Although ICTs account for only around
2.5 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, they have the potential
to be used in reducing the other 97.5 per cent of emissions in other
sectors. They can do this primarily by creating opportunities for
the abatement (or displacement) of existing applications that generate
carbon dioxide (CO2).
Probably the most obvious area for carbon
abatement opportunities offered by ICTs is in reducing, or substituting
for, travel requirements. The ICT industry offers a number of different
tools and services which can theoretically replace travel, especially
business travel, which range from the mundane (for example, e-mail,
phone calls, text messaging) to the sophisticated (high-performance
videoconferencing).
A second area where ICTs have been extensively
used for reducing CO2 emissions
caused by transport is in the use of intelligent transport systems
(ITS). These systems are used in applications such as “eco-driving”,
congestion charging, as well as for traffic management and parking
optimization.
A third way is through “dematerialization”,
or the replacement of “atoms” with “bits”. An example of this is
the current shift under way in the market for pre-recorded movies
and music away from physical distribution (such as DVDs and CDs)
to online delivery. ITU is also making its own modest contribution
to dematerialization through the long-term shift away from paper-based
to online publishing, which reached its culmination in 2007 with
the decision of the ITU Council to make all ITU–T Recommendations
permanently free-of-charge online (see the box below).
Another important way in which ICTs can
mitigate climate change is in the area of disaster relief. ITU has
had a long-standing mission to promote the use of telecommunications
for disaster relief and for emergency services. These can be particularly
important in mitigating the effects of climate change, for instance
from flooding due to rising sea levels, or increased incidence of
violent storms and hurricanes. Virtually all ITU–T study groups
are active in this area, notably ITU–T Study Group 2 which has the
lead on telecommunications for disaster relief/early warning.
Similarly all ITU–R study groups carry out
studies and develop ITU–R Recommendation/reports and handbooks on
the use of different radiocommunication services for warning the
public early of impending disasters, as well as for planning and
relief operations.
In many cases, when disaster strikes, the
“wired” telecommunication infrastructure is significantly or completely
destroyed and only radiocommunication services can be used for disaster-relief
operations — especially radio amateurs and satellite systems. In
order to facilitate the use of radio equipment for mitigating the
negative effect of disaster caused by climate change and other disasters,
Resolution 646 of WRC-03 strongly recommends use of the regionally
harmonized bands for public protection and disaster relief in emergency
situations. The Radiocommunication Assembly in 2007 (RA-07) approved
Resolutions ITU–R 53 and 55 instructing all ITU–R study groups to
carry out studies on the use of radiocommunication in disaster prediction,
detection, response, mitigation and relief. WRC-07 further advocated
the development of spectrum management guidelines for radiocommunication
in emergency and disaster relief, as well as the identification
and maintenance of available frequencies for use in the very early
stages of humanitarian assistance intervention in the aftermath
of disaster. ITU is also developing a database for frequency management
in disaster situations (Resolution 647 of WRC-07).
ITU–T
Recommendations online and the reduction of carbon emissions
In 1995, when ITU made its
first steps in the transition to electronic publishing,
ITU–T printed some 368 534 copies of Recommendations,
of an average size of 42 pages each. A further one million
unsold copies were in stock. In 2007, ITU–T distributed
more than three million Recommendations through free
download, but printed only 10 000 copies. If ITU–T were
still printing all its Recommendations (instead of distributing
them for free online), this would require logging around
23 Douglas Fir trees per year, at an annual loss to
the environment through an absorption ability of 25.3
tonnes of CO2
over 100 years. To this should be added the cost of
transporting the printed Recommendations to customers.
In 1995, the level of publication sales required some
108 tonnes of CO2
emission. By 2007, this had been reduced to just 1.5
tonnes. However, in the absence of free Recommendations
online, carbon emissions would have been multiplied
over twentyfold rather than decreasing.
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