Achieving the mobile sector's goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 depends on the industry reducing its emissions to 45% below 2020 levels by 2030. This means that total emissions, including Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, must decrease by around 7% per year until 2030.
Recent progress shows this is possible, as the target reduction rate has been exceeded in the last three years for operational emissions in Europe, North America, Latin America, and the MENA region. The report notes that improved data and further analysis are needed to better understand 'Scope 3' trends, which relate to emissions from operators' supply chains.
Advances in Energy Efficiency and Renewables:
According to the analysis, operational emissions decreased despite the growing demand for data and connectivity: the number of mobile connections worldwide increased by 7% between 2019 and 2022, while internet traffic more than doubled. The industry's carbon reductions were largely driven by significant advances in energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.
More than half of the emissions decline reported in 2022 was due to improved energy efficiency efforts in networks, data centers, and offices, as well as the electrification of fleets and generators. GSMA Intelligence's Energy Efficiency Benchmarking Project, in collaboration with 17 operator groups worldwide, aims to generate more data in this crucial area, quantifying network energy consumption, efficiency levels, and fuel sources.
Meanwhile, renewable energy accounted for 33% of the electricity purchased by operators reporting to CDP in 2022, up from 14% in 2019. The report showed that operators purchased a combined total of 50 TWh of renewable electricity in 2022, equivalent to the annual electricity demand of Qatar or Singapore, nearly doubling their purchases compared to 2019. Without these purchases, operational carbon emissions are estimated to have been 15 million tonnes higher in 2022.
Accelerating progress towards net-zero emissions:
Achieving net-zero emissions across the entire industry by 2050 will require strong and concerted action from industry, supported by supportive policies and investments from governments. The report concludes by providing key recommendations and action points for operators, their suppliers, and policymakers to accelerate progress on climate action.
For operators and suppliers, the greatest opportunities lie in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and improving the circularity of supply chains and materials within the ecosystem. Meanwhile, governments can play a key enabling role in these areas by implementing robust climate policies and ensuring that energy markets and regulations encourage investment in renewable energy and grids.
John Giusti, Director of Regulation at GSMA, said: “The evidence shows that the mobile industry’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 is paying off. Despite the growing demand for connectivity and data, operators’ global carbon emissions continued to fall. While we see Europe with the strongest initial lead in the race to net zero and encouraging progress in the Americas and MENA, this is a race that everyone must win, or we will all lose. We see what is possible when there is a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and access to renewable energy.
We call for a deeper commitment from governments to support the mobile industry in accelerating decarbonization, with a concerted focus on encouraging investment in renewable energy, as a lack of access to renewables in some regions creates a barrier for operators to continue their journey to net zero.”
Other key findings:
Eight operators submitted new short-term science targets to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) last year, bringing the total to 70 operators, representing almost half of all mobile connections globally. In addition, 53 operators have committed to achieving longer-term net-zero targets.
A growing number of operators are publicly disclosing their climate impacts: 70 operators did so to the CDP in 2023, compared to 67 operators in 2022.
The quality of the disclosures has also improved, with a record 19 operators on the CDP A List in 2023. This means that more than a quarter of the operators who disclosed information to the CDP received an A rating, compared to just 1.5% of all companies that disclosed information to the CDP in 2023.
Three-quarters of the mobile industry’s total carbon emissions are Scope 3 value chain emissions, 90% of which originate from just five categories: purchased goods and services; capital goods; fuel and energy-related activities; use of sold products; and investments.
Increasing the circularity of mobile phones and network equipment is crucial to reducing these Scope 3 emissions. To this end, the GSMA announced two new circularity targets in June 2023 to reduce the environmental impact of mobile phones by boosting their circularity through reuse, refurbishment, and recycling. As of January 2024, 15 operators had committed to the new targets, representing one billion mobile connections.
Grades:
1. The analysis is based on climate and energy-related data disclosed by operators covering more than 80% of mobile connections worldwide.
2. Operational emissions refer to market-based Scope 1 and 2 emissions and exclude Scope 3 value chain emissions. For an explanation of emission scopes, see the GSMA Climate Action Handbook
