ITU Symposium on ICTs and the Environment & Climate Change
ITU is a key partner in United Nations efforts to “Deliver as One” in addressing the major global climate change challenge. Indeed, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon said: “ITU is one of the most important stakeholders in terms of climate change”.
In 2007 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, the 2008 Conference in Poznan, Poland, and the 2009 Conference in Copenhagen, ITU highlighted the role of ICTs as an important enabling tool to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all sectors.
Resolution 73 of The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-08, Johannesburg) recognizes the crucial role of ICTs in addressing climate change and resolves to continue and further develop the ITU-T work programme in this area as a high priority and in close collaboration with the other two ITU Sectors (ITU-R and
ITU-D). In addition, Resolution 73 instructs the Director of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau (TSB) to organize related events in developing countries, given that they are the most vulnerable, to raise awareness and identify their needs in this domain.
In addition, Resolution 1307 “Information and communication technologies (ICTs) and climate change” adopted unanimously by the 2009 ITU Council highlights the importance of the role of telecommunications/ICTs in combating climate change.
The Fifth Symposium on ICTs and the Environment & Climate Change was held in Cairo, Egypt on 2-3 November 2010 and was hosted and co- organized by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) Egypt, and the Ministry of state for Environmental Affairs (MSEA) Egypt.
This Symposium was particularly timely, as it took place less than a month before the opening of the 16th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP 16) which will take place in November 2010 in Cancun, Mexico aimed at adopting an achievable balanced outcome on climate change.
The Symposium in Cairo focused on the issue of ICTs, the environment and climate change in Africa and the needs of developing countries. Topic discussed included adaptation to climate change, e-waste, cost-effective ICT technologies, methodology of environmental impact assessment of ICT and financing of climate change solutions. The symposium issued the “Cairo Roadmap”, a set of recommendations for action in relation to ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change.
This Symposium brought together more than 400 participants including leading specialists in the field, from top policy-makers to engineers, designers, planners, government officials, regulators, standards experts and others. The main purpose was to raise awareness of the importance and opportunities of using ICTs to monitor climate change, to mitigate and address its effects.
As the steward of the global framework for spectrum, ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R)
allocates the necessary radio-frequency spectrum/satellite orbits and develops standards for operation of
all wireless systems including those involved in climate monitoring and climate change prediction [more…]
ITU's Telecommunication
Standardization Sector (ITU-T) develops
standards that are used, for instance,
in promoting energy efficiency, safe
disposal and recycling of
telecommunication/ICT equipment, and
next-generation networks. [more…]
ITU's Telecommunication Development Sector
(ITU-D)
works on promoting a role for ICTs in the
protection of the environment in its e-Environment
and e-Sustainability programmes.
[more…]
The General Secretariat coordinates ITU efforts and for example actively
participates in the work of the UN Chief Executives Board and its subsidiary
bodies on developing a unified and collaborative UN strategy to combat climate change,
including a matrix on activities of each agency and program. [more…]
WSIS ICT
Success Stories highlight some of
the ongoing and successful ICT development
projects in the field of e-Environment taking
place around the world.
0407[more…]
Our reference site
provides links to external resources:
background papers, additional information,
statistics, and examples, that cover the
positive and negative impact that ICTs have
on the climate.
[more]
ITU Background Report
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Concept note for ITU exploratory assessment mission