This
article quantifies the global carbon footprint of mobile communication systems,
and discusses its ecological and economic implications. READ THE ATTACHED
PRESENTATION.
READ THE ATTACHED PRESENTATION
The
increasing demand for wireless services and ubiquitous access, however, comes
to the mobile communications industry at the price of a sizable carbon footprint.
The whole information and communication technology (ICT) sector has been
estimated to represent about 2 percent of global CO2 emissions, a fraction
comparable to that of global aviation, and about 1.5 percent of global CO2
equivalent (CO2e) emissions in 2007. This study estimates the corresponding figure
for mobile networks to be 0.2 and 0.4 percent of the global CO2e emissions in
2007 based on projections from analysts Gartner and ABI Research. Estimates of
characteristic figures for the period 2015 to 2020 are based on modeling and extrapolation
of current trends conducted as part of the EARTH project.
READ THE ATTACHED PRESENTATION
