Nigeria’s ambitious climate goal is getting a major boost from the private sector. Following the Federal Government‘s September 2025 pledge to slash emissions by 32 per cent by 2030, corporate giants like MTN Nigeria are already demonstrating it can be done.

According to its latest sustainability data, the telecom operator has cut its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 11 per cent compared to 2021 levels, proving that the march toward a low-carbon economy is already well underway.

In its newly-released 2025 Sustainability Report, the company’s operational emissions dropped by 6.4 per cent, driven by investments in cleaner and more efficient energy solutions.

The company’s climate efforts are anchored on Project Zero, MTN’s long-term strategy to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.

In 2025, the company invested N10.1 billion in the initiative and recorded savings of about N8.5 billion.

The programme was built on work done in 2024, when MTN replaced 86 outdated cooling systems with more energy-efficient units across data centres, switch centres and telecom sites.

In 2025, the company expanded its strategy further by replacing diesel-powered systems with gas-powered electricity and inverter solutions, while also increasing its solar-powered rural telephony sites from 194 to 229 to improve connectivity in underserved communities.

According to the firm, the progress, however, has occurred within stark realities. Diesel made up 58.11 per cent of the technology company’s total energy consumption in 2025, far exceeding gas-powered independent power producers at 23.63 per cent and electricity from the national grid at 18.04 per cent, with renewable energy contributing just 0.05 per cent.

MTN, in the document, noted that this is not merely an environmental challenge but a financial one. MTN estimates that powering its nationwide network with diesel costs more than N60 billion every year. Nigeria’s power sector is marked by persistent grid instability, with 12 national grid collapses reported in 2024 alone, conditions that continue to force telecom operators to lean heavily on generators to sustain network operations.

Notably, MTN Nigeria was one of only four Nigerian companies (alongside Seplat Energy, Access Bank and Fidelity Bank) that published inaugural financial reports using IFRS S1 and S2 sustainability reporting standards as early adopters, well ahead of the mandatory compliance deadline.

More than one-third of MTN Nigeria’s major suppliers have also aligned with the company’s long-term environmental goals, focused on reducing emissions across its supply chain and operations.

Chief Executive Officer, Dr Karl Toriola, described the 2025 report as “an important milestone in our commitment to IFRS S1 and S2-aligned disclosure and accountability”, adding that sustainability remains central to the company’s long-term value-creation strategy.

Toriola had similarly anchored the company’s ambition to the dual imperatives of building business resilience and unlocking long-term value, a consistency of message that suggests the company’s climate commitments are not a seasonal gesture but a structural shift, even if the road to net zero remains long and diesel-drenched.

Meanwhile, to accelerate the telecom industry’s transition to net zero, the GSMA, in collaboration with the Carbon Trust, has published a comprehensive handbook titled ‘Turning Climate Strategy into Action’.

The document provides telecom leaders with practical guidance on how to prioritise, evaluate, and fund carbon reduction initiatives, ensuring that climate ambition translates into measurable impact.

Checks showed that telecom operators’ climate strategies focus on achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 through science-based targets. Key initiatives include transitioning to renewable energy, upgrading to energy-efficient 5G, and optimising networks with AI.

The Guardian checks showed that in regions like Nigeria, the local telecommunications climate strategy is driven by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) advocating for the transition from traditional diesel-powered cell towers to hybrid or fully solar-powered base stations. This shift improves network reliability while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions in off-grid or unstable grid areas.

Indeed, in the GSMA document, transitioning to net-zero is necessary because telecommunications companies face mounting pressure to decarbonise while balancing competing investment priorities. The handbook emphasises that climate initiatives must demonstrate clear value, whether through cost savings, risk mitigation or strategic opportunities.

“The need to demonstrate value from climate investment is essential,” the report noted, highlighting that many benefits are intangible, such as avoiding climate-related risks or capturing future opportunities.

The handbook is structured into four key sections, each designed to guide practitioners from idea to implementation. These are feasibility, fundamentals, scenario building, and extending values.

On feasibility, GSMA observed that companies are encouraged to screen carbon reduction measures based on technology maturity and integration complexity. It stressed that proven, commercially available technologies that can be easily integrated into operations should be prioritised. The handbook also introduces the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) analysis, a tool that compares emissions reduction potential against cost-effectiveness.