Emissions understated by factor of five in Essex plans for tech giant, while Greystoke’s Lincolnshire plans show similar error
Developers working for Google have significantly misstated how much carbon two proposed AI datacentres will contribute to the UK’s total emissions in planning documents reviewed by the Guardian.
The tech company wants to build two huge datacentres – one 52-hectare (130 acre) project in Thurrock and another at an airfield in North Weald, both in Essex. To do so, developers are required to submit planning documents calculating how much carbon these projects will emit as a proportion of the UK’s total carbon footprint.
So they ‘misstated’ emissions by a factor of five? That’s not a small rounding error—that’s either incompetence or deliberate deception. Google needs to be held accountable for this.
It’s shocking that in 2024, a company with Google’s resources can’t get basic carbon accounting right. If they can’t even estimate emissions accurately, how can we trust their net-zero promises?
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I live near Thurrock and we’re already dealing with air quality issues. The idea that these datacentres could emit five times more CO2 than claimed is terrifying for local residents.
The Guardian says Greystoke’s Lincolnshire plans had a similar error. This seems like a pattern across the industry. Maybe the government should require third-party audits of all such applications.
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