ITU Telecom World 2009 In Review lenge our ability to achieve the economic and social objectives that define sustainable development. Key questions discussed at this session included: 1. What is the most pressing climate change challenge for developing coun-tries? 2. What are the particular challenges faced by developing countries? 3. The potential. What can ICTs potentially do? 4. The reality. What are ICTs doing? And is it fast enough? 5. Too many actors. What is the role of the different players, from govern-ment, NGOs or international organizations to researchers and business strategists. 6. Beyond rhetoric. What are the real ways of working together to harness ICTs to minimise and reduce the impacts of climate change in developing countries? Summary of debate After the presentations, discussion covered factors driving environmental im-provement and who best plays what role in areas such as: • Using wireless sensor applications to track the changes in glacial lakes in the Himalayas, and to link water-monitoring sensors in Pakistan. • Using existing technologies better; Positioning mobile phones as the ba-sic ICT tool to tackle environment challenges in developing countries (see e.g. Nepal / Himalaya examples). • Pushing forwards with pilot projects; a key task, but how can these be scaled up? Pilot projects need to be appropriated and used. • Including the most marginalized sectors of the population, identifying those core areas where local initiatives can make the most important impact at a local level. • Paying to generate global public goods? Costs of basic meteorological measurement are high for developing countries, e.g. global atmospheric data measuring and monitoring system costs USD 10 billion per year. 141 Forum Summary Report