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Proposed London datacentre ‘incompatible’ with netzero with 1m-tonne carbon footprint

Exclusive: Planning documents show annual emissions from North Ockendon project would be equivalent to 8,480 flights to New York

Read full story on The Guardian →

Matthew Pearce21 Aug 2026, 10:00 amUpdated 3d ago1 min readTechGlobal

Global — Matthew Pearce

Proposed London datacentre ‘incompatible’ with net zero with 1m-tonne carbon footprint

Exclusive: Planning documents show annual emissions from North Ockendon project would be equivalent to 8,480 flights to New York

A “hyperscale” datacentre in outer London would generate more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 8,480 flights from London to New York, planning documents show.

The East Havering Data Centre Campus (EHDCC) in North Ockendon would be one of the largest datacentres in Europe if approved by Havering council, using 218 hectares of green belt to run servers and data storage systems for AI and cloud computing. Its developer, Digital Reef, has described the scheme as “a unique opportunity to create a sustainable datacentre campus of the future”.

A “hyperscale” datacentre in outer London would generate more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 8,480 flights from London to New York, planning documents show.

This report is published with credit to The Guardian. The wire sent a summary; open the original for any extra context. Read on The Guardian →

Source: The Guardian · Matthew Pearce. Published 21 Aug 2026, 10:00 am.

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