GSMA boasts of climate change progress

The GSMA has announced 50 telcos around the world have signed-up to an initiative to drive greater transparency through the industry with regard to its contribution to climate change.

Representing more than 66%, 5.2 billion, of the worlds’ mobile connections, the 50 telcos will disclose their climate impacts, energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The initiative will also include the development of an industry-wide plan to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement.

“Today’s announcement marks the start of a collaborative action by the mobile industry to tackle the climate emergency, demonstrating how the private sector can show leadership and responsibility in addressing one of the gravest challenges facing our planet,” said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA.

“The mobile industry will form the backbone of the future economy and therefore has a unique opportunity to drive change across multiple sectors and in collaboration with our suppliers, investors and customers.”

Although the lobby group is giving itself a proud pat on the back, what is worth noting is that numerous other industries have already made prominent steps forward to addressing climate change. Airlines, for instance, have included a tick-box during the purchasing procedure which allows consumers to make a charitable donation to offset the carbon emissions attributed to their seat on the plane. It’s a step-forward of course, but the telco industry is not the quickest off the mark.

Using the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) framework, the industry will attempt to aid climate change enthusiasts limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Although the deadline date for the Paris Agreement is 2050, there is likely to be a huge amount of regional variance. The ability for companies to meet the deadline will be impacted by the ability to access renewable energy, current network deployments and the geographical nature of their location.

While it might not sound like much, limiting the increase in average temperatures by 2050 to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels instead of 2°C could have a significant impact. 11 million fewer people might be exposed to extreme heat, 61 million fewer people exposed to drought, and 10 million fewer people exposed to the impacts of sea level rise. The SBTi is also claiming this 0.5°C could also halve the number of vertebrate and plant species facing severe range loss by the end of the century.

This is certainly a positive step-forward, and while we suspect many will only be agreeing to the initiative as a PR push rather than a genuine belief in the perseverance of the environment over profits, does it actually matter? If the end goal is achieved, does anyone really care what the drivers of the players were?