Communications of the ACM
Itu Sets 'green Ict' Agenda
"The conservative estimate is that ICT can reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent by 2020," says Malcolm Johnson, Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau of the ITU Standardization Sector.
Credit: ITU
Information and communications technology (ICT) needs to play a bigger part in helping reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, says Malcolm Johnson, director of the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU's) Standardization Bureau. However, Johnson says the lack of global consensus regarding the calculation of current emissions makes it difficult for the industry to establish reduction targets. He says the ITU has developed a methodology to measure emissions that he hopes will be adopted in the near future. Once this methodology is in place, "the conservative estimate is that ICT can reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent by 2020," Johnson says.
ICT's role in emissions reduction is expected to be a major topic of discussion at the upcoming Telecom World 2009 conference in Geneva, which is organized by the ITU. Meanwhile, the ITU also is working to set an example by working to "dematerialize" its operations.
For example, Johnson says the agency is no longer selling standards in printed format, but is instead allowing them to be downloaded for free. According to Johnson, this measure alone could save 105 million tons of CO2 per year. In addition to working on climate issues, the ITU also recently held its first meeting with ICANN and other Internet regulators to improve collaboration and "avoid the duplication of effort."
From Total Telecom
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