A proposed Digital Reef hyperscale data centre in East Havering, on the outskirts of London, would produce more than 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, according to planning documents. The emissions are equivalent to the carbon footprint of about 27,000 flights from London to New York and would amount to roughly a quarter of a percent of the UK’s recent territorial greenhouse-gas emissions of about 384 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The project, part of the Reef Origin ecosystem, has at times been presented as a potential zero carbon facility, but the planning figures raise questions about its compatibility with the UK’s legally binding net-zero targets. The campus would cover approximately 175 hectares in North Ockendon, across Havering and Thurrock, with about 40 hectares designated for the core development. It would contain 330,000 to 400,000 square meters of floorspace and up to 600 MW of capacity across multiple buildings. The original plan included 10 units of 50 MW and five units of 20 MW, with an estimated cost of £5.3 billion. Proposed infrastructure includes battery storage, a hydrogen fuel cell system and an ecology park. The site has been under discussion since 2022, and consultation on the draft Local Development Order ran from March 6 to April 12, 2026. The council has not yet issued a final decision. The project reflects a broader data-centre dilemma: major cloud providers including Microsoft, Google and Amazon have expanded renewable-energy procurement while their emissions have continued to rise. Google’s 2024 environmental report said its emissions were nearly 50% higher than in 2019, largely because of data-centre expansion. The UK government is seeking data-centre investment as part of its digital-economy strategy, and projections for East Havering indicate thousands of local jobs. Green hydrogen could reduce emissions if produced with renewable electricity, but production remains expensive and supplies limited.