How ITC Firms Can Tackle Climate Change

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can reduce energy use, cut greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to the effects of climate change, say ITC firms that, on Thursday, launched a partnership with the UN Climate Change Secretariat.

The new partnership between the UN Climate Change Secretariat and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) — an ITC industry group that promotes technologies that foster economic, environmental and social sustainability — will showcase ICT-driven changes that contribute toward a low-carbon economy, the organizations say.

According to GeSI’s December 2012 report, SMARTer 2020: the role of ICT in driving a sustainable future, ICT can slash global greenhouse gas emissions by 16.5 percent, saving $1.9 trillion in energy and fuel costs and cutting 9.1 gigatonnes of carbon emissions. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, including:

• Increasing energy efficiency of telecommunications networks and data centers.
• Enabling smart grids, including enabling renewables to connect with the utility grid.
• Reducing travel and transportation by substituting and optimizing existing travel and transportation systems.
• Using virtualization initiatives such as cloud computing and video conferencing.
• Making efficiency gains through the use of variable speed motors in manufacturing.
• Creating intelligent building management systems and optimization of logistics networks.
• Using smart farming techniques, including weather monitoring and livestock management.