The Indian telecom industry is well placed to lead the nation towards a prosperous low-carbon economic model. Greenpeace challenges the telecom industry to decouple its staggering growth from continued reliance on fossil fuels, dirty diesel in particular, and adopt clean renewable energy as dominant part of energy sourcing. The sector needs to advocate for a business model which relies on energy efficiency measures that harnesses clean energy sources for its operations. At the same time, the sector should also support legislation to stop the climate crisis.

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The telecom sector and mobile telephony in particular has caught the imagination of India by revolutionising the way we communicate and share information. Through its staggering growth, the sector has helped millions to stay connected. This growth, however, has and continues to be at the cost of the climate, powered by an unsustainable and inefficient model of energy generation and usage. Simultaneously, this growth has also resulted in a significant loss to the State exchequer, raising fundamental questions on the future business and operation model of the telecom sector.

Today, Greenpeace released a report called, ‘Dirty Talking? A case for telecom to shift from diesel to renewable’. This report shows how the sector can easily switch to a clean & efficient renewable energy system. This switch will help in combating climate crisis and reducing the energy cost of the sector by 2015. A win for the planet, is a win for the industry.

Read our briefing paper or head over to our new report. Let's switch off diesel.

Electricity Generating Source	2011	2020	2030	2040	2050
Cost of electricity per unit in INR / KWh
Diesel Generator	18	27.63	30.1	32.65	35.16
Solar Energy	17	5.02	3.7	3.08	2.58
Wind Energy	5.5	2.71	2.23	2.09	2.09
Biomass CHP	4.0	3.56	3.29	2.85	2.58

Greenpeace Cool IT leaderboard Challenge: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/climate-change/cool-it/leaderboard/

TRAI Approach paper on Green Telecom: http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/trai/upload/Recommendations/131/Green_Telecom-12.04.2011.pdf

Smart 2020 report: http://www.gesi.org/ReportsPublications/Smart2020/tabid/192/Default.aspx

Direct action at the Airtel office in Vasant Kunj, New Delhi

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On Tuesday, 28 June, Greenpeace activists organized a Direct Action at Bharti Airtel's Vasant Kunj office in New Delhi following its failure to comply with Greenpeace's demands concerning Carbon disclosure and Diesel phase-out. A few Greenpeace activists were later arrested after their non-violent protest for a just and much-needed eause. Although Bharti Airtel agreed to Greenpeace's demands, they haven't yet given it in writing.