Reports indicate that developers for Google and Greystoke significantly understated the carbon emissions of proposed AI datacentres in the UK. By comparing annual emissions to a five year national carbon budget, the environmental impact was reported as five times smaller than actual projections. These projects in Essex and Lincolnshire could collectively account for over 1% of the UK's carbon budget by 2033. The discrepancy highlights ongoing tensions between the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and national decarbonization goals.
