Tech giants Meta and Amazon secured a win after the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) dropped rules that would have tightened clean‑energy claims for fossil‑fuel data centres. The decision follows months of lobbying by industry groups, sparking debate over how data‑centre operators can demonstrate climate compliance while keeping gas power.

The proposal would have required large energy users to buy renewable certificates that match the time and location of their consumption, forcing a shift toward higher‑cost, location‑specific green power. Critics argued the rule could stifle investment in clean‑energy projects and slow the rollout of data‑centre renewables.

Industry lobbyists, including a coalition that represents firms with $4.7tn in annual revenue, pushed the change. The group, named ‘May not Shall’, lobbied the EU and voluntary standards bodies to keep the rules optional, arguing that hourly and location matching would create market distortions.

SBTi said its governance safeguards prevent single‑stakeholder influence, but the sector remains split. Google’s own research backs hourly matching, claiming it could slash CO₂ dozens of times faster than current methods. Meanwhile, Meta and Amazon have not commented, leaving regulators and investors to weigh the implications of a looser standard.