Vodafone UK CEO Ahmed Essam has credited 5G as a green ally in the battle against climate change.

According to the boss of the telecoms giant, 5G helps cut power usage and carbon footprints in crucial areas of the economy, especially as he claims “there are no singular silver bullets in the fight against climate change.”

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Instead, he attributes 5G as a tool which can help both cut carbon costs and transition to renewable energy.

He said: “5G offers reliable connections, fast speeds and lower latency – solid foundations that are key to its usefulness here”

Essam, who became CEO in February 2021, added that 5G is a tool that would be “invaluable in making industries like power generation and food production more efficient, as he reveals they can be difficult to decarbonise.

“By facilitating remote control of operations and logistics that would otherwise be laborious and time-consuming to carry out, 5G can help realise energy and carbon savings in the process,” he said.

“In the world of farming and food production, 5G has a role to play in every step of the value chain from field to fork. 5G-connected drones and sensors can monitor soil and crop conditions to help maximise yields and significantly reduce wastage produced on farms.”

He continued: “Driving net zero and addressing climate change is a complex problem, and one that needs many plans of attack, all working together.”

As a result, he claimed the UK needs a countrywide 5G SA network, which its merger with Three UK will have the scale to invest in such “an ambitious, far-reaching rollout”.

If it comes to fruition, the merged company would be able to invest £11 billion to deliver 5G SA across 95% of the UK’s populated areas, he revealed.

The news comes as Three UK has been accused of profiting from its planned merger with Vodafone after it paid its Hong Kong-listed owner, CK Hutchinson £2 billion.

According to trade union Unite, the dividend paid to CK Hutchinson, which is a conglomerate of the billionaire Li Ka-Shing owned by Three, is highly profitable as an independent business and could remain sustainable without merging.