EU has adopted several regulatory instruments and recently announced that in Q1 2026 it will propose a new Data Centre Energy Efficiency Package alongside the Strategic Roadmap on Digitalisation and AI for the Energy Sector, aiming at making data centres carbon-neutral by 2030.  This session will explore how policy can support both sustainability and the continued expansion of Europe’s digital infrastructure. 

Key discussion points include: 

• Sustainable integration of data centres into the energy system, including their role in supporting energy system efficiency and decarbonisation. 

• The EU’s emerging three-step policy approach: 

• Transparency: improving reporting and visibility of data centre energy performance. 

• Rating schemes: assessing performance and benchmarking efficiency across facilities. 

• Potential performance-based regulation: exploring possible future regulatory frameworks. 

• Success criteria for a future-proof EU rating scheme, ensuring it remains technology-neutral, practical and innovation-friendly. 

• Alignment with broader EU policy priorities, including competitiveness, decarbonisation, digital transformation, and the ambition to significantly scale Europe’s data centre capacity. 

• Ensuring Europe remains an attractive investment destination: how can the EU design policies that support sustainability goals without pushing investment and innovation outside Europe?