Clean Air Council, Representative Rabb, Environmental Health Project, and Impacted Residents Tell Gov. Shapiro, PA Legislature: Halt the AI Emissions Assault
Harrisburg, PA (Tuesday, November 18) – Clean Air Council, Representative Rabb, Environmental Health Project, and impacted residents gathered at the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg Tuesday to demand that Pennsylvania’s leaders end their plans to use fossil fuel power plants to power AI data centers across the Commonwealth.
In July, Pennsylvania political leadership, including Senator Dave McCormick and Governor Josh Shapiro, joined President Donald Trump and executives from ExxonMobil, Google, and BlackRock to announce a $20 billion data center project as part of the Commonwealth’s headfirst jump into the AI race. Harrisburg has fallen in line across the aisle to support rapid buildout of AI infrastructure, even though the new power plants being proposed to run data centers in Pennsylvania are almost universally plants that would burn methane from local fracking wells. Science and experience tells us that this new fracking, and these new power plants, would pollute and sicken our region.
Shapiro, Senator McCormick, President Trump, allied legislators, and powerful executives are attempting to make the AI boom seem inevitable and unstoppable. In rejection of this vision of Pennsylvania’s future and in solidarity with the majority of Americans who are concerned about the increased use of AI, Clean Air Council, Representative Rabb, Environmental Health Project, and impacted residents hosted a rally where speakers made it clear that this fossil fuel-backed industry is not welcome.
“The unchecked proliferation of data centers across Pennsylvania threatens our grid, our environment, and the well-being of communities already overburdened by pollution and corporate extraction,” said Representative Christopher Rabb. “When private profit drives public risk, the legislature must draw a hard line to protect our residents, our land, and our energy future.”
“The data center boom is already straining Pennsylvania resources and raising utility bills for people across the state. Even worse, global data center emissions are projected to be 2.5bn metric tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030 – which is like adding an extra 116 million gasoline cars to the road,” said Clean Air Council Executive Director Alex Bomstein. “Pennsylvania should not push aside its own people in order to lead an industry that does incalculable harm to the environment and the economy.”
“We already know that there are myriad health and climate risks associated with fossil gas development—including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, birth impacts, cancers, heat-related illnesses, and insect-borne diseases,” said Environmental Health Project Executive Director Alison L. Steele. “A hyperscale data center boom that demands more fossil fuel consumption will make those health risks worse, not better.”
Because of what my family has lived through, I know we deserve better,” said Shakira Johnson, Washington County Resident. “By choosing cleaner energy over fossil fuels, we can create a healthier, stronger future for everyone in southwestern Pennsylvania and Washington County.”
