Nearing Net Zero: Data centres and the social license question
from ESG Matters @ Ashurst Podcast Hosted by Ashurst Perkins Coie
Across many parts of the world, data center investment is being blocked due to community opposition. In this podcast, Ashurst Perkins Coie’s Elena Lambros and Dan Brown reflect on the lessons for data center developers and financiers in Australia. Together, Dan and Elena reflect on the eye watering sums of data center investment dollars that have been stalled or withdrawn in the US and UK recently. They explain how governments are responding to community concerns around energy and water consumption. And most importantly, they consider potential solutions that could benefit people and planet, as well as profit. In the context of Australia, Dan and Elena explain how old fossil-fuel powered station sites could be repurposed to house data centers – offering developers pre-existing water, transmission and fiber infrastructure on sites already permitted under stringent environmental standards. They also highlight the benefits of clear, transparent community engagement for all data center developments. And they explain why a single, coherent fact base for ESG performance would benefit the data center industry, as well as the communities they serve. Check out past and future episodes of Nearing Net Zero on the Ashurst Perkins Coie website. And subscribe to ESG Matters by Ashurst Perkins Coie wherever you get your podcasts. The information provided is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all developments in law or practice, or to cover every aspect of the topics discussed. Listeners should obtain legal advice before applying it to specific issues or transactions.
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What this episode covers
In this special audio episode (taken from our continuing Nearing Net Zero video series) we take on the elephant in the room: Can data centers feed Australia’s insatiable appetite for data while – at the same time – positively contributing to the nation’s social and environmental goals?
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