{"id":356218,"date":"2025-06-27T18:12:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T12:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/?p=356218"},"modified":"2025-06-27T18:12:56","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T12:42:56","slug":"mobile-industry-emissions-down-8-but-pace-must-double-to-hit-net-zero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/mobile-industry-emissions-down-8-but-pace-must-double-to-hit-net-zero\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile Industry Emissions Down 8%, But Pace Must Double to Hit Net Zero"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>GSMA\u2019s Mobile Net Zero report shows momentum is building, though mobile operators must accelerate efforts to halve industry emissions by 2030 to keep net zero by 2050 on track<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The mobile industry\u2019s operational emissions fell by 8% between 2019 and 2023, even as mobile connections grew by 9% and data traffic quadrupled, according to the GSMA\u2019s fifth annual Mobile Net Zero report released recently.<\/p>\n<p>The findings show the mobile industry has successfully started to decouple emissions from data and connectivity growth \u2013 a stark contrast to global emissions, which have increased 4% since 2019. However, to continue progress and reach net zero by 2050, emissions must fall by 7.5% annually until 2030 \u2013 more than twice the average annual rate achieved to date.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Key findings from the report include:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Preliminary 2024 data suggests a further 4.5% drop in emissions \u2013 an acceleration on previous years, but still short of the 7.5% annual reduction needed to 2030.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>37% of electricity used by operators disclosing to CDP came from renewables in 2023, up from 13% in 2019 \u2013 avoiding 16 million tonnes of emissions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>81 mobile operators (covering nearly half of global connections) have set or committed to science-based targets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>The GSMA Climate Action Taskforce now includes 77 operators, covering 80% of mobile connections worldwide.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Europe (-56%), North America (-44%), and Latin America (-36%) lead the way in operational emissions reductions between 2019 and 2023.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>New analysis\u00a0of China shows operational emissions likely fell by 4% in 2024 \u2013 the first decline after a 7% rise between 2019\u20132023 \u2013 alongside a more than quadrupling of renewable energy use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Global, collaborative climate action gathers pace<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The acceleration in decarbonisation is driven by operator actions to improve network energy efficiency and transition to clean energy, including solar and battery storage. Many operators are phasing out less efficient legacy networks and reducing their reliance on diesel generators. Some markets are seeing better renewable electricity access through policy support and market reform, but the GSMA warns that the accelerated reductions needed by 2030 will require greater access across more markets.<\/p>\n<p>Regional momentum is building globally, with Europe and the Americas leading emissions reductions, while Asia and Africa show increasing engagement. China, representing the world\u2019s largest mobile market with more than one billion 5G connections, shows promising progress in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>New analysis published today\u00a0to frame discussions at\u00a0MWC25 Shanghai\u00a0indicates China\u2019s operational emissions declined for the first time in 2024, with preliminary data showing a 4% reduction year-on-year driven by a more than quadrupling in renewable energy use by operators. As the industry\u2019s largest single market, China\u2019s progress is instrumental in achieving global net zero targets.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Steven Moore, Head of Climate Action at the GSMA\u00a0<\/strong>comments:\u00a0<em>\u201cOur findings show the mobile industry isn\u2019t greenwashing or greenwishing \u2013 it\u2019s green acting. Emissions are trending in the right direction, but the pace of progress must now double.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThis is a global effort, and it\u2019s encouraging to see momentum building across every region \u2013 from Latin America to Europe and especially to China.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>But to sustain this progress, we need broader support: better access to renewables, more policy certainty, and stronger collaboration across the ecosystem. Supply chain emissions, which make up most of our industry\u2019s footprint, must also be addressed \u2013 and climate transition plans will play an increasingly important role in navigating what comes next.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Focus on Scope 3 and circularity sharpens<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The report emphasises that Scope 3 emissions \u2013 mostly from supply chains and manufacturing \u2013 account for more than two-thirds of the industry\u2019s total carbon footprint and require attention. While transparency is improving, Scope 3 emissions remain a blind spot compared with operational emissions (Scopes 1 and 2), making them a critical challenge for operators with science-based targets, which require reductions across full value chain emissions.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the report points to growing momentum around circular economy initiatives. Consumer appetite for sustainable devices is rising, with around 90% of users surveyed by GSMA saying they value longevity and repairability, and nearly half considering refurbished for their next phone purchase. Buying refurbished instead of new can save consumers money and reduce environmental impacts from manufacturing, with refurbished phones generating 80-90% fewer emissions than new ones. While new device sales have slowed in recent years, the second-hand device market is growing rapidly, and projected to be worth $150 billion by 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Many leading operators are now developing climate transition plans to assess climate risks and map out credible, long-term strategies toward net zero. These plans are expected to become a key focus of the GSMA\u2019s Climate Action Programme over the coming year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GSMA\u2019s Mobile Net Zero report shows momentum is building, though mobile operators must accelerate efforts to halve industry emissions by 2030 to keep net zero by 2050 on track\u00a0 The mobile industry\u2019s operational emissions fell by 8% between 2019 and 2023, even as mobile connections grew by 9% and data traffic quadrupled, according to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14090],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-356218","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-latest-mobile-news-and-updates"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=356218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356218\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=356218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=356218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.technologyforyou.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=356218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}