Step One Enter your Details Data centre expansion is undermining Ireland's climate action!Data centre expansion is undermining Ireland's climate action! Ireland’s uncontrolled growth of data centres is not compatible with a stable electricity system or a stable climate.Data centres now use more than 20% of the nation's total electricity - that’s more electricity than all the urban homes in the country combined and twice as much as all rural households.Their growth is prolonging the use of climate-wrecking fossil fuels. Not only that, but data centres are using up vital renewable energy resources that should be used to serve human wellbeing. We need to prioritise renewable energy for purposes such as powering our homes and keeping the lights on in our hospitals and schools.Take our e-action urging ministers to introduce a moratorium on new data centres coming online until any threat to the sustainability of our energy system from data centre expansion has passed. Minister Deputy Peter Burke (FG) Deputy Dara Calleary (FF) Deputy Darragh O'Brien (FF) Eamon Ryan (GP) Your Details Fields marked with an asterisk * must be completed. Name * E-mail * Constituency * Constituency * ------- Not Applicable Carlow / Kilkenny Cavan / Monaghan Clare Cork East Cork North Central Cork North West Cork South Central Cork South West Dún Laoghaire Donegal Dublin Bay North Dublin Bay South Dublin Central Dublin Fingal Dublin Mid-West Dublin North West Dublin Rathdown Dublin South Central Dublin South West Dublin West Galway East Galway West Kerry Kildare North Kildare South Laois / Offaly Limerick City Limerick County Longford / Westmeath Louth Mayo Meath East Meath West Roscommon / Galway Sligo / Leitrim Tipperary Waterford Wexford Wicklow Yes, keep me posted on your campaigning and what I can do. No, I don't want to hear from you again. Only use my personal data to deliver this campaign action. If you select 'no' and you are currently on our mailing list you will be removed. We respect your privacy, read more. Friends of the Earth will send you periodic updates and action alerts by email. We will do our best to respect your time and interest. You can remove yourself from the mailing list at any time by using the link at the bottom of emails we send you. We will not give your email address to anybody else. Check Your Message Message Subject: Edit the email subject line - (optional) Message Text: Dear (each target will get a separate, personalised email), I’m writing to call on you to take action to stop the runaway growth and expansion of data centres in Ireland by introducing a moratorium on further data centre connection and expansion until data centres can operate within our climate limits. If I’m honest, the growth of data centres scares me. To stop devastating climate change we need to reduce our overall energy consumption in Ireland. But data centres are making us do the opposite. Instead of ensuring that data centres operate within our climate limits, we have let them expand and guzzle energy when we know that Ireland needs to reduce energy demand both on security and climate grounds rapidly. Figures released by the Statistics Office (CSO) in July 2024 show that data centres in Ireland now account for more than 20% of the nation's total electricity use - more electricity than all the urban homes in the country combined and twice as much as all rural households. UCC experts have also noted that growth in data centre power has cancelled out all emissions reductions from renewables added to the grid in the past year. We need an immediate moratorium and regulation of data centres to address this unsustainable growth. Minister, I want you to prioritise renewable energy essential for human well-being, such as powering homes, schools, and hospitals instead of prioritising data centres. I ask that you urgently act and undertake the following actions: - Urgently, introduce a moratorium on further data centre connection and expansion until data centres can operate within our climate limits. - Introduce strict limits on electricity consumption used by existing centres, not only new connections. Yours sincerely etc, Edit the email text - (optional) Next Step - Preview your message → Categorised in: Climate Change Energy Tagged with: Faster and Fairer Climate Action No New Gas