The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP27, kicked off last weekend until 18th November 2022 hosted this year by Egypt. As part of this event, international world leaders have gathered to build on the outcomes of COP26 and discuss future strategies to combat the climate emergency.  

Reports have shown that the UK is amongst the leading countries making change, with London ranked first on the global green finance index (an initiative that evaluates the green finance offerings of 80 major financial centres around the world). However, more needs to be done to meet the Government’s net zero targets and 5G mobile technology is integral to achieving this.

In this blog we highlight key industries that mobile connectivity will support in reducing their environmental footprints.  

Agriculture

Greenhouse gases from agriculture accounted for a staggering 10% of all UK emissions. Experts estimate that emissions from agriculture will have to drop by 36% every year for the UK to reach net zero. 5G-enabled technology is a cornerstone of low carbon farming practices. A 2020 trial in Ireland applied sensors to monitor light, temperature, and moisture while digital tags on animals monitored their health preventing spread of diseases. Participating farms saved an average of 5,600 euros and greenhouse gas emissions dropped by 9%.

Manufacturing

Digital technology is transforming the manufacturing industry, this is often referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or “Industry 4.0”. This explains the deployment of modern smart technologies to bring large-scale automation to traditional manufacturing processes. 5G will play an integral role in this revolution and these smart advancements are expected to bring huge efficiency savings to the industry, and with that, an opportunity for substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Energy

The Energy sector has the most challenging transition. Contributing towards 15% of all UK’s emissions, our future energy system needs to decarbonise while at the same time support a wide variety of low carbon technologies. 5G will be at the heart of managing future energy system effectively and efficiently. Additional research has found that 5G connectivity could facilitate the saving of over 250 million tonnes in CO2 emissions in 2030 through accelerating the move to wind and solar energy. Based on extensive industry interviews and detailed modelling, this research estimates that 5G-enabled use cases could reduce carbon emissions in the energy industry by almost 1% by 2030.  

Transport

The biggest contributing factor to UK’s climate impact is transport at 22% of all emissions. 5G connectivity enables more efficient surface transport through streamlined flow of traffic and reduced fuel consumption through meters. This will reduce emissions from transport by up to 9.3 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide. Improved digital connectivity means that people will be able to work from home offering more flexible work patterns and reduced carbon emissions from changing commuting patterns.  

Our Climate Change and Connectivity report dives deeper into how we can help our planet through facilitating stronger mobile connectivity. Take a read of the full report here: https://www.mobileuk.org/connectivity-and-climate-change

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