Full Page Open Letter Calls on Amazon, Google, Meta, & Microsoft to Stop Fueling Climate Change with Data Center Demands

INDIANAPOLIS – A full page open letter in the Sunday papers of the Indianapolis Star calls on the country’s largest technology company CEOs — Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella — to power their data centers with clean energy, or risk failing to meet their own climate goals.

The open letter says, in part:

We call on you to follow your climate goals by publicly calling on utilities to commit to no new gas and zero delayed coal plant retirements to power your data centers. As the largest customers on the grid, tell utilities you need an affordable and reliable decarbonized grid that benefits all customers.

AI data center proposals have continued to surge across Indiana and utilities have sought to capitalize off the proposals by introducing new gas plant projects or delaying coal plant closures to power these data centers, thereby raising energy costs for customers. Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) estimates that Big Tech’s data centers could more than double the need for power in its service territory, and by 2030, just a handful of I&M’s service area could use more electricity than all 6.8 million Hoosiers use in their homes combined.

Organizations signing the letter include Faith in Place, Earth Charter Indiana, Hoosier Environmental Council, Indiana Environmental Clean Energy J40, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, League of Conservation Voters, Public Citizen, and the Sierra Club.

Megan Anderson, Senior Campaign Representative, Sierra Club: 

“As Big Tech continues to introduce energy-hungry AI data centers in our communities, we need their leadership to course correct to make good on their climate commitments by using their dollars to build renewable energy and infrastructure that makes our electric grid more efficient and resilient. Plans to build out more fossil fuel power for these AI data centers not only betrays their own company values, but puts Hoosiers in the position to foot the bill. Our local leaders and Big Tech leaders need to be loud and clear: Hoosier families and small businesses shouldn’t be forced to subsidize the energy needs of Big Tech through higher energy bills and Big Tech shouldn’t be increasing pollution in Indiana communities.”

Shannon Anderson, Director of Advocacy, Earth Charter Indiana:

“Meeting the existential threat of climate with significant action was already going to be the fight of our lives. The rapid, unchecked development of hyper-scale data centers powered largely by natural gas obliterates our hopes of achieving near net zero emissions by mid century, a commitment these companies and several of our Hoosier cities have made to our children. It’s not just wrong, it’s cruel to abandon our kids this way.”

Sam Carpenter, Executive Director, Hoosier Environmental Council:

“Hoosier Environmental Council calls on the tech industry to focus on sustainability, affordable electric bills for Hoosiers, and transparency as they seek sites for AI data centers. Careful consideration must be given now to avoid costly consequences for our communities and environment for decades to come.”

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.