The firm said it revised the deadline after “practically” achieving its 2025 target to reduce global CO2 emissions by 50%, six years early in 2019. The new Race to Zero target will apply to Spain, Germany, the UK and Brazil, with a deadline of “2030 at the latest”.
The announcement, made by COO Ángel Vilá on World Environment Day, is available to view via Telefónica’s YouTube channel.
While the target has been on the cards for some time, Telefónica said Covid-19 had provided added impetus to “accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, greener, more prosperous and healthier economy”.
Vilá said: “Thinking about the day after, we have the opportunity to build a new present and a better future, a more sustainable one.”
Demonstrating how digitalisation can decarbonise the economy, last year Telefónica avoided 3.2 million tonnes of CO2 worldwide due to customers adopting digital services.
In terms of netput, for every tonne emitted a total of 3.3 tonnes was saved. The objective for 2025 is to avoid 10 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne emitted.
“Telefónica wants to support the Race to Zero campaign to accelerate the opportunity to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible,” Vilá said.
“Digitalisation is essential to decarbonise the economy and is part of the solution. The digital solutions we offer our customers, as well as the greater efficiency of our networks, are helping to reduce emissions,” he added.
