Stop Data Center Network demands national moratorium in Italy

The National Network of Stop Data Center Committees has formally requested a national moratorium on new authorization procedures for data center construction in Italy. The request has been submitted to the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, Parliament, and various ministries, as well as the Lombardy Region.

Protesters argue that current development lacks sufficient national programming to determine the necessary number of facilities, their optimal locations, and the environmental, energetic, and infrastructural capacity of local territories. They highlight a high concentration of projects in Lombardy and the Milan metropolitan area, raising concerns regarding soil consumption, water resources, energy use, air quality, and microclimate impacts.

The committees emphasize that evaluating projects individually fails to account for the cumulative impact of multiple installations in the same area. They are calling for a temporary suspension to allow for the adoption of a National Plan for Data Center Development and localization, subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). The group also seeks a review of accelerated authorization procedures and updates to environmental guidelines.