Greater access to renewable energy, particularly in emerging markets, will be ‘essential’ if the mobile industry is to remain on track to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, the GSMA has said.
The advocacy and lobbying organisation for the mobile communications industry said in its Mobile Net Zero 2026: State of the Industry on Climate Action report that while network operators around the world are ‘making significant progress’ in reducing emissions, access to clean energy is still lagging.
Emissions data
The report analysed energy use and emissions data from more than 110 mobile network operators, which together represent around 85% of global mobile connections. As it found, mobile operators reduced their operational emissions by 5% in 2024, contributing to an overall reduction of 13% between 2019 and 2024.
This was despite mobile connections increasing by 10% and data traffic more than quadrupling over the same period.
Access to renewable energy remains the largest contributor to emissions reductions across the sector, the study found, with operators purchasing or generating around 70 TWh of renewable electricity in 2024, equivalent to the total renewable electricity generation of Indonesia.
In addition, the share of operator electricity sourced from renewables (in addition to renewables already in the grid mix) has more than doubled since 2019, from 10% to 24%.
‘Hand in hand’
“The mobile industry continues to demonstrate that economic growth, digital connectivity and climate action can go hand in hand. Operators are connecting more people, carrying more data and supporting digital economies around the world while still reducing emissions,” commented John Giusti, chief regulatory officer at the GSMA.
“The progress we are seeing is encouraging, but more needs to be done. Access to renewable energy remains one of the biggest factors determining how quickly operators can decarbonise. Policymakers have a vital role in creating the conditions that enable investment in clean energy infrastructure and accelerate the transition to net zero.” Read more here.
