While the mobile industry’s operational emissions are steadily declining, mobile operators must accelerate efforts to halve industry emissions by 2030 to remain on track towards net zero by 2050.

According to GSMA’s fifth yearly Mobile Net Zero report, the industry’s operational emissions fell by 8% between 2019 and 2023, despite mobile connections growing by 9% and data traffic quadrupling.

“Our findings show the mobile industry is not green washing or green wishing – it is green acting,” says GSMA climate action head Steven Moore, highlighting that the industry has successfully started to decouple emissions from data and connectivity growth. This stands in contrast to global emissions, which have increased 4% since 2019.

The acceleration is driven by mobile operators’ actions to improve network energy efficiency, phase out less efficient legacy networks and transition to clean energy technologies such as solar and battery storage, while reducing reliance on diesel generators.

“Some markets are seeing better renewable electricity access through policy support and market reform,” the report notes.

Regional momentum is building globally, with Europe (-56%), North America (-44%) and Latin America (-36%) leading operational emissions reductions between 2019 and 2023, while Asia and Africa are showing increasing engagement.

China, the world’s largest mobile market, with more than one-billion 5G connections, is showing promising progress, with operational emissions declining for the first time in 2024. Preliminary data shows a 4% year-on-year reduction, driven by a more than fourfold increase in renewable energy use by operators.

As the industry’s largest single market, China’s progress is instrumental in achieving global net-zero targets.

“This is a global effort, and it is encouraging to see momentum building across every region from Latin America and Europe to China,” says Moore, warning, however, that while emissions are trending in the right direction, the pace of progress must now double.

To continue progress and reach net zero by 2050, emissions must fall by 7.5% each year until 2030.

To sustain progress, there is a need for broader support, including better access to renewables, more policy certainty and stronger collaboration across the ecosystem, the report states.

“Supply chain emissions, which make up most of our industry’s footprint, must also be addressed and climate transition plans will play an increasingly important role in navigating what comes next.”

The report emphasises that Scope 3 emissions, mostly from supply chains and manufacturing, account for more than two-thirds of the industry’s total carbon footprint and require attention.