It is currently estimated that ICTs
contribute around 2-2.5 per cent of global GHG emissions, mainly
through their consumption of electrical power, but they can also help in
reducing the remaining 97.5 per cent caused by other sectors of the economy.
ITU, through its membership, should demonstrate leadership in showing how ICTs
can assist in monitoring, mitigating and adapting to climate change. ITU should
also assist its membership in coping with climate change, in particular through
environmental monitoring, through adoption of energy efficient,
dematerialization and disposal standards, through carbon abatement (e.g. by
using videoconferencing to reduce business travel) and by helping countries to
adapt to climate change (e.g. using ICTs for managing natural resources,
environmental protection, and for monitoring natural and man-made disasters
through emergency telecommunications).
Main Orientations:
- Develop, though the membership, a normative framework for addressing the
issue of ICTs and climate change. This can include adopting draft
resolutions at WTSA-08 on ICT standardization requirements for combating
climate change, follow-up to WTDC-06 outcomes and future
resolutions at WTDC-10 to foster the use and disposal of environmentally
sound ICTs and PP-10.
- Implement existing ITU instruments, such as Plenipotentiary Res. 35
(Kyoto, 1994), relevant to climate change, as well as relevant WRC, RRC,
WTDC-06 and PP-06 Resolutions.
- Develop strategic partnerships with Member States, Sector Members, and
other organizations (e.g. GeSI, WEF, ETNO, WWF, UNEP, WMO) with an interest
in using ICTs to combat climate change.
- Encourage more Member States to sign and ratify the Tampere Convention
on Emergency Telecommunications.
- Promote the positive effect of introducing new uses for ICTs (e.g.,
reduction of power consumption, reduction of atmosphere/ionosphere heating
by powerful transmitters, videoconferencing, and travel management) in
combating climate change at ITU seminars and workshops.
- Develop and implement technical cooperation projects to assist
developing countries to use ICTs to adapt to and mitigate the effects of
climate change.
- In partnership with one or more developing countries, develop and submit
projects under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol for
reducing carbon emissions through the use of ICTs.
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