Data Centres Part 1: Energy Vampires

By now you would have heard the news: data centres are threatening to unravel the progress we’ve made on emissions reductions, as well as the health of communities throughout the continent. In fact, so-called Australia is a global investment hotspot, with 162 data centres in operation and at least 90 more on the way.  On today’s show, we’ll hear from a global expert on the newest and most ferocious force in this race towards disaster – AI data centres. Ketan Joshi is an independent climate, environment and sustainability expert, and lead author of a recent Greenpeace report entitled ‘Energy Vampires: The AI Data Centres Draining Australia’. Tune in for a confronting look at the disaster unfolding around us, and what to do if a climate-wrecking data farm pops up in your neighbourhood.    Ketan Joshi is an independent climate, environment and sustainability expert. He was the lead author on “The AI Climate Hoax”, published with several corporate accountability and environmental groups in 2026, and previously wrote “Windfall: Unlocking a Fossil Free Future” with the University of New South Wales Press. He worked for eight years in Australia’s renewable energy sector (corporate and government), and has worked with European NGOs working on climate communications and corporate accountability. ‘Energy Vampires’ report: https://www.greenpeace.org.au/static/planet4-australiapacific-stateless/2026/05/1032fdf5-data-centres-report-greenpeace.pdf 'The AI Climate Hoax’ report: https://beyondfossilfuels.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/AI-for-climate-claims-Report_FEB-2026_FINAL-2-16.pdf Rally for a data centre moratorium, August 9 in western Narrm (melbourne): https://www.facebook.com/events/1628575625533388/ Wiki community for the campaign for a data centre moratorium: https://datacentremoratorium.net/index.php/Data_Centre_Moratorium_Wiki:About  Western Warrang (sydney) resistance: https://swelteringcities.org/2026/04/21/data-centres-ai-urban-heat-and-community-action-comes-together-in-western-sydney/ Petition: Stop the expansion of data centres in New South Wales: https://www.megaphone.org.au/petitions/halt-the-expansion-of-data-centres-in-nsw  Earth Matters #1568 was produced by Mia Audrey on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country.