Delegates at the Durban Summit would be well advised to consider the role IT can play in cutting emissions and mitigating the impact of climate change, the UN’s own technology body has said.
IT is estimated to be responsible for between two and five per cent of global emissions, and businesses and governments are well aware of how to lessen that impact, Dr Bilel Jamoussi, chief of the International Telecommunication Union’s study groups department, said in an interview.
Technologies such as smart grids and intelligent transport systems are already well established as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but Jamoussi said that the potential for IT to be used to support climate adaptation efforts has been overlooked until fairly recently.
The ITU will release a report at the Durban Summit this week highlighting how an IT project in Ghana has helped adapt the country’s cocoa industry to make it more resilient to climate change impacts.
“The report will look at how ICT [information and communications technology] can be used in optimising production,” Dr Jamoussi said. “For example, sharing real-time information between producers and end users.”
The report is based on one country, but Jamoussi told BusinessGreenthat the findings are applicable to most developing nations.
“It’s a really good sign that these countries are seeing how they can adapt,” he said. “These countries are not always big producers of greenhouse gases, but they are the most affected [by climate change].”
The ITU has also launched a set of three standardised methodologies that will allow businesses and governments to compare the direct and indirect environmental impacts of products and networks throughout their lifecycle.
It has also has helped develop a universal charger for mobile phones that is due to hit stores next year and which reduces the consumption of electricity when no device is attached.
The EU threatened legislation unless mobile phone manufacturers agreed to work on a standardised charger, after research revealed that they generate more than 51,000 tonnes of electric waste each year.
Jamoussi speculated that the global savings resulting from the new standardised design could be even higher.
“We believe this one charger will have a huge impact on e-waste,” he said. “When people get a new phone they also need a new charger. This results in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of e-waste we can save.”
With reports from Durban suggesting the talks are again deadlocked, the ITU is also campaigning for technology to be better integrated into the long-running negotiations.
“Our key goal is that ICT is viewed as an enabler and plays a central role in adaptation and mitigation,” Jamoussi said. “Our report and recommendations are a concrete example of that.”
