13 European telecom CEOs became founding members of the European Green Digital Coalition, and pledged their companies would be climate neutral by 2040 at the latest to accelerate the European Commission’s climate ambitions.
The EGDC is an initiative of the European Commission and leading European ICT companies - Deutsche Telecom, Ericsson, Nokia, Orange, Vodafone, Telefónica, Telenor and Telia, among others - committing to enable the EU's green transition by harnessing digitalisation. Companies, in order to be part of the coalition, must have science-based targets to reduce their GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions by 2030 and become climate neutral or net zero emissions by 2040 at the latest.
The European telecoms sector has a long-standing commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, while promoting connectivity services and tools to reduce emissions across many sectors to benefit the environment and society. Mobile technologies help reduce emissions in other sectors by 10 times the amount produced by the telecoms industry, according to a GSMA study. In parallel, an ETNO report shows the sector has dramatically cut its own emissions and is rapidly increasing its use of renewable energy, with a 24% jump between 2018 and 2019 alone.
Telefónica's CEO, José María Álvarez-Pallete
It is an honour to be part of the European Green Digital Coalition to accelerate the EU's green and digital transformation and contribute to an innovative, sustainable and resilient recovery. This coalition unites us around one goal: to be part of the solution to climate change, a historic opportunity that we cannot afford to miss.
