Climate Justice Coalition Calls for Deceleration, Transparency and Public Participation in South Africa’s Data Centre Expansion

11 August, 2026

The Climate Justice Coalition (CJC) is deeply concerned by the rapid expansion of large-scale data centre developments in South Africa. This expansion is happening without meaningful public participation or transparency. These projects place growing demands on our scarce land, water and electricity resources. Furthermore, in the context of worsening climate change and the cost-of-living crisis, decisions about whether, where and how they are built cannot be made behind closed doors or fast-tracked in the interests of private profit.

Data centres have wide-reaching implications for people, ecosystems and public infrastructure. Millions of people in South Africa are experiencing water insecurity, electricity outages, the worsening impacts of climate change, persistent inequality levels, and unemployment rising to over 32% in 2026. In this context, the public has the right to understand the cumulative impacts of these developments and to participate in decisions that affect our lives and environments.

The CJC is calling for a halt on all proposed data centre developments to ensure transparent planning processes, meaningful public consultation and robust environmental and human rights safeguards are in place before approvals are granted. Communities must be actively engaged and have access to information on projected water and electricity demand, land-use planning, environmental impacts and who will bear the costs of the infrastructure required to support these developments. Decisions over data centre development must prioritise our constitutional rights and public interest.

On 10 August, the CJC made a submission to the South African Human Rights Commission outlining these concerns and calling for a rights-based approach that puts people, ecological sustainability and democratic accountability ahead of corporate interests.

Read our submission here.