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ITU at the 2014 United Nations Climate Change Conference

The 2014 UN Climate Change Conference will take place in Lima (Peru) from 1 to 12 December 2014. This conference will be a milestone on the road towards a new binding agreement on climate change. As the last conference before COP-21 in Paris next year, where the new agreement is expected to be signed, COP-20 will be a crucial point for finalizing a draft text that will shape the future of the global efforts against climate change. Follow ITU participation at this conference and get involved in our activities to move the climate change agenda forward through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

AGREEMENT ON NEW TARGETS TO BE REACHED BY 2020

The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2014 has established a new mandate for ITU in the area of sustainability and climate change. The new mandate includes a revision of Resolution 182 and the establishment of the new Connect 2020 agenda, which sets out the vision, goals and targets that ITU and its Member States have committed to achieve by 2020. Connect 2020 includes two ambitious targets directed at reducing the enviornmental footprint of the ICT sector:

Volume of redundant e-waste to be reduced by 50% by 2020
Greenhouse Gas emissions generated by the telecommunication/ICT sector to be decreased per device by 30% by 2020

Click here to learn more about these targets and the new Connect 2020 Agenda

TACKLING THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE WITH ICTs

"Countries should recognise the indispensable nature of ICTs as a means of implementation of any national or international strategy on climate change. This should be reflected appropriately in the international climate agenda and leading international processes on climate change, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change."

Dr Hamadoun I Touré, ITU Secretary-General

Click here to read the article "Tackling the climate challenge with ICTs"

JOIN US AT THESE EVENTS

Will you be in Lima during COP-20? Save the date and join us at these events related with ITU's contribution to the UN agenda on climate change, and with the role of ICTs to address climate change.

Date	Time (Room)	Event
Monday, 01 Dec-Friday, 12 Dec	One UN exhibit	One UN for Climate Change Education for All
Thursday, 04 Dec	13:15—14:45 Caral (130)	Data, Knowledge and Innovation for Climate Action
Thursday, 11 Dec	13:15—14:45 MfC 1	Momentum for Change: ICT Solutions

Contact climate@itu.int for additional information or click here to learn more about ITU's involvement in the UN Environmental Agenda.

ENSURING POSITIVE IMPACTS OF CONNECTING SUSTAINABLY

"To promote the beneficial use of ICTs, we recognize at ITU the need to manage challenges that emerge from rapid growth. We will work towards minimizing the potential negative impact of growth in ICTs, mitigating the negative effects on the environment, including e-waste."

"By setting global targets and inviting both Member States and industry to work together, the Connect 2020 framework ensures that limited global resources and energies are used to maximum effect to achieve these ambitious goals in the 2020 timeframe."

Dr Houlin Zhao, ITU Deputy Secretary-General and chair of the ITU Climate Change Task Force

Click here to read the article "Ensuring Positive Impacts of Connecting Sustainably"

ABOUT COP-20

COP-20 is the 20^thsession of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the framework adopted in 1992 with the aim of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. This session in particular will have the ambitious objective of finalizing the elements for the draft negotiating text of the new 2015 agreement on climate change.

Click here to learn more about the Conference

ITU AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Find out more about ITU´s activities in the area of ICTs, the environment and climate change. Through the development of Green ICT standards, the coordination of satellite orbits and radiofrequencies and the implementatino of projects to support adaptation to climate change, ITU is moving the climate agenda forward.

Click here to find out more or email us at climate@itu.int to request for additional information