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1 Motivation
Telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) can be effective in enabling countries and cities to better mitigate and adapt to climate change. Mitigation and adaptation involve taking action to tolerate the effects of climate change on a local, city, country, regional and international level. Examples include remote sensing for monitoring of natural disasters such as earthquakes and tidal waves, and improved communications to help deal with natural disasters more effectively.
Telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging), and satellite and surface-based remote sensors in particular, are already the main tools for environmental observation, climate monitoring and provide data for climate change prediction on a global basis. The modern disaster prediction, detection and early warning systems based on the use of telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) are essential for saving lives and should be provided where needed, including developing countries.
ICTs can also play a crucial role in supporting the whole society to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change. At the heart of climate change mitigation is to reduce carbon emissions. Telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) are the key enabler for creating a sustainable, efficient, cost effective and intelligent industries.
Remote sensing and geographic information systems make vital climate and disaster information available for early warning systems to deliver alerts to communities that are at risks in a timely manner. ICT devices grant rural citizen access to the latest climate information that allows them to take pre-emptive measures before any natural hazard strikes. This is particularly crucial to coastal cities that are particularly vulnerable to raising sea-level. Urban drought, desertification and extreme heat are also increasingly pushing rural citizens to live under water-stress conditions.
The effects of climate change often disproportionally impact rural areas, cities and communities.
Firstly, telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) play a crucial role in the transition to a circular and sustainable city. They optimize the utilization of city assets and enable energy and resource efficiency. In a circular and sustainable city or community, materials and resources stay in use for as long as possible. Buildings and public infrastructure (i.e., city assets) are designed to be more energy efficient, durable, adaptable and easy-to-maintain. Natural rainfalls and liquid waste would be recovered as much as possible by green roofs or other urban spaces, while smart meters reduce water wastage and optimise water distribution. Green spaces may be used for different social activities at different time. Extra electric vehicle charging stations are added, along with an effective and efficient public transport system to promote smart mobility. Renewable energy would also be primarily form of energy supply that power a circular city. These areas often lack the social and economic resources to enhance climate resiliency.
This leads to a series of challenges that are barring rural communities from taking advantage of telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) in mitigation and adaptation to the effects of climate change. While more than half of the world's population is now connected to the Internet, one-third remains offline. Many inhabitants of rural areas cannot afford the Internet and are being left behind as the digital revolution continues to advance. Without access to mobile phones, the Internet, or other basic ICT devices, rural citizens would not be able to anticipate upcoming climate disasters and take adaptive measures accordingly.
This Question aims to develop Recommendations, supplements and/or technical reports that support enablement of telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) to accelerate climate mitigation and adaptation actions. Particular emphasis has been placed on expanding the digital sustainable transition of rural communities and areas, circular and sustainable cities to build and maintain climate resilient societies.
ICTs can promote other sectors to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change with, for instance, but not limited to, early warning systems, smart agriculture applications, building optimization, etc.
This Question covers the actions to be undertaken by the ICT sector to anticipate and adapt itself to these adverse effects (i.e., ICTs resilient to floods and high temperature, etc.).
Telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) provide an exceptional opportunity to improve the creation, management, exchange and application of relevant climate change information and knowledge on ICT-based climate change adaptation measures.
This Question is in line with the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 7 "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all"; SDG 9 "Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation"; SDG 11 "Make cities and human settlement inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable", SDG 12 "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns" and SDG 13 "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact".
The following Recommendations and supplements, in force at the time of approval of this Question, fall under its responsibility:
- ITU-T L.2, L.4, L.20, L.21, L.22, L.23, L.32, L.33, L.1700, L.1500, L.1501, L.1502, L.1503, L.1504, L.1505, L.1506, L.1507;
- L-series Supplements 14, 15, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31, 46.
2 Questions
Study items to be considered include, but are not limited to:
- What are the technological, social, and economic challenges that communities are facing when it comes to climate change adaptation?
- How can telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) support these communities and cities in mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change?
- How do we best harness the potential of ICTs in adapting to the effects of climate change in rural areas, cities and communities?
- What are the guidelines, frameworks and best practices required to improve sustainability of cities and communities?
- How does circularity in city improve sustainability?
- What are the guidelines, frameworks and best practices required to apply circular economy principles into different city assets (i.e., buildings, transport, water, energy, digital and public infrastructures, waste management, and natural resource management)?
- What Recommendations, supplements and technical reports should be developed for supporting the transition to a circular and sustainable city?
- What Recommendations, supplements and technical reports should be developed for supporting the transition to a Net Zero city?
- How do we ensure that the current mitigation and adaptation actions are sufficient to deal with all climate variables in the long-term? How can ICTs improve current adaptation actions?
- How to mitigate and adapt the vertical sectors to climate change? What role do ICTs play in this regard?
- Explore how ICTs can be used to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss related to a variety of sectors, e.g., agriculture, housing, fisheries, health, and water, etc.;
- Identify best practices related to climate change mitigation and adaptation for different types of areas (e.g., agriculture, housing, fisheries, health, and water, etc.);
- Explore how to help developed and developing countries to use telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) to establish climate monitoring networks, to enable rapid data gathering for emergency response, to prioritize decision making, to facilitate logistics and disaster early warning systems by sharing knowledge and data through crowd sourcing, customization of information, etc.;
3 Tasks
Tasks include, but are not limited to:
- Develop Recommendations, supplements and/or technical reports that contain requirements and technical specifications on low-cost, portable, and efficient ICT solutions that can be deployed in rural areas, cities and communities for enablement;
- Establish related metrics/key performance indicators (KPIs), measurement methods and reference values of energy efficiency requirements and evaluations for ICT solutions along with low-cost, low-impact solutions in rural areas, cities and communities;
- Develop Recommendations, supplements and/or technical reports on climate change mitigation and adaptation of the vertical industries by ICT enablement to enhance climate resilience;
- Develop Recommendations, supplements and/or technical reports to provide guidance for resiliency of ICT solutions in response to both natural and human-made disasters;
- Develop Recommendations, supplements and/or technical reports that contain requirements, technical specifications and effective frameworks for the use and operation of telecommunications/ICTs (including new and emerging) to improve sustainability of cities and communities and apply circular economy principles in cities and communities;
- Develop Recommendations, supplements and/or technical reports that provide guidance on applying circular economy principles in the following areas: buildings, transport, water, energy, digital and public infrastructures, waste management, natural resource management, and more;
- Develop metrics and KPIs that establish a baseline scenario for circular cities and communities;
- Maintenance and revision of existing Recommendations and supplements.
An up-to-date status of work under this Question is contained in the ITU-T SG5 work programme (https://www.itu.int/ITU-T/workprog/wp_search.aspx?sp=18&q=12/5).
4 Relationships
Recommendations:
- ITU-T K- and L-series Recommendations
Questions:
- 1/5, 2/5, 3/5, 4/5, 6/5, 7/5, 9/5, 11/5
Study Groups:
- ITU-T SGs
- ITU-D SGs
- ITU-R SGs
Other bodies:
- ATIS
- CCSA
- CEN
- CENELEC
- ETSI EE
- ECMA
- GSMA
- 3GPP
- IEC
- IETF
- ISO
- CIAJ
- GISFI
- TSDSI
- IEEE
WSIS Action Lines:
- C2, C6, C7
Sustainable Development Goals:
- 7, 11, 12, 13
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