It is a pleasure for me to open this year’s symposium on ICT, the environment and climate change, 11 years after I opened the first of these symposia in Kyoto in April 2008 ! The report of that symposium resulted in the establishment of the Focus Group on ICT and Climate Change and the repositioning of ITU-T Study Group 5 to focus on studies related to climate change, including energy conservation and e-waste, and the wider environmental issues that this group, and now other areas of ITU, address.
When ITU published its first report on ICT and Climate Change in December 2007, I remember often getting asked: what has ITU, and what have ICTs, to do with climate change? I am pleased that that question is no longer raised and the importance of ICTs for adapting and mitigating against climate change is now well recognised. Also there is now far more awareness of the issue as being critical for life as we know it. Just last week, a UN report showed that biodiversity is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history. The health of ecosystems on which we, and all other species, depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. And climate change is one of the big drivers of this.
In the face of this challenge, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data, 5G and other frontier technologies offer hope. They are driving innovative solutions that are transforming the way goods and services are being produced and delivered. Already, robotics and automation and predictive analytics are supporting businesses and industries in optimizing resource efficiency, cutting down emissions in the manufacturing process, or replacing energy intensive parts in products.
As the UN specialized agency for ICTs, ITU is engaged with our membership and other stakeholders in harnessing the potential of frontier technologies to address global development issues and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
I commend ITU-T Study Group 5 for its important contribution to identify the environmental impacts of frontier technologies and the potential role of international standards in addressing them. In just a moment, I will turn the floor over to my colleague, Ms. Victoria Sukenik, the Chair of ITU-T Study Group 5, who will give us more insights into the work of the group.
But before I do, let me thank all the UN agencies and programmes involved in the organization of this symposium − including UNECE, UN Environment, UNFCCC, UN Global Compact, UN-Habitat, UNIDO, UN-Women and BRS. Such collaboration is essential for us to address this critical issue. Let me also thank today’s high-level moderators and expert speakers for your support and contribution.
We have a full day ahead of us with three terrific panels to explore how frontier technologies are boosting climate actions in different sectors, discuss the approaches and strategies taken by industry leaders and key stakeholders to foster innovative solutions, and look at the role of frontier technologies in helping us move to a circular economy.
As with all these symposia, we look to you the participants to make suggestions on how we can better take this work forward, especially the important role of collaboration between all the various stakeholders.
With that, let me hand over to the Chair of ITU-T Study Group 5, Ms. Victoria Sukenik.
Thank you.