Webinar on an urgent issue - data centres.

Did you hear the shocking news about the huge increases in energy consumption by data centres?

Households decreased their electricity consumption last year. But data centres did the opposite - increasing their electricity consumption by 31 per cent in 2022 from 2021! 

These data centres are guzzling huge amounts of fossil fuels and water every day. More and more data centres are applying for gas and energy connections.

 

Putting Ireland’s climate targets in jeopardy. 

It’s time to have a serious conversation about data centres and what they mean for climate action in Ireland. To do this, we’re hosting a webinar on 26th June, starting at 7pm.

We have become familiar with the argument that data centres are a necessary evil. But are they really? And what is their data being used for? Who is really benefiting from their expansion? Why is this energy guzzling industry being allowed to expand in Ireland at a time when we need to reduce our energy demand?

Can the industry really be made sustainable, or is this another example of greenwashing that will have profound consequences for people and the planet? 

 

Join us as we search for answers to these questions

 

We’re delighted to be joined by researchers, activists and academics Dr Patrick Bresnihan and Dr Patrick Brodie for this webinar. We’ll ask big questions, probe for important answers and explore why and how we need to challenge data centre expansion in Ireland. It promises to be a fascinating evening of discussion!

We’ll also look beyond the national context and discuss the questions of energy for who and data for what, as well as the dangers of data centre lock-in to our economy. With private tech giants like Amazon possessing over 512 diesel generators in Ireland already, where is the industry headed and how can we address the problem of data centres at its roots? 

Register for the webinar

A little more about our webinar’s speakers….

Dr Patrick Bresnihan is a lecturer in the Department of Geography at Maynooth University. He has over fifteen years of experience researching and teaching issues related to environmental governance and green political economy in Ireland and abroad. His research has looked at different but related environmental topics, including agriculture and land-use, data centres and energy, and water pollution and infrastructure. He has published multiple books and academic articles on these topics, as well policy reports, talks and opinion pieces. He was recently a guest on DCU’s Code Red podcast along with our own Head of Communications, Deirdre.

 

Dr Patrick Brodie is a media scholar and Assistant Professor/Ad Astra Fellow in the School of Information and Communication Studies at University College Dublin. His research focuses on the environmental impacts of digital infrastructures like data centres, with a particular focus on their role within energy systems, modes of material extraction, and rural development. He has published widely in academic and popular venues, and co-edits the Journal of Environmental Media.

 

Following on from our webinar on 26th June we’ll be hosting an online creative workshop on data centres on 3rd July. You can learn more about this workshop and register for it here. 

Join us for one or both of these events as we explore one of the most pressing challenges to climate action in Ireland.