Standards can have a major impact on the sustainability of information and communication technology (ICT). Eurescom mess@ge editor-in-chief asked Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré, the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a major global standardisation organisation, about his views on ICT and sustainability. Besides standardisation and radio-spectrum allocation, the ITU is also pushing for access to ICT in developing countries. The development aspect is of high importance to the sustainability discussion, and it is of particular interest to Dr. Touré, who played a key role in developing satellite communications in Africa. 

How can ICT contribute to a global reduction of greenhouse gases? 

Touré: We know that the ICT sector produces some 2 to 3 per cent of total emissions of greenhouse gases. We are also aware that this share will increase with growing ICT use as we roll out more broadband and more mobile networks. 

But while ICTs contribute to global warming, we must also acknowledge that these technologies are a critical tool in helping to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. At the same time as the ICT sector is making strong efforts to limit and reduce its own carbon footprint, ICTs can be used in other economic and social sectors to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions. 

For example, ICTs can eliminate the need for some travel and improve transport efficiency, helping to cut the carbon footprint of individuals and companies. And in these times of financial crisis any means to reduce unnecessary travel will be grasped by hard-pushed companies, underlining the need for fast tracked development of these technologies. 

ICTs help to spread the knowledge needed to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change more generally and provide a platform for the development of more energy efficient technologies. 

In fact, ICTs are a key enabling technology that can be used to combat climate change in all sectors, including through intelligent transport systems, smart buildings, better supply chain management and monitoring of global warming. In short, ICTs are a relatively minor part of the problem, but a major part of the solution.  

Estimates vary, but ICTs could help cut global emissions by between 15 and 40 per cent.  

What is the ITU doing to make ICT part of the solution in addressing climate change?

Touré: International coordination in the mitigation of climate change is crucial. For its part, ITU is spearheading international efforts in the field of ICT and will contribute its findings into the wider international effort. At the same time, ITU is helping its membership, particularly developing countries, to adapt to climate change. 

ITU has activities on climate change that cut across all of its sectors. For example in the Radio sector we are working on the identification of the necessary radio-frequency spectrum for climate monitoring by satellites and disaster prediction, detection and relief. ITU has cooperated with the World Meteorological Organization and other international agencies in the development of systems involved in climate monitoring for many years and just recently we have started work with WMO in the field of remote-sensing applications. 

The Development sector of ITU has a strong focus on raising awareness and helping developing countries to mitigate climate change and sustainability issues. ITU together with the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, supports an initiative of ICT service providers and suppliers called the Global e-Sustainability Initiative. The initiative will provide direct assistance to countries on policies and strategies for the harmonized co-existence of man and the environment through the use of ICTs. 

ITU is also continuing to help developing countries to implement solutions to mitigate the effects of climate change and severe weather events through the use of emergency telecommunications and alerting systems for disaster relief. 

And, as the preeminent global body for standardization in the field of ICT, ITU is working to limit and ultimately reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and foster sustainable development, in particular by promoting the use of more energy efficient ICT devices and networks and the development of technical standards, called Recommendations, to limit and reduce the power requirements of ICT equipment and services. We are also working on metrics that will enable better reporting by ICT companies on exactly what their carbon footprints are.  

ITU will share knowledge and best practices on the clean production and use of ICTs and how they can be used as a tool to assist countries, in particular developing countries, to mitigate and adapt to climate change. For example we recently produced a toolkit to provide guidelines for developing countries on how to use ICTs for better management and protection of the environment. 

The potential role of ICTs in promoting environmental protection and sustainable development was first recognized in ITU back in 1994. Our activity in this area was given a significant impetus by the UN Secretary-General when he visited ITU headquarters in 2007 and stated that ITU is one of the most important stakeholders in terms of climate change and encouraged us to play a greater role. The Secretary General reemphasized this in a message he sent to the recent High Level Segment of ITU’s Council. 

ITU’s work on ICTs and climate change was also given a boost with the publication of our Technology Watch report on ICTs and climate change in early 2008. To build our knowledge base, we held major symposia in Kyoto and London to consider the link between ICTs and climate change and will hold more such symposia in the coming year. And at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Poznan, Poland, ITU hosted a session to increase awareness and promote information sharing on the role of ICTs in combating climate change.  

How can global standards contribute to increasing the sustainability of ICT? 

Touré: In general the process of standardization has an enormous contribution to make in terms of sustainability. Standards reduce technical barriers and promote compatibility between systems, avoid costly market battles over preferred technologies, and reduce costs. They aid developing countries in building their infrastructure and encouraging economic development. Globalisation requires global standards, and a global standards body like ITU clearly has a major role to play. 

One outcome of the Kyoto and London symposia was the establishment of a Focus Group, open to all, to develop internationally agreed standard methodologies to measure the impact of ICTs on climate change, both in direct and indirect terms. By developing a  consistent basis for the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from ICTs, manufacturers, operators and users can work systematically to contain and to reduce their effect on the climate.  

The Focus Group held its first meeting in September 2008, with some people attending ‘virtually’ by means of electronic working methods. It will additionally identify areas where standards, protocols and methodologies can be developed that will help to achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. It will complete its work in early 2009. 

New developments in technology can help. Next generation networks are a major focus of our new standards, and ITU recently published a Technology Watch report showing potential energy savings from deployment of next generation networks compared to traditional public switched telephone networks of as much as 40 per cent.  

These savings are achieved by adopting higher standards for energy efficiency of ICT devices both in use and in standby mode, plus tolerance by networks of a wider range of temperatures and humidity, which will reduce the need for heating and cooling. 

Better use of power-saving modes for ICT equipment, e.g. PCs, mobile and laptops can reduce emissions and this is another important area of our work. For example our new broadband standard VDSL-2 has three power modes. 

With the introduction of digital modulation for broadcasting a saving of almost 10 times is made over power consumption by radio broadcasting equipment. Again ITU’s work is instrumental in this switchover with the ITU Regional Radio communication Conference 2006 having been responsible for the Regional Plan for 120 countries’ switchover from analogue to digital transmission. 

The vast majority of the existing standards, protocols and methodologies were developed at a time when the improvement of energy efficiency and the reduction of the emissions of greenhouse gass were not given a sufficiently high priority. In the light of the urgency for action on greenhouse gas emissions these are being reviewed according to an energy impact checklist developed by our experts. The same list is used to check that all new standards conform to energy saving requirements.  

Which policy-setting instruments are required in ICT to advance environmental sustainability? 

Touré: We need to be sure that policy can also have a positive effect on economic growth. The development of ICTs for the mitigation of climate change is clearly a growth area, as countries commit to reducing their carbon footprint. It therefore has to be seen as an opportunity and that should be the basis for any policy instruments put in place. 

At the ITU, a number of Resolutions and Recommendations have been recently adopted by the membership to focus our work on climate change and to emphasize the importance of collective approaches to this issue. 

For example, at the recent World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly in South Africa, the ITU membership adopted a major Resolution on climate change. It recognizes that ICTs can make a substantial contribution and be a major factor to mitigate the effects of climate change, for example through energy-efficient devices, applications and networks. It resolves that climate change is a high priority in ITU as part of our contribution to the UN processes and global efforts to moderate climate change.  

In support of these standardization efforts policies must be implemented in a coordinated and standardized way globally. Without global application these instruments are irrelevant. They must be applied in a global context. 

More generally, ICT policymakers must raise awareness at all levels of the key role that ICTs can play in moderating climate change as part of global and national strategies.  

The positive role of ICTs should be recognized more in global discussions on climate change. ITU is taking an active role to bring this message to the ongoing negotiations towards a new global agreement on climate change. ITU is working closely with its partners in the UN system as well as other agencies to deliver as one and provide comprehensive solutions to climate change.  

What is your personal vision of a sustainable future and ICT's role in it? 

Touré: At ITU Telecom Africa in 2008 we were able to report unpredicted and unprecedented growth of mobile telecommunications, with millions of people obtaining a phone for the first time. We have now reached four billion users at the end of 2008. We need to maintain the expansion of services, which are so valuable to emerging economies, but we need to do so without increasing the carbon footprint per capita. We need to set and to achieve targets for increased energy efficiency. 

I strongly believe that ICTs have a key role to play in sustainability. The knowledge society has at its heart the amazing developments in ICTs of the past decade. We are learning to better harness this knowledge and create global solutions.  

Close to my heart are the concerns of developing countries. Poorer countries generate a tiny proportion of greenhouse gas, yet frequently bear the brunt of problems related to climate change. I welcome the international efforts such as those undertaken under the UN umbrella to fully embrace this issue. Clearly ICTs are playing a strong role here.

The trickle down effect of this international effort will be a reduction – over time – in the effects of climate change and that applies to developing as much as it does to developed countries. 

We are now beginning to understand how to use ICTs to achieve mitigation of climate change. We must strive to reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions. With 191 governments and over 700 private sector members in its membership, ITU has a unique ability to bring all stakeholders together to help achieve these aims on a global scale. We strongly believe that these are achievable goals, and that an industry that has given birth to the most positive and powerful global revolution of the last century can also be called on to help usher in a new era of corporate responsibility. 

ITU itself is committed to achieving climate-neutral status within three years, for instance by bringing its work closer to our membership rather than expecting the membership to travel to Geneva, by using webcasts to broadcast events, and by making all ITU-T Recommendations and other key documents available online free of charge. Making the ITU-T Recommendations available online was estimated to save 105 tonnes of CO2 annually, in both paper and its distribution. 

We see a future where we can reduce our carbon footprint by reducing travel, using more energy efficient devices, finding alternative energy sources and yet still keep productivity high. And this will not be possible without the application of ICT. ICT is in fact less a part of the problem but more an important part of the solution. And in the face of the global financial crisis it is all the more important to understand the positive impact that the application of ICTs can have on global markets.

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