Summary

To date no international comprehensive methodology exists to assess the environmental impact of information and communication technology (ICT) at sector level, or to assess the aggregated positive effects of the ICT sector on other sectors of the economy.

Without a standard methodology evaluating the positive impacts of ICT, the role of ICTs in the fight against global warming will be only partially perceived.

Recommendation ITU-T L.1451 addresses the need to contribute to achieve the targets and goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially its Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG13), the Connect 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement from a global perspective.

This Recommendation addresses the opportunity to use a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model as a possible methodology for simultaneously assessing the environmental and economic impacts of ICTs at the sectoral level.