Vienna, Austria - Oct 16, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of protest in progress; protesters holding banners, flags
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Hannah Keller, environmentalist (ending with shot 3):
"Data centers are a massive problem for the climate crisis. They make every problem that we have already worse. They use ginormous amounts of water, they have incredibly high energy demands. And we just don't have enough renewable energy to fill that."
3. Various of protest in progress
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Emma Reynolds, environmentalist (partially overlaid with shot 5):
"I'm actually half-Irish and we don't want the same problems that are occurring in Ireland in Austria as well. We need to expand our renewable energy first and then we can debate if we actually need data centers."
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5. Protesters holding placards
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Austria - Oct 21, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Aerial shots of data center construction
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stefan Ebenberger, secretary general, Internet Service Providers Austria (ending with shots 8-9):
"Of course we do understand people that are critical of every construction and of course of data centers. But data is the raw material of our digital society, of our digital age. Yes there is a demand for electricity but this demand for electricity is already calculated in the project phase in cooperation with the grid operator, with the power supplies."

FILE: Austria - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of server room
9. Various of power transmission towers, facilities

Austria - Oct 21, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Various of Stefan Ebenberger picking up, opening magazine
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Stefan Ebenberger, secretary general, Internet Service Providers Austria (partially overlaid with shot 12):
"We need to reduce the time frame it needs to start and finalize projects of this size and of this importance, but always taking into account and well-balancing sustainability, environment and other rights."

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FILE: Austria - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Various of engineer in server room, checking equipment
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Vienna, Austria - Oct 16, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Various of protest in progress; protesters holding banners, flags

Protesters in Austria have been taking to the streets against new server farms, joining growing resistance across Europe to data center construction over fears of soaring electricity demand and environmental damage.

Hundreds of worried citizens have regularly taken part in the demonstrations.

Environmentalist Hannah Keller has been calling for a halt to new server farm construction in Austria. She wants more thorough environmental impact assessments and greater public involvement.

"Data centers are a massive problem for the climate crisis. They make every problem that we have already worse. They use ginormous amounts of water, they have incredibly high energy demands. And we just don't have enough renewable energy to fill that," said Keller.

Across Europe, protesters are pushing back against the spread of data centers, warning of possible environmental costs. In Ireland, these facilities already consumed almost a quarter of the country's electricity last year. Some activists in Austria say they do not want to see the same problems at home.

"I'm actually half-Irish and we don't want the same problems that are occurring in Ireland in Austria as well. We need to expand our renewable energy first and then we can debate if we actually need data centers," said Emma Reynolds, another environmentalist.

Around 50 server farms are currently operating in Austria, with several under construction. They include a hyperscale facility in Upper Austria with a planned power supply capacity of up to 500 megawatts plus several smaller facilities around Vienna.

"Of course we do understand people that are critical of every construction and of course of data centers. But data is the raw material of our digital society, of our digital age. Yes there is a demand for electricity but this demand for electricity is already calculated in the project phase in cooperation with the grid operator, with the power supplies," said Stefan Ebenberger, secretary general of Internet Service Providers Austria.

Ebenberger also called for shorter timelines for large projects like these, while balancing sustainability, the environment and other rights.

"We need to reduce the time frame it needs to start and finalize projects of this size and of this importance, but always taking into account and well-balancing sustainability, environment and other rights," he said.