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This study examines the effect of several site-specific factors on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions stemming from operation of 4G and 5G technology-based telecommunication towers at many locations across India with focus on the assessment of the incremental change expected due to 5G technology adoption. Also, the impact of adopting solar photovoltaics (PV) based hybrid power systems on overall CO 2 emissions from operation of telecom towers. Optimal designs of solar PV-based hybrid systems are obtained using HOMER software for 25 diverse Indian locations for powering both 4G and 5G telecom towers while considering site-specific factors such as solar resource availability, availability and tariff of grid electricity and the unit price of diesel used in the Diesel Generator (DG) of the hybrid system. From the results of the study it is noted that, with the current energy supply mix, a tripling of the carbon dioxide emissions is expected if all of India's 0.71 million telecom towers adopt 5G technology. Adoption of solar PV-based systems along with grid electricity and diesel generator in hybrid mode has the potential to reduces carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 55 % for the existing telecom towers in India. For the case of all telecom towers transitioning to 5G technology, about 58 % reduction in CO 2 emissions is possible with the adoption of PV-based hybrid power systems. From the perspective of the unit cost of CO 2 emissions mitigation, the adoption of solar PV-based hybrid systems is found to be a no regret option. Results of the study have significant policy implications towards designing appropriate strategies for reducing carbon footprint of telecom tower operation in India. • CO 2 emissions from telecom towers to triple in India with 5G over 4G technology. • Solar PV hybrid systems can mitigate 55 % of CO 2 emissions for existing levels. • In case of 100 % 5G adoption, 58 % reduction in CO 2 emissions is possible with solar PV. • Solar PV hybrid systems offer a no-regret option to mitigate telecom CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]