Matthew Henry Unsplash
AT&T and Verizon: Hang Up on Fossil Fuels
We rely on AT&T and Verizon to bring people together, to share ideas and news. We shouldn't have to compromise the planet to stay connected and informed.
Tell AT&T and Verizon to shift their networks from fossil fuels to 100% renewable energy by 2025!
AT&T and Verizon collectively use millions of megawatts of power. It would take over 11 million acres of forest to sequester their annual carbon emissions.
Thanks to consumer pressure, since our campaign launched, AT&T has agreed to purchase 820 MW of power from four wind farms in Oklahoma and Texas, equaling around 30% of its total energy use. A major step forward, but it still has not committed to 100%. Verizon uses less than 2% renewable energy to power its massive servers and networks. It hasn't made a significant commitment to increase this and continues to heavily use fossil fuels.
The impact of telecoms
AT&T is a company with $163 billion in sales serving 150 million wireless subscribers in the US and Mexico. In 2015 the company used 14.8 million MWh, with only 1.26% from renewable energy, mostly fuel cells (natural gas) with a small amount from solar. Its reliance on fossil fuels to power its network is at odds with its climate change policy, which affirms the existence global warming and that greenhouse gases contribute to it.Â
Verizon has annual revenues of $126 billion per year with about 146 million subscribers, and uses over 10 million MW of power per year. Since 2011 Verizon has increased total emissions from 5.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) to about 6 million. It has no targets for reducing total emissions and has a troubling lack of transparency on energy usage, but we do know that Verizon gets less than 2% of its energy from renewable sources.Â
According to the EPA’s Green House Gas Equivalency Calculator, the two companies’ combined electricity usage is enough to power 2.6 million homes. The combined emissions from operations is equal to nearly 4 million cars on the road for one year.
AT&T and Verizon both rely heavily on "energy intensity" as the sole metric for addressing the impacts of their energy use. Their focus on energy has been in improving the efficiency of their buildings and networks, which lowers the amount of energy required through improving processes. The problem with solely using this metric to improve sustainability is that it disguises the actual total energy being used by these companies. Their total electricity usage is growing and is the primary source of their carbon emissions. Â
To address climate change, we need to be moving away from fossil fuels, and companies like AT&T and Verizon that state they are environmentally conscious should be leading the effort towards a fossil free future. While forward-thinking tech companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google have committed to running on 100% renewables and are investing in facilities powered by renewable energy, AT&T and Verizon continue source the majority of their energy from dirty energy sources.
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Campaign Goals
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AT&T and Verizon need to adopt a goal of 100% clean energy by 2025, along with overall carbon emission reduction goals and a timeline to get there.
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Both companies need to rapidly increase their use of solar and wind, and decrease dirty energy, including coal and natural gas.
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Both companies need to set clear climate emissions reductions goals that lead to a rapid decrease in emissions in the next decade.
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Sign our Hang Up on Fossil Fuels petition and then take action on social media!Â
Assessing energy use and environmental impacts of the telecommunications industry
By Ayate Temsamani, Green America's Climate Fellow
Here are some answers to common questions about this campaign.
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Victory
Sprint announced its first major commitment to clean energy with a virtual power purchasing agreement with Duke Renewables for a 182 MW wind farm. The deal will result in Sprint using 30% renewable energy.
In Green America's Clean Energy Calling…
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While forward-thinking tech companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google have committed to running on 100% renewables and are investing in facilities powered by renewable energy, AT&T and Verizon continue source the majority of their energy from dirty energy sources.
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September 26, 2019
December 11, 2018
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Deadline extended through March 31st.
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