Campaign calls for moratorium on new data centre build
The environmental impact of data centres came into sharp relief in the US at the end of 2025 as environmental, political and community organisations lobbied Congress to impose a moratorium on new data centre development.
More than 230 organisations from states across the country are calling for the ban. In a joint letter to Congress in December, they said: “The rapid expansion of data centers across the United States, driven by the generative artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto boom, presents one of the biggest environmental and social threats of our generation.
“This expansion is rapidly increasing demand for energy, driving more fossil fuel pollution, straining water resources and raising electricity prices across the country.
“All this compounds the significant and concerning impacts AI is having on society, including lost jobs, social instability and economic concentration. The harms of data center growth are increasingly well-established, and they are massive.”
The letter highlighted electricity consumption, “unsustainable water consumption”, greenhouse gas emissions, job losses and “skyrocketing electricity costs” as particularly concerning.
Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food & Water Watch in Baltimore, which is leading the call for a moratorium, told Data Centre: Demand that not only were electricity prices rising sharply as a result of data centre development, but land prices were also increasing, driving up local taxes and affecting farmers.
These combined factors meant it was time for a “much more aggressive approach” from policymakers when it came to the industry. Jones is also calling for a “rigorous” study to be undertaken on the societal impact of data centres and AI.
Has the letter to Congress had any impact? Senator Bernie Sanders subsequently posted a video on YouTube inviting viewers to consider the impact AI potentially has on unemployment.
In the clip, he says: “I will be pushing for a moratorium on the construction of data centres that are powering this unregulated sprint to develop and deploy AI. This moratorium will give democracy a chance to catch up with the transformative change we are witnessing.”
More than 230 organisations from states across the country are calling for the ban. In a joint letter to Congress in December, they said: “The rapid expansion of data centers across the United States, driven by the generative artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto boom, presents one of the biggest environmental and social threats of our generation.
“This expansion is rapidly increasing demand for energy, driving more fossil fuel pollution, straining water resources and raising electricity prices across the country.
“All this compounds the significant and concerning impacts AI is having on society, including lost jobs, social instability and economic concentration. The harms of data center growth are increasingly well-established, and they are massive.”
The letter highlighted electricity consumption, “unsustainable water consumption”, greenhouse gas emissions, job losses and “skyrocketing electricity costs” as particularly concerning.
Mitch Jones, managing director of policy and litigation at Food & Water Watch in Baltimore, which is leading the call for a moratorium, told Data Centre: Demand that not only were electricity prices rising sharply as a result of data centre development, but land prices were also increasing, driving up local taxes and affecting farmers.
These combined factors meant it was time for a “much more aggressive approach” from policymakers when it came to the industry. Jones is also calling for a “rigorous” study to be undertaken on the societal impact of data centres and AI.
Has the letter to Congress had any impact? Senator Bernie Sanders subsequently posted a video on YouTube inviting viewers to consider the impact AI potentially has on unemployment.
In the clip, he says: “I will be pushing for a moratorium on the construction of data centres that are powering this unregulated sprint to develop and deploy AI. This moratorium will give democracy a chance to catch up with the transformative change we are witnessing.”
