Analysis by the non-profit group Foxglove has found that two planned English datacentres will, once fully operational, produce more carbon emissions annually than ExxonMobil's entire UK operations, prompting warnings from campaigners and MPs that unchecked datacentre growth poses a "serious threat" to Britain's legally binding climate targets. The Wapseys Wood site in Buckinghamshire and Quest Park in Bedfordshire are among the first projects fast-tracked through the government's nationally significant infrastructure project regime, which bypasses local planning authorities, and both are seeking to build their own gas-fired power stations because of long delays connecting to the national grid.

Foxglove calculated the two datacentres will use 1.3GW of power and emit more than 4.5m tonnes of carbon a year, compared with ExxonMobil's 3.9m tonnes in the UK in 2023. A government spokesperson called the figures "misleading" as they assume 100% utilisation from the outset, though Foxglove and Friends of the Earth defended the methodology as standard practice. There are currently 315 datacentres queued to connect to the UK grid, representing 73GW of demand — almost double the UK's peak winter energy usage — and critics including Caroline Lucas, Toby Perkins MP and lawyers from ClientEarth warned the rollout could undermine progress on fossil fuel reduction unless stricter controls are introduced.