A June 30 draft EU proposal relaxes climate impact rules for gas-powered data centers. This revision follows lobbying from major technology firms including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft.
An earlier March version required data centers to offset fossil fuel emissions with clean energy from local, concurrent projects. The new proposal allows broader offsetting, such as using Spanish solar certificates for German coal-powered grids.
The updated rules also permit data centers to count certificates from nuclear energy. Tech firms argued that stricter requirements would increase costs during the artificial intelligence energy boom.