Álvarez-Pallete (Telefónica) affirms in Davos that "without digitization there is no green transition"

MADRID, 24 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete, has claimed the crucial role of the telecommunications sector during his speech at the Davos Economic Forum, assuring that "green and digital transitions go hand in hand" and that, therefore, "without digitization there is no green transition".

Álvarez-Pallete has continued emphasizing that the telecommunications sector has the power to transform other industries so that they advance in energy efficiency, for which reason it has "always" been part of the solution. Thus, he has stated that the 'telco' industry has the potential to help other sectors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions tenfold.

Precisely because of this contribution, he pointed out that it is also "essential" that telecommunications infrastructures be recognized as sustainable investments by all interest groups and are adequately represented in the European taxonomy of sustainable activities.

To progress in this process, Álvarez-Pallete has called for "strong political and regulatory mechanisms to continue developing decarbonization plans based on digitization" because he has argued that it is a "collective responsibility" to extend the benefits of digitization to all sectors and, in particular, to SMEs, in order to accelerate the multiplier effect of technology to decarbonise the economy.

The president of Telefónica has also defended that "intelligent infrastructures are the backbone of the green transition, a factor of change to achieve a net-zero emissions economy", since digital technologies and services have the capacity to reduce global emissions between 15% and 35% by 2030.

"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, forming part of the 'A List' of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for eight years", he highlighted.