The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about three to four years of digital change in only a few months, although in some cases the move to digital products and channels has been accelerated by up to seven years, according to McKinsey. In addition, by 2022, global networks are expected to support 26 billion devices and connections, an increase of 10 billion from 2015.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about three to four years of digital change in only a few months, although in some cases the move to digital products and channels has been accelerated by up to seven years, according to McKinsey. In addition, by 2022, global networks are expected to support 26 billion devices and connections, an increase of 10 billion from 2015. 

 

Importantly, increasing number of devices will lead to increased use of energy, which in turn will cause higher carbon emissions that scientists believe are the driving force behind climate change. Canadian researchers estimate that by 2022, information and communications technology (ICT) will account for 3.5% of annual global carbon emissions, a larger share than the aviation and shipping industries will account for, and by 2040, 14% of worldwide emissions will be from ICT. As a result, new technologies brought into the global economy by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, (4IR) must be mindful of their wider energy impact.

 

One of the most exciting developments of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is 5G, the newest generation of wireless technology. It is a platform enabling technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and Extended Reality (XR), and is able to deliver huge data at incredible speed with very low latency. However, more devices transmitting large amounts of data require far more power. According to communications technology company Huawei: “5G will be much more powerful than 4G in terms of processing power and bandwidth and has the potential to cover the whole Earth’s population. All of that will increase energy consumption.”

 

Underscoring this point, a recent report by the High Council on Climate found that 5G technology could add between 2.7 to 6.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year by 2030, mainly due to manufacturing new devices for 5G and energy requirements for data centre and exchange equipment. Therefore, while 5G holds the potential to support new experiences in every aspect of the economy and our day to day lives, it is essential that these benefits can be delivered without any detrimental impact on the environment.

 

However, while 5G may cause a higher demand on energy, it could also become an important enabler of climate change solutions. Indeed, research is emerging that cites 5G and digital technology as the most powerful, scalable tool we have to tackle climate change. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) SMART 2020 report, the scale of 5G’s enabling effect across all ICT, could be equivalent to 15% of all global emissions by the end of 2020.

 

The basis of these potential gains is that 5G is a natively greener technology than its predecessor 4G. A study by Nokia and Telefónica found that 5G networks are up to 90% more energy efficient per traffic unit than legacy 4G networks. Consequently, a report from Telefonica’s O2 found that if 5G-enabled efficiency solutions are applied to areas of the UK economy such as manufacturing, transport and healthcare, it could save up to 269 megatonnes of CO2 by 2035.

 

SO how can 5G expedite climate change solution? Together with Virtualisation, Edge Computing, AI-enabled Analytics and Cloud, 5G can help industries to implement energy efficient processes that support the most efficient and flexible allocation of resources in many ways, including:

·         Green electricity generation: increasing the proportion of electricity generated from renewable energy sources;

·         The transition to electricity away from energy that is directly delivered through combustion of fossil fuels towards;

·         Energy efficient consumption: reducing the amount of energy required to achieve the same outcomes – either by not consuming energy when it is not needed or doing so more efficiently. For example, 5G will allow telecoms to reduce power consumption during periods of lower network traffic—like late at night, when most customers are sleeping instead of using their mobile devices.

 

To look at how 5G and 4IR technologies can work together to reduce energy consumption in the digital age, data centres - one of the biggest energy consumers in the 4IR world - provide a good case study. Much of the power used by data centres goes to keeping equipment cool enough to function properly. Data analysis and AI can help reduce this usage by deploying an algorithm that learns how best to adjust fans, vents, and other cooling equipment to cut power consumption, countering the increased need for energy 5G connectivity demands due to a larger number of devices connected to it. For instance, one major American tech company has put this system in place and reduced its data centre cooling costs by 40%, whilst a leading Chinese telecom claims it was able to reduce power consumption at its data centres by roughly 30% during recent AI trials. Further, in Hangzhou, China, Huawei and a major Chinese telecom provider have deployed new 5G base stations that require fewer heat-generating electronic components and use sophisticated power management software and trade air-conditioning for open-air cooling.

 

An important element in ensuring 5G contributes to, rather than detracts from the battle to reduce emissions, is building it into policy. This means governments removing barriers to 5G deployment by implementing actions such as fast-tracking permits, lowering site costs and setting fees that cover only administrative costs. It also requires fit-for-purpose regulations to be drafted, for example, by answering the calls for international standards for 5G to include reduced energy use compared to today’s 4G networks.

 

Ultimately, 5G’s potential to change the world could be focused upon the battle against climate change by enabling users to act responsibly. Environmentalists and policy think tanks alike believe that smart, wirelessly-connected appliances, factories, cities, and transportation grids will be able to optimise and reduce power consumption, just like networks and data centres. This would result in lower costs and a meaningful contribution to global efforts to mitigate climate change. As per Huawei: “The thing about 5G is that we will have much more capacity to incorporate sensors into daily life, from industry to our own homes, and that will allow us to modulate our energy use in so many places we’ve overlooked just because we didn’t have the communications tools to make equipment truly smart. With 5G, our society as a whole can become much more energy efficient.”