Mattgush/Getty Images A pollution watchdog has dropped a proposed ruling that could have cut CO2 emissions from data centers "dozens of times faster" than the current system,  The Financial Times reports. Following lobbying by tech industry groups, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) decided to not recommend a protocol that would have made it more difficult for tech companies to use clean energy investments to offset fossil fuel pollution.  To capitalize on the the AI boom, tech companies like Amazon and Meta have been building enormous data centers around the US. There's often not enough electricity produced locally to power those facilities, so firms have been installing controversial, highly-polluting gas turbines to make up the difference.  In order to avoid pollution charges, tech giants say they're offsetting fossil fuel generation with investments in wind, solar and other forms of green power.…