Mobile Net Zero 2024
State of the Industry on Climate Action
7. Enabling climate action
Digital technologies and services can help reduce emissions from all sectors and make our systems and infrastructure more climate resilient.
Enabling emission reductions
Digital technologies, including mobile connectivity, are key enablers of climate action. Several reports, including the GSMA’s Enablement Effect 2019 and 2021, have shown how smart and connected technologies can help reduce emissions across the economy, including in services, transportation, manufacturing, and energy.
One of the biggest enablement opportunities lies in electricity systems, which account for nearly a third of global GHG emissions. Smart energy systems are becoming a reality with record sales of electric vehicles (EV), widespread smart meter adoption, and variable tariffs becoming more common. Smart EV charging and vehicle-to-grid were highlighted as one of five key opportunities in the GSMA report on Smart Energy Systems.
European Green Digital Coalition
At the EU level, there has been growing interest in understanding the relationships between the green and digital transitions, particularly how digital can accelerate climate action and help deliver the goals of the European Green Deal.
European network operators were founding members of the European Green Digital Coalition (EGDC), which aims to harness the enabling emission-reducing potential of digital solutions to all other sectors.
