The European Data Centre Association has reaffirmed its commitment to climate-neutral, grid-integrated data centres in Europe, calling the goal central to sustainable digital growth.
The industry body tied that position to Europe's push to expand digital infrastructure for artificial intelligence, cloud services and broader economic competitiveness. It said these aims must advance alongside the energy transition, not separately.
The statement follows the association's signing of a Declaration of Intent with the European Commission, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen and energy sector partners on integrating data centres into the European energy system. The agreement supports stronger cooperation among data centres, grid operators and public authorities, as well as reliable access to decarbonised electricity.
Established in 2012, the association has focused on bringing together the digital infrastructure sector to help shape a responsible European digital economy. It also highlighted its role in securing the resources needed for a competitive regional technology industry.
Climate target
As a co-founder of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, the association said its members have worked to cut operational emissions and improve energy and resource efficiency. The sector aims to make data centres climate neutral by 2030 through measures including renewable energy sourcing, water conservation, circular economy practices and waste heat reuse.
The group's latest statement stresses that climate goals and digital expansion are not in conflict. Instead, it argues that both depend on better integration of data centres into Europe's broader energy system.
That argument reflects a wider debate in Europe over how to meet rising electricity demand from digital infrastructure while cutting emissions and strengthening industrial competitiveness. Data centre operators have faced growing scrutiny over power consumption, water use and grid access as governments seek to support AI development and cloud adoption.
Europe will struggle to unlock enough digital infrastructure capacity unless structural weaknesses in the electricity system are addressed, the association said. It highlighted the need to reinforce and expand transmission and distribution grids, speed up and improve permitting transparency, and ensure stable access to low-carbon electricity.
Energy pressures
These issues have become more pressing as demand forecasts rise for computing infrastructure linked to AI workloads. Policymakers and operators across Europe have increasingly focused on whether existing power networks can support that growth without delaying decarbonisation plans.
The group's position places data centres within the broader debate over energy planning and industrial policy. Rather than treating them solely as large power consumers, it argues for closer alignment between digital infrastructure investment and electricity system development.
It added that its annual report, State of European Data Centres, documents the sector's sustainability and socio-economic performance using member data and information gathered through reporting under the European Energy Efficiency Directive. The reports are intended to provide a record of environmental, social and governance performance across the industry.
Michael Winterson, Secretary General of the European Data Centre Association, set out the organisation's position in a short statement: "We reaffirm our commitment to sustainability, irrespective of technological developments or changing demands. A liveable, equitable and sustainable future remains our utmost goal."