Smart traffic management to save 900m tons of emissions globally by 2030, but security must scale with adoption

A new study from Juniper Research, the foremost experts in IoT markets, has found the adoption of smart traffic management solutions will save up to 923 million metric tons (MMT) of CO2 by 2030. This is an increase of 151% on the 368 MMT CO2 savings forecast for this year. This substantial increase in CO2 saving represents 1.5% of 2030 global carbon emissions.

Cybersecurity Remains a Key Concern

To achieve these CO2 savings, Juniper Research believes it is essential security measures can scale alongside the growing number of sensors in smart traffic management solutions and the increasing volume of data generated. We have identified technologies specifically designed for high-end security in data-intensive and automated environments, such as data minimisation solutions and federated learning, as ideal for processing real-time information from smart traffic management solutions.

Juniper Research finds the technologies that provide data anonymisation, particularly in the face of real-time decision making, will position smart traffic management vendors best to capitalise in a market expected to grow from $14.8 billion globally in 2025, to $32.7 billion in 2030. Integrating these technologies will enable vendors to analyse traffic data without compromising any personal data collected; enhancing public trust and reducing the risk of data breaches.

Research author, Michelle Joynson, stated, “As smart traffic management solutions continue to collect valuable personal data to optimise traffic flows, the threat of cyber-attacks is increasing. Smart traffic vendors must deploy robust security measures to ensure system reliability, continually enabling optimised traffic flows; leading to significant emission reductions and cost savings.”