By Saloni Sinha ( August 5, 2026, 08:05 GMT | Insight) -- Climate advocates are calling on the Australian government to impose mandatory sustainability requirements on the country's rapidly expanding artificial intelligence data center sector, warning a surge in electricity and water demand could undermine climate targets. In a submission to a parliamentary committee, the Climate Council said it holds “significant concerns about the impacts that the new wave of data center development, driven in large part by a surge in demand for AI, could have on our shift to renewables, our climate, and our water resources – unless our governments act now.”Climate advocates are calling on the Australian government to impose mandatory sustainability requirements on the country's rapidly expanding artificial intelligence data center sector, warning a surge in electricity and water demand could undermine climate targets....
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