The sector has bucked the global trend, which has seen carbon emissions rise in the past half decade.
According to the GSMA’s Mobile Net Zero report, the industry recorded an 8% fall in CO2e emissions between 2019 and 2023. This is despite a 9% increase in connections and data demand quadrupling.
However, while this shows efforts to begin decarbonising the sector are working, in order to hit net zero by 2050, the rate of progress will need to double and fall 7.5% annually over the next five years. This is more than twice the average rate that has been achieved annually up to this point.
It’s a huge challenge, but numbers also point to a strong starting position. Already, 37% of electricity used by operators disclosing to CDP — the world’s largest primary corporate environmental dataset — comes from renewable sources. This is up 13% since 2019, saving 16million tonnes of carbon emissions, and is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years.
Meanwhile, 81 mobile operators, accounting for almost half of all global mobile connections, have committed to science-based targets, while the GSMA Climate Action Taskforce now count 77 operators, covering 80% of all mobile connections worldwide. Europe (-56%), North America (-44%), and Latin America (-36%) account for the greatest reductions in emissions, with China recording its first fall in more than half a decade, as carbon output is thought to have fallen by 4% in 2024.
‘Our findings show the mobile industry isn’t greenwashing or greenwishing – it’s green acting. Emissions are trending in the right direction, but the pace of progress must now double,’ said Steven Moore, Head of Climate Action at the GSMA. ‘This is a global effort, and it’s encouraging to see momentum building across every region – from Latin America to Europe and especially to China.
‘But to sustain this progress, we need broader support: better access to renewables, more policy certainty, and stronger collaboration across the ecosystem,’ he continued. ‘Supply chain emissions, which make up most of our industry’s footprint, must also be addressed – and climate transition plans will play an increasingly important role in navigating what comes next.’
The GSMA report also identifies scope 3 emissions — those tied to a company’s supply chain – as a blindspot for many operators. At two-thirds of the industry’s total carbon footprint, this area urgently needs workable solutions in order to ensure current decarbonisation targets can be met.
Image: NSYS Group / Unsplash
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