Campaigners opposing the spread of AI data centres will march along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh next month to demand the government pays greater attention to the views of communities affected.
About two dozen large-scale data centres have been proposed in Scotland and the Scottish Government is accused by opponents of not doing enough to mitigate the potential harm they cause.
The march, on 14 November is predicted to attract thousands. It is being organised by a coalition of groups including Friends of the Earth Scotland, Action to Protect Rural Scotland and numerous local campaign groups protesting data centres, including in Dumfries & Galloway, Edinburgh, Larbert and more.
It is part of a Europe-wide wave of protests that have taken taken place in Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and many other countries. It will coincide with a global day of action around the UN climate talks COP31 in Antalya, Turkey.
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Caroline Rance commented: “We will be marching to demand that the people of Scotland can have their say on these monstrous AI data centres. Big Tech billionaires have set their sights on Scotland as their next AI data centre hotspot but we still have time to stop them.
“The huge data centres being proposed would crowd out communities, double Scotland’s electricity demand and make our energy bills more expensive, as well as destroying our natural environment and using thousands of tonnes of critical minerals.
Sarah Finlay, a community campaigner with West Edinburgh Against AI Data Centres commented: “We’re parents, neighbours and ordinary people who care about where we live and the future of Scotland.”
The Scottish government recently demanded that local authorities inform ministers of any large scale data centres and has paused approvals until there is new national planning guidance. The Green Party says this does not go far enough and has called for a moratorium.
A number of industry leaders, including Sandy Crombie, chief executive of Scottish Financial Enterprise, has warned that stalling the development of data centres risks Scotland missing out on key technology and economic growth that would follow.
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