ITU: ICT Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

December 24, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS

ICT activities that address climate change can be used for remote monitoring and gathering scientific data such as by using telemetry or remote sensing by satellite.

Furthermore, "smart technologies" can usher in a new generation of energy-efficient products including in next generation networks (NGN) where the ITU Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is carrying out specialized work, said the ITU.

The ITU said that the proliferation of ICT products in homes and offices and their deployment throughout the world places a burden on energy consumption.

The move to "always-on" services, like broadband or mobile phones on standby, increased energy consumption compared with fixed-line telephones, which do not require an independent power source, said the ITU.

Energy demands caused by high-tech lifestyles in some countries are being replicated in others.

The ITU underlined a commitment to promote the use of ICT as a positive force to reduce greenhouse emissions and to find ways to mitigate the effects of climate change.

The ITU can support and facilitate scientific studies aimed at implementation of new measures against the negative effects of climate change.

As part of a unified effort of the U.N. system, the ITU said it contributes in its areas of expertise to support member states and to foster partnerships with the private sector to develop more energy-efficient technologies.

ITU activities that address climate change:

• An international symposium in April 2008 organized as part of the ITU Technology Watch function will raise awareness of the role that ICT play in climate change. One aim will be to identify new areas for standardization work, which is acknowledged to be of key importance.

• Coordination of the orbital and frequency resources for satellites, which play a role in gathering data on climate change such as earth-observation and global climate observing systems (GCOS).

• Standardization work on reducing power requirements of telecommunication equipment including terminal devices and networking equipment that will have the additional environmental benefit of reducing the production of greenhouse gases and global warming. Standards for NGN, which are being developed at ITU, are designed to bring about a 40% saving in energy consumption compared with today's telecommunication networks.

• High-level policy review and guidelines to help developing countries take advantage of ICT applications for environmental management and sustainable development.

• The ITU Telecommunication Standardization Advisory Group (TSAG) backed the hosting of an international symposium calling for a systematic review of all of its standards (ITU-T Recommendations) in the light of climate change. A checklist will be created to ensure that climate change mitigation is taken into account at an early stage of standards development to avoid retrofitting.

• Two specific technologies under the standardization spotlight - radio frequency identification (RFID) and ubiquitous sensor networks (USNs) - can help reduce consumption of fossil fuels by using motion sensors that switch on lights only when necessary or by automatically adjusting heating requirements.

• Work on the use of ICT for disaster preparedness (monitoring, detection and prediction) aimed at mitigating the negative effects of climate change and providing solutions for disaster relief.

• Participation in efforts to move toward a climate-neutral U.N. The ITU created online working tools that facilitate virtual meetings and remote delivery of services. Increasingly, senior management meetings and conferences take place in a paperless environment with facilities for remote participation. The carbon emissions from the ITU's participation in the Bali conference (around 3,187 kg) were rendered climate neutral along with that of the rest of the U.N. through offsets in the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.

Source: International Telecommunication Union (ITU).