{"slug": "university-of-manchester-experts-give-evidence-to-mps-on-the-environmental-of-ai", "title": "University of Manchester experts give evidence to MPs on the environmental impact of AI and data centres", "summary": "University of Manchester researchers advised Parliament on the environmental impact of AI and data centres, warning that electricity consumption could quadruple by 2030 and urging integration of data centre growth into energy planning, improved transparency, and a circular economy approach to hardware.", "body_md": "# University of Manchester experts give evidence to MPs on the environmental impact of AI and data centres\n\n[\n](https://content.presspage.com/uploads/1369/600ab491-d2c6-409d-8dae-3846652533b8/1920_moderndatacenterwithserverrackswithvfxanimationofdataflowinternettrafficonservers.creditevgeniyshkolenko.jpg?10000)\n\nResearchers from The University of Manchester are advising Parliament on the growing energy and environmental impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres, as part of a new inquiry into their implications for the UK’s net zero ambitions.\n\nData centres have been designated as critical national infrastructure due to their importance for economic growth, but their electricity consumption is projected to quadruple by 2030. The inquiry will assess how this increasing demand could affect energy and water systems and how emerging technologies and policy approaches could reduce environmental impacts.\n\nIn their [evidence](https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/164726/pdf/), [Dr Alejandro Gallego Schmid ](https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/persons/alejandro.gallegoschmid/)and [Dr Raphael Tarpani,](https://tyndall.ac.uk/people/raphael-tarpani/) researchers at the University’s Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, highlight a number of challenges associated with this growth, including:\n\nRising carbon emissions from both electricity use and the manufacturing of hardware\n\nIncreasing demand for critical materials such as copper, silicon and rare elements\n\nGrowing volumes of electronic waste driven by rapid hardware replacement cycles\n\nPotential strain on water resources and local environments\n\nThey argue that current policies do not yet fully account for the pace and scale of AI-driven demand and recommend:\n\nIntegrating data centre growth into wider energy, infrastructure and environmental planning, ensuring expansion is aligned with grid capacity and the availability of low-carbon electricity.\n\nImprove transparency around environmental impacts through better reporting of energy, water and material use, alongside accounting for full lifecycle of digital infrastructure, such as hardware production, supply chains and electronic waste.\n\nSupport a circular economy approach to digital technologies, promoting the reuse, repair, refurbishment and recycling of servers and other hardware to reduce resource demand and waste.\n\nManage the resource pressures associated with AI and data centre expansion, including demand for critical minerals\n\nThe evidence highlights emerging technologies that could reduce environmental impacts, including more efficient chips, advanced cooling systems and “green AI” approaches that limit unnecessary computation.\n\nThe researchers also point to opportunities for data centres to contribute to local energy systems, for example, by recovering waste heat to supply homes and buildings, or by providing flexibility to help balance electricity demand.\n\nDr Alejandro Gallego Schmid said: “Data centres are fundamental to the digital economy and will play an important role in enabling AI innovation. However, their expansion needs to be planned alongside the UK’s wider sustainability objectives.\n\n“Our evidence shows that solutions are available but many of these will require investment in infrastructure and more coordinated action across policy, industry and research.”\n\nDr Alejandro Gallego Schmid delivered the evidence to the to the Environmental Audit Committee in Westminster today (1 July 2026).\n\nThe submission has been supported by [Policy@Manchester](https://www.policy.manchester.ac.uk/), the University’s policy engagement unit.\n\nRead the full written submission: [Written evidence - DCU0023](https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/164726/pdf/)\n\nRead more about the inquiry: [Risks and opportunities to the sustainability of data centres in the UK - Committees - UK Parliament](https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9651/risks-and-opportunities-to-the-sustainability-of-data-centres-in-the-uk/)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/university-of-manchester-experts-give-evidence-to-mps-on-the-environmental-of-ai", "canonical_source": "https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/university-of-manchester-experts-give-evidence-to-mps-on-the-environmental-impact-of-ai-and-data-centres/", "published_at": "2026-07-01 16:30:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-04 10:51:45.956936+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy", "ai-ethics", "ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["University of Manchester", "Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research", "Dr Alejandro Gallego Schmid", "Dr Raphael Tarpani", "Environmental Audit Committee", "Policy@Manchester", "UK Parliament"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/university-of-manchester-experts-give-evidence-to-mps-on-the-environmental-of-ai", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/university-of-manchester-experts-give-evidence-to-mps-on-the-environmental-of-ai.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/university-of-manchester-experts-give-evidence-to-mps-on-the-environmental-of-ai.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/university-of-manchester-experts-give-evidence-to-mps-on-the-environmental-of-ai.jsonld"}}