An investigation has revealed that Microsoft and other U.S. tech companies successfully lobbied the European Union to conceal the environmental impact of their data centers. Their demands to block a public database of environmental metrics were incorporated almost word-for-word into EU regulations.
Added to the European Commission’s proposal in 2024 following industry lobbying, this secrecy clause prevents scrutiny of pollution from individual data centers. Researchers now have access only to national-level summaries of their energy use.
The AI boom has fueled rapid construction of power-hungry data centers, partly powered by fossil fuels. Legal experts warn the broad confidentiality rule may violate EU transparency laws and the Aarhus Convention, which guarantees public access to environmental information.
Professor Jerzy Jendroลka, a former member of the convention’s oversight body and an environmental law expert, stated, “In two decades, I cannot recall a comparable case. This clearly seems not to be in line with the convention.”
Documents obtained by Investigate Europe, which led the research with partners including the Guardian, show the rule is already being used to shield data centers. Last year, a senior EU official reminded national authorities via email of their duty to “keep confidential all information and key performance indicators for individual data centers,” noting that all public requests for this data have been denied.
While the U.S. and China lead in AI, Europe is also expanding its data center capacity at a rapid pace, aiming to triple it within five to seven years.
In 2023, the EU updated its energy efficiency directive to require data center operators to report environmental data, initially proposing to publish aggregated figures. However, during consultations in January 2024, tech companies pushed to classify all individual data as confidential to protect commercial interests, making it exempt from freedom of information requests.
The final regulation, nearly identical to the industry’s wording, mandates that the Commission and member states keep all individual data center information confidential, deeming it commercially sensitive.
Lobbying for this change came from Microsoft, DigitalEurope (whose members include Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta), and Video Games Europe (including Microsoft and Netflix).
Ben Youriev of InfluenceMap noted this reflects the tech sector’s response to its growing energy consumption: “Where the industry was previously outspoken in its support for clean energy and emissions reductions, many firms have since fallen silent. Instead, they appear to be prioritising the rapid build-out of data centre infrastructure globally.”
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Microsoft stated that it supports greater transparency around data centers, noting that sustainability disclosures can improve outcomes and build public trust. A spokesperson added, “We are taking further steps to increase openness, while protecting confidential business information.”
The European Commission views the regulation as a first step toward a common EU rating system for data centers. In a second phaseโwith public consultation on the legislation ending this monthโit plans to publish sustainability scores from the database to “make it easier to compare different data centers in the same region and promote more efficient designs.” Under current proposals, most of the information reported by operators would remain confidential.
According to sources close to the matter, the Commission’s internal position is that making each data center’s information public could discourage operators from reporting their sustainability metrics. However, EU data shows that only 36% of eligible data centers have complied with existing reporting requirements.
Alex de Vries-Gao, a researcher at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, said the industry has “a real interest in keeping the numbers hidden.” He noted that when trying to quantify the environmental impact of AI, he has largely had to rely on aggregated data. “Public information is extremely limited. You typically have to bend over backward to come up with any numbers,” he added.
Under the Aarhus Convention, the EU is required to ensure that environmental information is systematically made available to the public by authorities.
Luc Lavrysen, former president of the Belgian Constitutional Court and emeritus professor of environmental law at Ghent University, stated that the confidentiality clause “is clearly in violation” of EU transparency rules and the Aarhus Convention.
Kristina Irion, an associate professor in information law at the University of Amsterdam, reached the same conclusion. She argued that the “sweeping presumption of confidentiality” wrongly prioritizes corporate interests over public access to at least some of the data. “What deserves protection as confidential information affecting the commercial interests of data center companies should be determined on a case-by-case basis,” she said.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs US Tech Companies EU Data Center Emissions Confidentiality
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 What is this about
This is about major US technology companies successfully lobbying European Union officials to keep specific data about their data centers energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from being made public
2 What are data centers
Data centers are large facilities that house computer systems and servers They store process and distribute the vast amounts of data that power the internet cloud computing streaming services and AI tools They require massive amounts of electricity to run and cool
3 What does emissions data confidential mean
It means that under a specific EU law these companies are not required to publicly disclose detailed standardized information about how much energy their data centers use or the resulting carbon emissions The public and regulators would see less data
4 Why would tech companies want this data kept private
Companies argue that this data is a trade secret and that public disclosure could reveal competitive information about their operations and efficiency They also may wish to control their environmental narrative and avoid public scrutiny or criticism if their emissions are high
5 Which EU law is involved
The primary law is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive Tech companies lobbied to shape the final rules resulting in less stringent public disclosure requirements for data center energy and emissions metrics
Advanced Detailed Questions
6 How exactly did the lobbying work
Through industry groups like the Computer Communications Industry Association companies submitted formal feedback met directly with EU policymakers and argued that strict public reporting mandates were overly burdensome and threatened innovation and competitiveness
7 What specific data points are now kept confidential
While companies must still report some highlevel information key granular metrics likely to remain confidential include
Power Usage Effectiveness A detailed measure of a data centers energy efficiency
Total energy consumption per facility
Water usage for cooling
Granular greenhouse gas emissions tied to specific data centers
8 Whats the difference between this and companies own sustainability reports
Companies often voluntarily publish selected environmental data in their own reports The lobbying effort was about avoiding
