More than 100 advocacy groups are coordinating demonstrations against datacentre expansion across Europe during two days of action occurring this week. The protests, branded as “Stop Dirty Data Centres,” are taking place simultaneously in 15 countries and include events at parliamentary buildings, technology company facilities, and proposed development sites.
The campaign reflects growing concerns about the environmental and social consequences of large-scale datacentre infrastructure. Environmental research projections indicate that carbon dioxide emissions from artificial intelligence datacentres could reach six times their 2023 levels by 2030. In the United Kingdom specifically, AI datacentre energy consumption could generate approximately 123 million tonnes of CO2 over the next decade—equivalent to emissions produced by 2.7 million people annually. Activists also raise concerns about broader societal impacts, including potential job displacement from artificial intelligence automation, effects on mental health from AI applications, and competition with housing development for resources and land.
Specific actions scheduled include demonstrations at Poland’s parliament, a march in Dublin, protests outside a Microsoft facility in Denmark, educational events near a planned Amsterdam datacentre site, and gatherings in London’s Brick Lane neighborhood where a datacentre project has encountered local resistance. Organizers anticipate attendance ranging from small groups at some locations to several hundred participants at larger events.
The movement reflects international political momentum regarding datacentre concerns. Recent election results in the United States showed strong performance for candidates opposing datacentre expansion. Campaign coordination includes prominent environmental organizations such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, alongside technology policy advocacy groups.
The technology industry maintains that datacentres generate employment during construction and operation phases while enabling economic growth through artificial intelligence development. However, infrastructure data underscores the scale of expansion pressures: approximately 250 global datacentre projects requiring at least 100 megawatts of energy—equivalent to powering around 300,000 homes each—were announced between 2021 and 2024. The United Kingdom has 315 datacentres awaiting grid connections representing 73 gigawatts of demand, exceeding the nation’s total peak energy capacity of 45 gigawatts.
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