The GSMA's 2024 Mobile Net Zero report spotlights regional leaders in cutting carbon emissions since 2019, led by a 50% reduction in Europe. Operator emissions have fallen despite surging demand for connectivity and data, thanks to progress on energy efficiency and renewables.
27 February, Barcelona: The carbon emissions of mobile network operators[1] fell by 6% globally between 2019-2022, according to the GSMA's fourth Mobile Net Zero report, published today at MWC Barcelona.
The report reveals regional variations in the reduction of operational emissions[2], with Europe leading the way with a 50% reduction. In North America, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, emissions fell by 20-30%. Although operational emissions rose in Greater China and the Asia-Pacific - the world's largest and second largest mobile markets respectively - global emissions overall decreased, despite growing data usage.
Achieving the mobile sector's target to reach net zero by 2050 relies on the industry cutting its emissions to 45% below 2020 levels by 2030. This means that overall emissions - including Scope 1, 2 and 3 - need to fall by around 7% per year up to 2030.
Recent progress shows that this is possible, as the target reduction rate has been exceeded over the past three years for operational emissions in Europe, North America, Latin America and MENA. 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.
Progress on energy efficiency and renewable energy
According to the analysis, operational emissions fell despite surging demand for data and connectivity - the number of mobile connections globally rose by 7% between 2019-2022, while internet traffic more than doubled. The industry's carbon reductions were largely driven by strong progress on energy efficiency and use of renewable energy.
Over half of the drop in emissions reported in 2022 was driven by improved energy efficiency efforts in networks, data centres 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 surface 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 operators purchased a combined 50 TWh of renewable electricity in 2022, equivalent to the annual electricity demand of Qatar or Singapore, almost doubling their purchases from 2019. Without these purchases, operational carbon emissions are estimated to have been 15 million tonnes higher in 2022.
Accelerating progress to net zero
Moving the entire industry to net zero emissions by 2050 will require strong and concerted action from the industry, backed by supportive policies and investment from governments. The report concludes by providing recommendations and key action points for operators, their suppliers, and policymakers to accelerate climate action progress.
For operators and suppliers, the biggest opportunities are in energy efficiency, renewable energy and improving the circularity of supply chains and materials in the ecosystem. Governments, meanwhile, can play a key enabling role across these areas if they implement strong climate policies and ensure that energy markets and regulations encourage investment in renewable energy and grids.
John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer at the GSMA, said: The evidence shows that the mobile industry's commitment to net zero by 2050 is paying off. Despite surging demand for connectivity and data, the global carbon emissions of operators continued to fall. Although we see the strongest early lead from Europe in the race to net zero, and encouraging progress in the Americas and MENA, this is a race that everybody needs to win - or else we all lose. We see what is possible where there is a focus on energy efficiency and access to renewables.
We call for deeper engagement from governments to support the mobile industry in accelerating decarbonisation, with a concerted focus on encouraging investment in renewable energy, as 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 have submitted new near-term science-based targets to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) over the past year, bringing the total to 70 operators - nearly half of mobile connections globally. In addition, 53 operators are committed to longer term net zero targets.
A growing number of operators are publicly disclosing their climate impacts, with 70 operators disclosing to the CDP in 2023, compared with 67 operators in 2022.
The quality of disclosures has also improved, with a record 19 operators on the CDP's A List in 2023. This means that over a quarter of operators disclosing to CDP received an A, compared with just 1.5% of all companies disclosing to CDP in 2023
Three quarters of the mobile industry's overall 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 critical 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, refurbish and recycling - as of January 2024, 15 operators have signed up to the new targets, representing a billion mobile connections.
-
Europe Stories
19/12/2025
With Playout Release 2025.4, ToolsOnAir continues to push professional playout w...
19/12/2025
19 Dec 2025
VEON's Mobilink Microfinance Bank Launches Islamic Banking Oper...
19/12/2025
The six-part drama, set in a close-knit Welsh town fractured by an unspeakable c...
19/12/2025
Rohde & Schwarz drives the future of mobility at CES 2026 At the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Rohde & Schwarz will present a powerful lineup o...
19/12/2025
RT is proud to return to the RDS to support the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist & T...
18/12/2025
Canada's largest indoor arena has transformed its live production capabilities with a full ST 2110 infrastructure and Calrec's compact Argo S console. S...
18/12/2025
Long-term agreement includes the SES SCORE platform and hybrid distribution worldwide to deliver more than 5,000 hours of golf tournaments annually featuring th...
18/12/2025
18 Dec 2025
VEON Upgraded to Nasdaq Global Select Market, Enhancing Investor Visibility Dubai, December 18, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital o...
18/12/2025
Thursday 18 December 2025
Sky Sports remains the exclusive home of the Masters ...
18/12/2025
Using the additive process of 3D printing, layer after layer gets printed until an object is as close to the final shape needed as possible. Historically, machi...
18/12/2025
In 2025, RT proudly supported 185 arts and cultural events across the island of Ireland, reflecting significant growth since the scheme was re-launched in 2014...
18/12/2025
RT Sports Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
18/12/2025
RT lyric fm presents a very special Winter Solstice edition of Ambient Orbit, l...
18/12/2025
At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RT , then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state's first public radio transmission. From those first c...
18/12/2025
December 18 2025, 05:30 (PST) The Movie Experience SLO Becomes First U.S. Exhib...
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Wuppertal December 17, 2025
Riedel Builds Global Communication and Commentary ...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
Friday 12 December 2025
Ted is back! Seth MacFarlane's live-action comedic ...
12/12/2025
Uachtar n na h ireann, Catherine Connolly visited RT Raidi na Gaeltachta's...
12/12/2025
Ireland AM host Eric Roberts has been revealed as the sixth contestant taking to...
11/12/2025
Thomson and the Center for News, Technology and Innovation (CNTI) convened a two-day workshop in Sarajevo bringing together more than 35 journalists, editors, p...
11/12/2025
Having the right song soundtrack your moves can make all the difference when gam...
11/12/2025
It's been a big year for Taylor Swift. Her highly anticipated album The Life...
11/12/2025
11 Dec 2025
VEON's Banglalink Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch Digita...
11/12/2025
Thursday 11 December 2025
Sky Arts paints a picture of Britain's beauty as ...
11/12/2025
It's not every day we're asked to create a website for a classical musician!
So, we were delighted to help pianist Georgina Duncan as she embarks on he...
11/12/2025
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Irish golfing hero Shane Lowry...
11/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier ti...
The GSMA's 2024 Mobile Net Zero report spotlights regional leaders in cutting carbon emissions since 2019, led by a 50% reduction in Europe. Operator emissions have fallen despite surging demand for connectivity and data, thanks to progress on energy efficiency and renewables.
