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| photo credit: Australian Science Media Centre |
| Participants from governments worldwide, and many organizations, attended the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen |
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ITU attended the United Nations Climate Change
Conference, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on
7–19 December 2009. A high-level delegation from
the Union succeeded in raising the profile of information
and communication technologies (ICT) as
uniquely powerful tools for reducing greenhousegas
emissions across all sectors of industry — while
also contributing to sustainable economic
development.
The Copenhagen event is also known as
“COP 15”, or the 15th Conference of Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC). It marked the culmination of a
two-year negotiating process to strengthen international
cooperation on tackling this challenge. More
than one hundred world leaders attended, as well
as some 40 000 people from all kinds of organization
and representing many governments and international
bodies. Among them were ITU Secretary-
General Hamadoun I. Touré and Director of ITU’s
Telecommunication Standardization Bureau Malcolm
Johnson.
Dr Touré made an urgent plea to delegates not
to miss the opportunity of harnessing advanced
technologies to dramatically reduce greenhousegas
emissions across all industrial sectors. “At
Copenhagen, we have a real and reachable opportunity
to help save the planet through astute deployment
of modern ICT,” he said. “Studies clearly show
that more effective use of ICT can deliver tremendous
CO2 savings. I therefore urge delegates to look to the
high-tech sector, and take maximum advantage of
the power of ICT to reduce emissions worldwide”.
The Secretary-General met with many world leaders
at Copenhagen, including presidents and ministers
in charge of environmental issues. At a meeting
on 16 December, Dr. Touré held talks with United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and with
the Directors-General of other United Nations organizations.
He also took part in a side event on “The United Nations System delivering
as one on climate change,”
as well as in other activities.
Malcolm Johnson participated
in the side event “Advancing
work on adaptation to climate
change: a United Nations system
perspective” which showcased
good practice, as well as one
on “The effective use of ICT and
the intellectual property system
for mitigating climate change,”
which was jointly organized by
ITU and the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO).
At the latter he talked about
how a mechanism is needed if investment in smart
technologies is to be stimulated in developing countries
in return for carbon credits. To achieve this, “a
common approach to measuring the positive impact
of ICT on greenhouse-gas emissions is needed. This is
why ITU is developing a methodology in cooperation
with many other organizations, governments and the
private sector,” said Mr Johnson. “Interoperability and
standardization are vitally important,” he concluded.
Other ITU staff attended some of the many events
held during the conference, and presented information
on work throughout the Union on ICT and climate
change. The ITU programme itself also included
11 sessions at the “iseeT@the Climate Change Kiosk,”
within an exhibition organized by UNFCCC. These
sessions featured a wide range of speakers from the
world of ICT, including those (such as Stephan Scholz
from Nokia Siemens Networks) who reduced their carbon footprint by appearing
via videoconferencing.
Onwards to Bonn
ITU’s delegation targeted the
key players at the conference
and raised awareness of the
fundamental importance of ICT
in the climate change issue — and how investing in it can also
help narrow the digital divide
and promote economic sustainability.
There was strategic coordination
with other key players,
including other United Nations
agencies. Representatives from
all stakeholder groups, and
both the public and private sectors,
expressed interest in working
with ITU in this field.
However, as has been reported extensively in the
world’s press, the discussions at the conference resulted
in a Copenhagen Accord — a political consensus
on the long-term, global response to climate
change, rather than a binding agreement. The next
step will be taken at Bonn, Germany, at the 32nd
session of the UNFCCC subsidiary bodies, held from
31 May to 11 June 2010. ITU has observer status and
will continue pressing for full recognition of the role
of ICT in mitigating and adapting to the effects of
climate change.
Many people hope that at COP 16, scheduled for
29 November to 10 December 2010 in Mexico City,
Mexico, a treaty can be concluded that can replace
the Kyoto Protocol at the termination in 2012 of the
period it set for committed reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions. ITU will continue to take part in the
process and make known how vital it is to put ICT at
the heart of solutions to this major challenge of our
times: climate change.
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