5G could cut UK carbon emissions by 269 megatonnes by 2035

There are many bold predictions about 5G being thrown around right now in the UK, many of which are related to the potential economic boost the next-generation technology could deliver. This hardly surprising given the way the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the countries economy, with the government today officially announcing the first national recession in 11 years. 

 

Much of this economic boost will be delivered through 5G’s impact in making industries more efficient, with automation, machine learning, AI, and the IoT all playing their part in unlocking economic potential. But these same efficiencies also convey an additional, often overlooked, benefit: carbon emissions reduction.

 

Today, a new report by O2 shows that the various impacts of 5G across many facets of our lives could equate to a reduction of 269 megatonnes of CO₂ emissions by 2035. This would be no small feat – the report notes that the UK’s entire CO₂ emissions in 2018 were only slightly higher than this figure at 280 megatonnes. 

 

The automation of manufacturing will play a big part in this green revolution, with the effective use of 5G and its associated technologies in industry set to contribute to around 40 megatonnes of this overall estimated reduction. 

 

“In a modern factory, there is a hugely intensive usage of data and data communication between the production line and between the technicians who are actually monitoring the production line – so 5G can empower a seamless communication between machine to machine, and machine to person,” commented Eman Martin-Vignerte, director at Bosch. 

 

Other contributions to the lowering of carbon emissions include the impact of 5G on utilities and home energy, as well as on facilitating remote operations like telemedicine and remote learning. 

 

However, by far the biggest reduction appears to be from the ways in which 5G will contribute to remote working, presumably thus remaining off the road. The report shows that 85–89% of the total reductions available will be delivered through 5G facilitating home working.

 

This is, of course, excellent news for the environment, but to attribute this entirely to 5G seems a little optimistic. Home working is something most of us will have experienced in recent months, primarily via existing 4G and fixed line infrastructure. 5G will certainly have an impact in improving these conditions, via the evolution of things like virtual meetings, but to attribute the emissions reductions of home working entirely to 5G may be a stretch. That said, it should be noted that the report itself does admit this to some extent, saying that these existing technologies will “facilitate these savings”.

 

Overhyped or not, 5G can certainly have a positive impact for the economy in numerous ways and policymakers, as well as the operators themselves, should be encouraged to explore these options to ensure that our connected future is also a greener one.

 

“If we invest now, there is a real opportunity for Britain to become a leading adopter of 5G and unleash the power of connected solutions to build a greener future for generations to come,” said O2 CEO Mark Evans.