Huawei Invents CO2 Emission Reduction Technology to... Save the Planet

Huawei Technologies has introduced a new solution to reduce energy consumption in multi-band, multi-mode mobile telecommunications networks, PowerStar. With PowerStar on the network, typical 2G, 3G and 4G base stations (BTS) are expected to reduce power consumption by 10-15% per year, helping to reduce about2 million kg CO₂emitted into the atmosphere per 1,000 BTS stations.

BTS stations are emitting large amounts of CO₂into the environment.

In 2015, the United Nations outlined 17 goals for sustainable development, with climate change being a top concern. However, with rapidly increasing energy consumption and increasing interconnectivity between network systems, it is difficult to reduce energy consumption on mobile networks. To ensure optimal network performance and user experience, operators set rigid efficiency thresholds for energy saving, which has reduced the effectiveness of energy saving on mobile networks.

Now, Huawei’s PowerStar solution can help solve this problem. It uses advanced AI and other technologies to coordinate energy savings across 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. With these strategies, mobile devices can be switched to lower frequency bands when total traffic is low to save energy. By using AI to learn, PowerStar can dynamically adjust parameters so that energy savings are realized without sacrificing network performance.

PowerStar is being piloted in several countries, including South Africa, Indonesia and China, and promises to help more than 90% of global telecommunications networks reduce energy consumption, contributing to a reduction of 4.5 million tons of carbon emissions per year.

Previously, the United Nations Weather Organization issued a warning that CO concentration₂in the atmosphere increased at a record rate in 2016 - the highest in the past 800,000 years. Specifically, the concentration of CO₂The average atmospheric concentration in 2016 was 403.3 parts per million (ppm), up from 400 ppm in 2015.

Rate of increase in CO concentration₂in the atmosphere is very high. (Illustration: Rex)

The last time Earth had CO2 levels₂The equivalent of the 2016 "peak" was about 3 - 5 million years ago, when temperatures were 2 - 3 degrees Celsius warmer and sea levels were 10 - 20 meters higher than today. In the past 70 years alone, the rate of increase in CO₂in the atmosphere is nearly 100 times higher than at the end of the last ice age.

"The numbers don't lie. We're still emitting too much, and that needs to be addressed," said Erik Solheim, head of the UN Environment Programme. "We've been using a lot of renewable energy in recent years, but now we have to double or triple that effort."

“We have a lot of solutions to this challenge. What we need right now is global political will and a real sense of urgency,” added Erik Solheim.

Meanwhile, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warns that it is necessary to quickly cut CO₂and other greenhouse gases to avoid “dangerous temperature increases” that could exceed set limits by 2100. “Future generations will inherit a much harsher planet,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

"CO₂"The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere remains in the atmosphere and in the oceans for hundreds of years, or even longer. In theory, we will face a hotter and more extreme climate in the future," added Petteri Taalas.

Ngoc Pham