“Green and digital transitions go hand in hand” and therefore “without digitization there is no green transition”. This was the main message launched today by the president of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete, during his speech at the Davos Economic Forum, where he participated this Tuesday in a panel entitled ‘Unlocking digital innovation to achieve net emissions zero’. In this sense, Álvarez-Pallete claimed the crucial role played by the telecommunications sector, since it has the power to transform other industries so that they advance in energy efficiency.
“We have always been part of the solution,” he said, relying on the fact that the telecom industry has the potential to help other sectors reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 times.
Precisely because of this contribution, it is also essential that telecommunications infrastructures are recognized as sustainable investments by all stakeholders and are adequately represented in the European taxonomy of sustainable activities.
To progress in the sustainable financing process already undertaken by Telefónica, Álvarez-Pallete called for “strong political and regulatory mechanisms to continue developing decarbonization plans based on digitization.” “It is our collective responsibility to extend the benefits of digitization to all sectors and, in particular, to SMEs to accelerate the multiplier effect of technology to decarbonise the economy. If we do it right, it will bring important benefits to society », he argued. “There is no energy transition without digitization”, she has reinforced.
The president of Telefónica also pointed out that “intelligent infrastructures are the backbone of the green transition, a factor of change to achieve a net-zero emissions economy”. Precisely, he indicated that digital technologies and services have the capacity to reduce global emissions between 15% and 35% by 2030.
Along with the milestones achieved in sustainable financing, Álvarez-Pallete also highlighted that sustainability is an essential part of the company’s strategy and business: “We are pioneers in addressing the energy and digital transition. Sustainability is at the heart of who we are and what we do.”
«At Telefónica we are leading by example. We have a long history of decarbonizing our own operations and our value chain and developing smart technologies. We position ourselves as one of the leading companies in sustainability and as a benchmark in environmental management, being part of CDP’s ‘A List’ for eight years”, he argued.
In this regard, the company recalled in a note that Telefónica will reach net zero emissions in its main markets in 2025 and in all the countries in which it is present in 2040, as well as in its value chain. For now, only in 2021 it has already been able to reduce its own emissions by 70%.
