Darren McCauley: Achieving just circularities for data centres? A socio-legal critique of EU data centre regulatory governance

Achieving just circularities for data centres? A socio-legal critique of EU data centre regulatory governance  

Demand for AI capacity is increasing rapidly, with data centres accounting for an increasing share of European electricity consumption. This paper examines the extent to which emerging EU regulatory governance of data centres can address environmental pressure, infrastructural strain and justice within its current frameworks. It explores the ways in which regulatory developments frame circularity and justice and asks which aspects of resource use, distribution and processes are made visible or remain marginal. Focusing on the revised Energy Efficiency Directive and the forthcoming Data Centre Energy Efficiency Package, the paper shows that current regulatory attention centres on energy efficiency, water use and waste heat recovery, linked to reporting and rating schemes. Drawing on interview and documentary findings, it argues that current and forthcoming regulatory framing advances oversight but also reduces circularity to a technical, apolitical, efficiency issue, limiting attention to cross-border resource flows, uneven infrastructural burdens and justice-related concerns. 

Keywords: data centres; circularity; justice; Energy Efficiency Directive; artificial intelligence; EU law 

----------------------------------------------- 
Prof. of Environmental & Social Justice  

Newcastle Law School  

Newcastle University