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ICTs, ITU-T and Climate Change

ICTs, ITU-T and Climate Change. Arthur Levin, Head, Standardization Policy Division (ITU-T). The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the ITU or its Membership. Evidence for Climate Change.

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ICTs, ITU-T and Climate Change

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  1. ICTs, ITU-T and Climate Change Arthur Levin, Head, Standardization Policy Division (ITU-T) The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the ITU or its Membership.

  2. Evidence for Climate Change Source: IPCC 4th assessment report, 2007

  3. ICTs as a cause of global warming • ICTs (excluding broadcasting) contribute an estimated 2-2.5% of global Greenhouse Gas emissions • Around 0.9 tonnes GtCO2e in 2007 • Telecoms contributed around one quarter of this total Source: Gartner Group (2007)

  4. Toward a New Global Framework • COP-13 in Bali launched process for negotiation of new Agreement • Established AWGLCA (Ad Hoc Working Group on Long Term Cooperative Action) to develop work program • AWGLCA meetings • Bangkok (31 March–4 April) • Bonn (2-13 June) • Accra (21-27 August) • Meeting of COP-14 • Poznan, Poland (1-12 December) • COP-15 meets and expected to conclude Agreement • Bonn (29 March-8 April) • Bonn (1-12 June) • Three further sessions will be held prior to Copenhagen: 10-14 August in Bonn (informal meeting); 28 September-9 October in Bangkok and 2-6 November in Barcelona. • Copenhagen (7-18 December)

  5. WTSA-08 • Resolution 73 on Climate Change • Notes conclusion of GSS that ICT industry can set an example by committing to specific programs with objectives to reduce overall GHG emissions • 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 • Resolves that CC is a high priority in ITU as part of our contribution to UN processes and global efforts to moderate climate change • Resolves to promote adoption of recommendations to ensure greater energy efficient of ICT devices and reduce GHG emissions in all sectors

  6. WTPF – Opinion 3 • World Telecommunication and Policy Forum was held on 22-24 April 2009 in Lisbon, Portugal • Lisbon Consensus - Opinion 3 “ICT and the Environment” • Invited: • the ITU Secretary-General a) to bring the content of Resolution 73 (WTSA-08) on Information and communication technologies and climate change to the attention of the ITU Council and take appropriate actions, taking into consideration the United Nations commitment to lead by example, to achieve climate-neutral status within three years; b) to continue, within the mandate of the ITU, to cooperate and collaborate with other entities within the UN in formulating future international efforts for the effective addressing of climate change, and to report the results of these efforts to the Council; • The Deputy Secretary-General and the Directors of the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, the Radiocommunication Bureau and the Telecommunication Development Bureau a) to continue to work together, and with relevant study groups, to raise the awareness of these issues, especially in developing countries, as work progresses in their respective Sectors; b) to promote liaison with other relevant organizations in order to avoid duplication of work and to optimize the use of resources.

  7. ITU-T: Building Knowledge on Climate Change • ITU-T issued TECHWATCH Reports on CC and positive impact of new technologies • Next Generation Networks, Intelligent Transport Systems, etc. • Organizing Major Symposia on ICT and CC • 2008: Kyoto and London • 2009: Quito and Seoul (virtual event) • ITU-T pioneering energy efficient work methods • Paperless meetings, on-line work tools, etc. • ITU-T leading Dynamic Coalition on Internet and Climate Change as part of IGF

  8. The Challenge in the Pacific • Financing • Who will pay the bill for using ICTS for adaptation and mitigation • Impact of CC is costly even though Pacific Islands are not a major source of emissions • Total GHG emissions of Pacific Island countries is around 0.03% of global total • Half the population of island countries live with less than a mile of their coastlines; coral atolls no more than 3 meters above sea level • Impact of CC on marine environment, particularly on coral reefs, fisheries ad food security • Global Humanitarian Forum estimates CC already killing 300,000 people annually (0.8C degree warming)

  9. The Challenge in the Americas • Deforestation • 17-20 percent of GHG emissions • Financing • Who will pay the bill for using ICTS for adaptation and mitigation • Region includes 5 of 10 most biodiverse countries • At risk for large losses • Impact of CC is costly and exceeds even though not a major source of emissions • Hurricane damage will increase by 10-26% for each 1 degree warming of sea

  10. Mitigating the impact • Directly, e.g., through energy-saving • Next-Generation Networks (NGN) should reduce GHG emissions by 40% • Modern radio technologies reduce energy consumption by transmitters ~ 10 times • Indirectly, e.g. ICTs for carbon abatement • Video-conferencing to reduce business travel in Europe by 1% would save 1m CO2 tonnes • Systemically, e.g., by “dematerialisation” • Intelligent Transport Systems could reduce vehicle carbon emissions below 130g per km

  11. Towards a climate neutral ICT sector • NTT’s “Total Power Revolution” saved 124m kWh in 2007 • BT has reduced carbon emissions by 60% compared since 1996 • Telefonica created a Climate Change Office and is committed to reducing its consumption of network electricity by 30 per cent by 2015. • Other initiatives: • GeSI, Green Grid, WattWatt, FTTH Council Europe, EU codes of conduct, CBI Task Force etc

  12. Networks and Systems: optical access Although ICT networks and systems emit CO2, they can also reduce direct CO2 output and have the additional capability of enabling other sectors of society to reduce their carbon footprint. • With the introduction of fiber technology fixed networks gained additional speed and increased range while at the same time reducing power consumption. • The energy efficiency improvement of fiber networks compared to copper networks is tremendous.

  13. Using ICTs for carbon abatement / displacement • Reducing / substituting for travel • In 2007, Telstra held 7’500 video conferences saving 4’200 tonnes of CO2 • Flexible work arrangements • Each one million EU workers could save one million tonnes of CO2 annually by telecommuting • Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) • In-car systems to assist in “eco-driving” can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 20 per cent • Dematerialization (replacing atoms with bits) • ITU-T Recommendations Online save 105 million tonnes of CO2 annually compared with distribution of paper copies Sources: Climate Risk report for Telstra, ETNO/WWF report, Toyota, ITU

  14. Case-study: Comparison of GHG emissions of postal mail and e-mail services

  15. What trends do ICTs have at the device level? • Market doubles every 5 years[1] • E.g. Broadband expanding to more users • Until market saturates • Then upgrades replace ‘obsolete’ devices • New devices become a ‘must have’ • E.g. HDTV • Annual growth rate of internet traffic is 85%[2] • Increasing the energy conversion depending on the relative efficiency of devices in J/bit • Unsustainable growth at the micro level (see previous slide) • All three trends increase demand for energy mostly sourced from fossil fuel • the GeSI Smart 2020 report predicts growth in ICTs of 70% over the period 2007-2020 [1] Source Lynn Hutcheson Ovum. www.ovum.com [2] cfp.mit.edu/events/jan08/presentations/ODLYZKO-traffic-growth.ppt [3] http://www.smart2020.org/

  16. How do ITU standards contribute? • Ensuring public safety • E.g. Allocation of radio spectrum without interference (e.g. aviation frequencies, navigation systems) • Ensuring interoperability • E.g. devices from different vendors • Focus market to ensure competitive supply • High volumes, low prices • Adopt ‘best practice’ and ‘de-risk’ supply • Higher volumes • In standards we have always worked towards higher efficiency solutions • This will lead to lower emissions (when deployed within a GHG emission limited environment) • We need now to consider GHG emissions reduction as a clear driver for standards • Is there more we can do?

  17. ITU-T Challenges • Develop a methodology to measure impact of ICTs as part of national GHG reduction programs • Identify priority sectors where ICTs can reduce emissions (e.g. smart buildings • Disposal of ICTs • Adopt green working methods

  18. Deliverables: FG on ICT&CC • Deliverable 1: Definition • Defines the terms needed to analyze the major relationships between ICTs and Climate Change • Deliverable 2: Gap analysis and standards roadmap • Shows ongoing work (done by ITU, other standard bodies, universities, etc.) and future study issues • Deliverable 3: Methodologies • Covers the assessment of ICT sector’s emission over the entire life cycle of ICT devices • Also covers reducing other sector’s emission by the use of ICT • Deliverable 4: Direct and Indirect Impact of ITU Standards • Provides tools and guidelines to evaluate the reduction of emission of ICT sector and of other sector by the use of ICT

  19. ITU-T and Climate Change: Setting the Standard • FG on ICT&CC concluded with 4 Deliverables in March 2009. • Inputs from non-ITU members (e.g., academia) were also taken into considerations • All SGs examining impact of recommendations on climate change • SGs developing standards for new energy efficient technologies • E.g. SG-13 on Next Generation Networks • NGN estimated to be 40% more energy efficient

  20. Related Study Groups • Lead SG: SG5 • SG13 • Monitoring related Question: Principles and functional architecture for NGN (including ubiquitous networking) (Q5/13) • Future network related Question: Future Networks (Q21/13) • SG15 • Transport network related Questions: Access networks (Q.1/15), Optical access (Q.2/15), Core networks (Q.3/15), Metal access (Q.4/15), Protection/restoration (Q.9/15) • SG16 • RFID related Questions: Q.21/16 (multimedia applications and services) and Q.22/16 (multimedia architecture)

  21. Use of ITU-T Standardsto mitigate climate change: ITS • SG16 started related work • Examples of advantages: • Dynamic Navigation (Collection of traffic, environment, and floating car data, Dynamic route guidance) • ADAS (Adaptive Cruise Control(ACC), Intelligent Speed Adaption(ISA), etc.) • Telemetric Services (Real-time remote diagnostics, Alteration of driver behavior, etc.) • Delivery of congestion and danger spots information by using Vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications.

  22. SomeBackgroundMaterials • ITU Climate Change site • www.itu.int/climate • Climate Change symposia website • www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange • Technology Watch Briefing Reports • www.itu.int/ITU-T/techwatch/reports.html

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