ITU’s Expert Group on Telecommunication/ICT Indicators (EGTI) established the Sub-group on National Greenhouse Gas Emission Monitoring Indicators (Sub-group), following agreement during its 15th meeting in September 2024, to address the lack of harmonized environmental data collection from the ICT sector by developing a set of national-level indicators for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.
A guidance document (upcoming) was developed by the Sub-group, which will outline a harmonized list of indicators. These will include metrics related to Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, energy, electricity & water consumption, and use of renewable energy, covering key ICT sub-sectors such as telecom operators and data centers.
The Sub-group is also looking into the feasibility of data collection at the national level, considering countries’ existing capabilities and the availability of existing data. The work is drawing on Sub-group member expertise at the national level and relevant ITU research, especially the Greening Digital Companies 2025 report, the Measuring National ICT Sector Environmental Impact: Arcep Case Study - France, and ITU-T Recommendations to identify existing data and gaps.
The drafting process began in April 2025, and the Sub-group’s output will be presented at the 16th EGTI meeting in Geneva on 25 September 2025.
This work will help statistical offices and regulators integrate ICT emissions into national monitoring frameworks — a major step towards empowering data-driven regulation and evidence-based climate policy.