Why net zero is a business necessity and not a political football

“Those who walk away from net zero are betraying future generations,” said UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband in July of this year. It’s a timely reminder that climate responsibility can’t be passed off to the next minister, the next budget cycle, or indeed, to governments alone.

In EMEA, the pressure is mounting from all sides. Data center capacity has already surpassed 24 gigawatts across key markets such as Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, marking a 21% year-on-year increase, driven largely by AI and data-intensive workloads.

EU data center electricity consumption now accounts for between 55 and 80 terawatt-hours annually, representing over 2% of the bloc’s total electricity demand, according to the International Energy Agency. It also warns that data centre energy use could more than double by 2030, with AI workloads as a key driver.

Governments are beginning to respond. The EU’s ...