation has been postponed multiple times and is now scheduled for early June. However, the Commission came under pressure from European Parliament members after it became known that a confidentiality clause—inserted following lobbying by Microsoft and other US tech corporations—allows data centers to hide energy consumption.
For Chief Data Officers, this is central: the upcoming regulations will not only set technical standards, but will also shape competitive conditions and investment decisions regarding data center location selection. Lack of transparency currently makes it impossible for companies and authorities to assess the real impact of AI models.
Source: www.politico.eu · Published May 25, 2026
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