Public submission on data centres and human rights in South Africa
We are very alarmed by the proliferation of data centres in South Africa. While a certain number of specific data centres are necessary for the functioning of our digital infrastructure, these hyper-scale (AI) data centres are a totally different story. Many of these are for cloud computing services, data storage and AI. Extinction Rebellion Cape Town is asking for a moratorium on data centres as these are being developed without consideration of their impacts and risks and in the absence of societal scrutiny and governance.
Some of the areas of particular concern to us are:
- Electricity demand: Data centres consume huge amounts of electricity. While our grid is currently stable, it is still fragile. It is unclear how we will meet this huge new demand for electricity. Load-shedding in South Africa cost the economy dearly, and devastated countless small businesses. Data centre developments are often also associated with a rise in electricity costs, which we can ill afford. People are already struggling to pay their electricity bills, and thousands have yet to be connected to the grid. Business interests should not be prioritised over those of normal people.
- Water demand: The Western Cape is a drought-prone area. Day Zero was a very scary time for people living in Cape Town. Droughts will only get worse as the climate crisis worsens. We do not have “spare” water, and the Dept of Water and Sanitation saying that “there is no need to panic because the data centres will pay for the water”, is not helpful and misses the point completely. Sure, they may have the money to pay for the water, but there won’t be enough to go around. The communities that do not have access to clean water will be the ones to pay the price.
- Climate Impacts: Data centres use vast amounts of energy world-wide. While some are powered by renewables, most are not. Often, the data centres can be built much faster than the renewable energy required to power them, so they opt for using existing fossil-fuel-based power instead. They need to have backup power generation to guarantee their uptime, for which they often use diesel generators, with its associated health impacts from pollution. Energy demand worldwide is rising. Much of the renewable energy that is being generated is bought up by data centre companies, who often pay much less for this electricity via wheeling arrangements with private power companies. So, while more renewable energy is coming online, there is not a corresponding drop in energy from fossil fuel sources. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has indicated that further contributions to climate change constitute a violation of human rights.
- Public Participation: There has not been enough meaningful public participation on the issue of data centres as is our right under the constitution. Splitting projects to hide the full impacts, planning tribunal irregularities and short comment times make it very difficult for communities to engage on issues that affect them directly.
- Public subsidies and tax breaks: What is our government doing to ensure that the data centre projects benefit our economy? Will these companies be paying tax in South Africa? What incentives are they getting to invest in South Africa? Who pays for this?
- Job creation claims: Data centre developers often claim that many new jobs will be created, which makes them very attractive to any government that is trying to reduce unemployment. These claims need to be verified. We need to know exactly how many long- and short-term jobs will be created, and if local people will be prioritised.
- Raw mineral extraction, rare earth metals, increased mining activities: Data centre hardware and the computer chips they run on require new materials to be mined. The whole infrastructure chain has to be included when assessing the environmental cost of data centre developments. The mining of metals required for AI chip production is often accompanied by violations of human rights through underpaid, forced, or child labor under dangerous working conditions, as well as destruction of the environment.
- Management of electronic waste: The data centre servers need to be replaced every few years, resulting in huge amounts of e-waste. Has the City thought about how it will manage this waste? Will it add to the pressure on our landfills? Has the City thought about regulations relating to recycling the minerals and disposing of hazardous materials in the servers? Who will live with this electronic waste in their vicinity? Will it leak toxic material into waterways?
- Land use: Hyper-scale data centres use a significant amount of land. Development should not come at the expense of the constitutional rights of communities to adequate housing. We must determine if the land could rather be used for housing, for growing food, or for other purposes? There has to be a public participation process which gives all surrounding communities a say in how that land is used. The land required for the renewable energy projects which power the data centres also have to be included in the scrutiny.
- Noise pollution: Data centres run all the time, and the noise generated by cooling systems etc emit a continuous humming, whirring, droning sound. This causes disturbance, sleep- and health issues for anyone living and working near such a facility. When diesel backup generators kick in, the noise is much worse. The data centre will be situated near the airport. People living near the airport are already subject to pollution and noise pollution from air traffic.
- Greenwashing: Data centres often claim all sorts of green credentials. If they claim to run on 100% renewable energy, for example, all these claims need to be verified.
We call for a moratorium on all data centre developments and expansions to existing data centres until all the issues above have been addressed. We also call for the cancellation of any approvals to date that were made without adequate public participation.
Sign our petition here: https://www.openpetition.org/za/petition/online/south-african-data-centre-moratorium-now