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New Broadband Commission climate report confirms
technology is the
key to a low-carbon future
Governments urged to harness the power of information and communication
technologies to dramatically cut emissions
Geneva, 2 April 2012 – Broadband can help transition the
world towards a low carbon-economy and address the causes and effects of climate
change, according to a new report just released by the
Broadband Commission for Digital
Development.
The Broadband Bridge: Linking ICT with Climate Action is the result of work
conducted by the Broadband Commission Working Group on Climate Change, chaired
by Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson and comprising several members
of the Commission, representing industry, international organizations, and NGOs.
The report aims to raise awareness of the pivotal role information and
communication technology (ICT), and particularly broadband networks, can play in
helping creating a low carbon economy of the future, and highlights the
importance of public private partnerships in accelerating change. It is based on
interviews, case studies and supporting material from more than 20 leaders and
experts in the field.
“Addressing climate change implies completely transforming our way of life,
the way we work, the way we travel, shifting our model of development to a
fairer, more sustainable model to ensure our survival. We need to put at stake
all the resources available to us, and mobilize the political will to turn
discussions and negotiations into agreements and actions,” said ITU
Secretary-General Dr Hamadoun Touré.
Building on the agreements achieved at the 2011 United Nations Climate Change
Conference (COP-17), the report emphasizes the kind of transformative solutions
that are enabled by broadband. It provides practical examples of how broadband
can contribute to reducing greenhouse gasses (GHGs), mitigating and adapting to
the effects of climate change, and promoting resource efficiency, while at the
same time building more prosperous and inclusive societies.
“The understanding of the benefits that broadband can bring is at a global
tipping point. Its role in GDP growth, in enabling the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), and offsetting the effects of climate change is just now starting
to be understood, because finally the deployment is there and the benefits can
be realized. In today’s economic climate, societies need to develop, and with a
solutions-driven approach to climate change, we can accelerate a new type of
green growth while supporting global sustainable development goals,” said Hans
Vestberg.
Last year UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stressed the importance of
harnessing ICTs to improve the lives of people worldwide. In a message to the
fourth meeting of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development in Geneva in
October 2011, he said: “It is clear to me that information and communication
technologies are transforming our world. Today, there is no part of modern life
that is not affected by ICTs. With well over five billion mobile cellular
subscriptions, and more than two billion people online, our challenge is to
leverage the enormous power of technology to make the world a better place.”
In the lead-up to the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development (Rio+20) in June, the report presents ten recommendations from the
Broadband Commission for policymakers and global leaders to hasten and
strengthen the power of ICT and broadband to accelerate global progress towards
a low-carbon economy:
- Lead with vision: adopt a long-term National Broadband
Plan/Strategy based on universal affordability and
accessibility, open markets and innovation, and consciously
connect this to your climate goals.
- Bring convergence: Bring convergence to ICT policy
formulation so that it aligns with other policy areas such as
energy, health, education and climate in order to maximize
impact.
- Ensure regulatory certainty: Ensure clear regulatory rules
and regulations on climate and broadband to create a framework
of investment certainty.
- Be an example: drive cross-ministry collaboration and
integrated decision-making to align climate and digital goals,
and use government procurement to send the right market signals.
- Foster flexibility: identify and remove the regulatory and
policy barriers currently hindering research and investment in
21st century ICT-based broadband-enabled infrastructure and low
carbon solutions.
- Provide incentives: encourage uptake of low-carbon solutions
and support market change by rewarding or incentivizing desired
consumer behaviours. Spur innovation among individuals,
companies and sectors.
- Build the market: fund and facilitate scalable pilots to
demonstrate feasibility and effectiveness of broadband as an
enabler of low-carbon solutions and build a strong business case
to attract private investment.
- Form partnerships: cultivate connectivity and
‘co-creativity’ across public, private and non-governmental
sectors and industries to help develop a collaborative mindset,
shared goals and a common language, and to help break down
silos.
- Measure and standardize: develop harmonized metrics and
measurements and common standards for calculating both the
environmental impacts of ICTs and the positive contribution
technology can make to other sectors – from individual products
to systems, and from individual households to the city and/or
national levels.
- Share knowledge and raise awareness: actively disseminate
project findings, share best practice and learn from mistakes to
identify success factors and facilitate leapfrogging, especially
among less developed markets. Communicate the opportunities and
synergies that can be achieved through an integrated,
trans-sector approach to digital development infrastructure and
low carbon solutions.
The 5th meeting of the Broadband Commission is taking place today, Monday 2
April, in Ohrid, Macedonia, hosted by the Macedonian Ministry of Information
Society and Administration.
Download the full version of the new report at:
www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/Climate/BD-bbcomm-climate.pdf
Download a 1-page ‘highlights’ document at:
www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/Climate/Broadband-bridgefinal-lowresNowm.pdf
Watch a video interview with Dr Hamadoun Touré and Climate Change Working
Group Chairman Hans Vestberg at:
http://bit.ly/HjMe3i.
For more information on the Broadband Commission, visit:
www.broadbandcommission.org
Follow the Broadband Commission on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/broadbandcommission
Follow the Broadband Commission on Twitter:
www.itu.int/twitter
For more information please contact:
Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information, ITU
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Ericsson Corporate Public & Media Relations
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