The US administration under Donald Trump has initiated a deregulation strategy to establish the country as a global AI hub. EPA head Lee Zeldin and the White House have since repealed or revised dozens of environmental regulations, while simultaneously reducing the agency's staff and budget.
A report by the Environmental Protection Network (EPN) identifies 30 federal actions taken since January 2025 that increase pollution risks related to data centers. These measures include restricting renewable energy projects, easing emission standards, and exempting industrial facilities from existing environmental requirements.
Specifically, 17 of these 30 regulatory changes are directly linked to AI or data center infrastructure. The July 2025 'AI Action Plan' introduced by Trump aims to simplify or reduce oversight under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and Superfund legislation, facilitating the construction of new gas-fired power plants.
Researchers from UC Riverside, Caltech, and the Rochester Institute of Technology estimate that AI-related air pollution could lead to 1,300 premature deaths and over $20 billion in healthcare costs by 2028. Additionally, the production of advanced AI chips may increase the release of persistent 'forever chemicals'.
