Mark Carney is a climate champion — says nobody anymore.

Hard to believe that Carney’s apparent commitment to climate action was something that made him appealing to Canadians last year, when he asked for a mandate to govern the country.

His dramatic retreat on the climate front as prime minister has left many Canadians — as we despair over B.C.’s raging wildfires — feeling deeply disappointed, even betrayed.

On a whole new front, Carney appears poised to abandon the climate fight.

That new front is AI data centres, the faceless factories of the future, which have become a prickly flashpoint in the struggle between Silicon Valley’s powerful tech barons and communities all over the U.S. and Canada.

Oakville and Mississauga have just joined hundreds of American municipalities that are holding back data centre approvals, in response to local anger that these enormous centres consume huge amounts of electricity and water, but create few jobs.

The centres also pose a broader threat: they potentially worsen the climate crisis.

The word “potentially” is important, because the centres don’t have to make the climate crisis worse.

The centres require immense amounts........

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