Publication Type
Working Paper
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
11-2026
Abstract
As artificial intelligence (AI) has become ubiquitous, climate-related impacts of data centres used to power these technologies have emerged as a growing concern for governments, civil society groups, and the public. As a result of this, a wave of data centre litigation has started to sweep multiple jurisdictions, in particular the United States, often leveraging environmental law. However, many claims do not directly target data centres’ impacts on climate change, and the challenges of aligning AI growth with climate goals may extend far beyond energy use in this infrastructure. This article analyses two research questions: (1) how are mismatched governance regimes and frameworks impacting efforts to address AI’s contributions to climate change, and (2) to what extent is data centre climate litigation an indicator of or potential solution to these governance mismatches?
Keywords
artificial intelligence, climate change, governance mismatches, data centres, climate litigation
Discipline
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics | Environmental Law | Public Policy
Research Areas
Corporate, Finance and Securities Law
Areas of Excellence
Digital transformation
First Page
1
Last Page
29
Embargo Period
11-11-2026
Citation
SCOTT, Nick and WANG, Heng.
Data centre litigation and climate change: Can claims against data centres resolve tensions between AI growth and climate goals?. (2026). 1-29.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4872
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Public Policy Commons