Greenpeace will hold talks with telecom operators to disclose their annual carbon emissions following the finding of a report which has revealed an aggressive exploitation of diesel by the telecom sector.
“We will urge them to make a shift towards clean source of energy by powering 50 percent of their mobile towers through renewable energy by 2015,” said Abhishek Pratap, Senior Campaigner, Climate and Energy, Greenpeace India.
A report finding “Dirty Talking-Case for telecom to shift from diesel to renewable” released by Greenpeace on Wednesday has revealed exploitation of diesel by the telecom sector, resulting in an annual loss of around 2,600 crore to the government.
According to the report, the telecom sector emitted over 5.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2008 as a result of diesel use. Emissions have since risen and are likely to increase further. The telecom sector consumed about 2 billion litres of diesel in 2008 for running mobile towers, an amount that has grown to 3 billion in 2011.
The overall emission of Telecom Network Towers (Diesel Consumption and Grid connected electricity in combination) was around 13.6 m tonnes.
The report also shows how the sector can become a transformative force by adopting renewable energy for their business operations and advocating climate and energy solutions.
“With growth, the sector’s appetite for energy will increase, making it a significant source of GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions unless the industry adopts and advocates renewable energy use and backs laws to cut global warming,” said Mrinmoy Chattoraj, Climate and Energy campaigner, Greenpeace India and co-author of the report.
Pratap also commented on the other aspect of telecom operators’ shift towards renewable energy.
“For telecom operators, the business case for a significant switch to renewable energy is a robust one,” said Pratap.
“Quite clearly the question for the Indian telecom industry to respond to is - are they willing to shift in the interest of environment and indeed their long-term business prospects?” he said.
