Australia’s utility sector accounts for some 43.1% of the country’s carbon footprint, and some 37.2% of its direct emissions, new research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has revealed.

Dr. Soheil Kazemian, from the ECU School of Business and Law, said the utilities sector included electricity generation, transmission and distribution, gas supply, water supply and waste collection and treatment.

Electricity generation and transmission were identified as the most significant contributors within the utilities sector, with commercial services and manufacturing emerging as substantial sources of embodied emissions within the sector.

The research, published in the Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, revealed that 71% of embodied emissions were attributed to electricity transmission, distribution, on-selling electricity, and electricity market operation. Electricity generation accounted for a further 15%, while gas supply accounted for 5%, water supply for 4%, and waste services and treatment for the remaining 5% of embodied emissions in the sector.

“The study highlights electricity transmission and generation as the subsectors with the highest potential for adopting low-carbon technologies. By pinpointing emission hotspots and offering detailed sectoral disaggregation, the results of the research provide actionable insights for prioritizing investment in emissions reduction strategies, advancing Australia’s sustainability goals and supporting global climate change mitigation,” Dr. Kazemian said.

He said that as with any other business, the pressure to reduce the carbon emissions footprint of the utility sector would need to originate from the consumer sector.

Unlike other sectors, however, increased investment into the utilities sector is likely to result in a smaller carbon footprint.

“This is a major difference between the different sectors in Australia. If you invest more in mining, that means the carbon footprint from that industry would increase, and the same can be said for manufacturing as the investment would result in expanded business.

“While new infrastructure development can generate temporary increases in emissions for the utility sector during construction, the long-term impact depends on where those dollars are spent. Investment in renewable energy systems or efficient delivery networks can significantly cut emissions, whereas continuing to fund carbon-intensive energy sources risks locking in higher emissions for decades to come.

“This complexity highlights a critical point that meaningful decarbonization will depend not only on policy or technology, but also on consumer choices. When households and businesses demand cleaner energy, utilities are more likely to channel investment into low-carbon solutions. By consciously choosing renewable energy options and supporting sustainable providers, consumers can send a powerful market signal that accelerates the transition to a cleaner grid,” Dr. Kazemian said.

Dutch tech giant ASML warned Wednesday of a steep fall in its China business next year, as it booked flat net profits in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

Traders appeared to see the glass half-full, with ASML shares opening more than 3% higher in Amsterdam, buoyed by solid sales and orders for its cutting-edge semiconductor production machines.

ASML has faced growing pressure from US and Dutch export curbs for its most advanced chipmaking tools to China, as Beijing and Western nations are locked in a battle for the key sector.

“We expect China customer demand, and therefore our China total net sales in 2026, to decline significantly compared to our very strong business there in 2024 and 2025,” said CEO Christophe Fouquet in a statement.

The firm announced net profits of 2.13 billion euros ($2.5 billion), after 2.08 billion euros in the third quarter of last year.

Net sales in the third quarter of 2025 came in at 7.5 billion euros. ASML had forecast a figure between 7.4 billion euros and 7.9 billion euros.

“Our third-quarter total net sales… were in line with guidance, reflecting a good quarter for ASML,” said Fouquet.

In July, the firm had warned that geopolitical and trade tensions had clouded the near-term outlook for its growth.

ASML said then that it could not confirm it would be in the black in 2026.

But on Wednesday, Fouquet said, “We do not expect 2026 total net sales to be below 2025,” adding that the firm would give more details on next year’s outlook in January.

“I think we have seen a flow of positive news in the last few months that has helped to reduce some of the uncertainties we discussed last quarter,” said Fouquet.

The CEO said he expected sales in the fourth quarter to come in between 9.2 billion and 9.8 billion euros.

For the full year 2025, the firm predicts a 15% increase in total net sales.

Net bookings, the figure most closely watched in the markets as a predictor of future performance, reached 5.4 billion euros, compared to 5.5 billion in the second quarter.

According to a presentation posted on the firm’s website, sales to China represented 42% of ASML’s overall business in the third quarter, up from 27% in the second quarter.

Geopolitical battleground

Longer-term, ASML believes that the rapidly expanding AI market will push up its annual sales to between 44 billion and 60 billion euros by 2030.

ASML is a critical cog in the global economy, as the semiconductors crafted with its tools power everything from smartphones to missiles.

Semiconductors have become something of a global geopolitical battlefield.

Washington has sought to curb exports of high-tech chips to China, worried they could be used to fuel Beijing’s military.

Last week, a US Congressional committee report said five companies, including ASML, had sold $38 billion worth of critical tech to China in 2024, including to firms flagged as US national security threats.

“China is striving with all its might to build a domestic, self-sufficient semiconductor manufacturing industry,” the report said.

Earlier this week, chip-related tensions grew between China and the Netherlands after the Dutch government took control of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia, citing national security concerns.

That meant while the company—based in the Dutch city of Nijmegen—can continue production, the Dutch government can block or reverse its decisions.

Parent company Wingtech said it was appealing to Chinese authorities for support and discussing legal action with international law firms.

© 2025 AFP

For modern transport systems, operating a real-time surveillance system that is highly available, reliable and secure is vital to ensuring the safety of those travelling. To achieve these objectives in Singapore, the local transit authority has deployed Nokia IP/MPLS and fibre optical local area network (LAN) solutions.

The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) spearheads land transport developments in the city state, with the stated responsibility to plan, design, build and maintain land transport infrastructure and systems. Since the inception of LTA in 1995, the land transport network has transformed significantly, with more than 160km of expressways spanning the island, an MRT network of more than 200 km, over 600 km of cycling paths and park connectors and increasingly varied commuting options.

The LTA said it aspires to strengthen Singapore’s land transport connectivity and integrate a greener and more inclusive public transport system complemented by walk and cycle options, using technology to strengthen its rail and bus infrastructure and develop “exciting” options for future land transport.

The technology installation is part of video surveillance upgrade to its critical railway infrastructure for which CCTV cameras are regarded as playing a crucial role within the LTA railway system. With CCTV cameras placed across more than 50 stations, the LTA needed a network infrastructure that could meet its growing capacity demands providing real-time monitoring and video surveillance services that ensure public safety, help spot illegal activities and manage traffic patterns.

Working in partnership with Hitachi Rail, Nokia was confident that its solutions will enable the LTA to significantly enhance its CCTV network used across Singapore’s heavily used railway system serving millions of passengers per day.

To support its expanding network cameras and growing bandwidth requirements, the LTA deployed Nokia’s fibre optical LAN including hardened optical network units (ONUs) and optical light terminals (OLTs) capable of supporting data transmission speeds of 25Gbps. The optical LAN requires up to 70% less cabling and 40% less power compared with traditional copper-based LAN networks. Nokia claims that its IP/MPLS deployment also enables LTA to more effectively backhaul the network data traveling to its operations control centre where live video streams are viewed and stored. 

Commenting on the deployment, Stuart Hendry, vice-president of enterprise sales and network infrastructure for Asia Pacific at Nokia, said: “Fibre is being used to connect everything, including video systems that are critical to monitoring transportation hubs around the world. Partnering with Hitachi Rail, we were able to deliver a complete solution for LTA that would ensure they had the video capacity needed to serve their expansive CCTV surveillance and broader network operations for years to come.”

Joaquim Santos, vice-president of integrated communication and supervision solutions (ICS) at Hitachi Rail, added: “We are pleased to have selected Nokia to collaborate with Hitachi Rail in enhancing passenger safety and security across Singapore’s railway network, which is a continuation of Hitachi’s long-term relationship with LTA. This project will play a key role in upgrading the transport infrastructure.”

As it was making the Singapore LTA optical LAN deployment, Nokia announced the launch of its 1830 Photonic Service Switch-High Capacity (PSS-HC) shelves, a next-generation addition to the 1830 PSS optical transport platform family. The new shelves are designed to deliver up to three times higher density with up to 60% lower power consumption per bit, enabling service providers to more cost-effectively scale their networks.