Saving the Planet at the Speed of Light

Saving the Planet at the Speed of Light

[Here is an excellent report commissioned by the EU on how ICT technolgies
can help reduce carbon dioxide emissions. “ICT’s carbon dioxide reduction
impact is 10 times more than its direct carbon dioxide reduction”.  And we
have hardly started to look at making ICT technologies themselves more
energy efficient through use of web services, virtualization, grids, Web
2.0, NGI etc.

Research and education networks and university CIOs should play a critical
leadership role in experimenting and deploying new network and
cyber-infrastructures that minimize the carbon footprint of these
activities.  They can also deploy various types of “bits for carbon”
(e-dematerialisation ) trading schemes such as providing free download
music, video, electronic textbooks, and campus wide advanced tele-presence
systems in exchange for carbon fees assessed on student parking,
researcher’s travel, and inefficient high energy consuming computer
systems, etc.

Many of these techniques and practices will also lead to exciting new
business opportunities. Countries that will be the first to deploy ICT
strategies to mitigate global warming will be the new economic powerhouses
of the future global economy. For example companies like Cisco are to be
applauded for taking initiative in this area with their $15m Connected
Urban Development strategy to help cities deploy ICT solutions to reduce
CO2 emissions.

Some excerpts from the report – BSA]

www.etno.be/Portals/34/ETNO%20Documents/Sustainability/Climate%20Change%20Road%20Map.pdf


One of the world’s most pressing challenges is climate change: the need to
radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while continuing to enable
economic development, both in the European Union and worldwide is a
combination that requires innovative action.

The EU has affirmed that at least a 15-30% cut in greenhouse gas emissions
by 2020 will be needed to keep the temperature increase under 2 °C, and a
deeper reduction by 60-80% may be needed by 2050.

To achieve these reductions it will be necessary to go beyond incremental
improvements in energy efficiency, current life-styles and business
practices. Improved energy efficiency for existing lifestyles, cars and
domestic appliances may be enough to reach the initial Kyoto targets in
2012, but they will not be enough for deeper reductions. To achieve
dramatic reductions of CO2 additional structural changes in
infrastructure, lifestyles and business practice are necessary.

As demonstrated in this document, there is a potential to allow the ICT
sector to provide leadership. This is a sector that is used to rapid
changes and has many of the most innovative people in the business sector,
and a unique service focus: it can become an important part of the
solutions needed to combat climate change.

The strategic use of ICT can contribute significantly to energy
efficiency, sustainable economic growth as well as job creation. ICT can
reduce the need of travel and transportation of goods by bridging distance
problems. It can increase efficiency and innovation by allowing people to
work in more flexible ways. It can also ensure a shift from products to
services and allow for dematerialization of the economy.


bill.st.arnaud at canarie.ca
http://green-broadband.blogspot.com