[We have been hearing a lot lately about the benefits of ICT to reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. Several studies indicate that ICT may reduce GHG emissions by as much as 15%.
At the same time many industries have announced plans to be carbon neutral such as Dell, Cisco, Google etc. Academia and government are also moving in this direction with voluntary and, in some cases, mandatory carbon neutrality targets.
We all believe that optical networks, clouds, virtualization, grids, SOA, broadband etc can play a critical role in achieving our respective carbon neutrality objectives. But in order to use ICT technologies to achieve carbon neutrality an institution must demonstrate that the actual carbon savings are real, verifiable and auditable. Vendor’s claims of increased energy efficiency, or reduced travel, are meaningless and worthless without ISO 14064 compliance.
Compliance with ISO 14064 is necessary to demonstrate genuine carbon reduction and it may also lead to the possibility of earning carbon offset dollars from various trusts like the Pacific Carbon Trust and ultimately maybe even real dollars from large carbon exchanges in Chicago, Montreal etc.
What we desperately need from equipment vendors and telecommunication supplier is actual examples or implementation of how an ICT product or service reduced GHG emissions through the rigorous process of ISO 14064 certification. As pressure for carbon neutrality mounts, vendors and suppliers who can demonstrate solutions with ISO 14064 are the only ones who will win new business.
A good example is the recent Google-GE announcement, for Google to earn carbon offsets in its goal to achieve carbon neutrality. Climate-check (www.climate-check.com) and Green House Gas Services (http://www.ghgs.com/ ) developed the ISO 14064 protocol for this project. – BSA]
Green IT/Broadband and Cyber-infrastructure Overview
One of the greatest threats to our future society and economy is global warming. It is estimated that the CO2 emissions of the ICT industry alone exceeds the carbon output of the entire aviation industry. The ICT industry and research community has a collective responsibility to help address this problem. Fortunately, as compared to the aviation industry, the ICT industry and research community has the tools at hand to reduce its direct CO2 output to zero and the additional capability of enabling other sectors of society to reduce their carbon footprint through "Carbon rewards" rather than unpopular "Carbon taxes". Governments around the world are wrestling with the challenge of how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The current preferred approaches are to impose “carbon” taxes and implement various forms of cap and trade or carbon offset systems. However another approach to help reduce carbon emission is to “reward” those who reduce their carbon footprint. It is estimated that consumers control or influence over 60% of all CO2 emissions. As such, one possible reward system of trading “bits and bandwidth for carbon”, or sometimes called "gCommerce" is to provide homeowners with free fiber to the home or free wireless products and other electronic services such as ebooks and eMovies if they agree to pay a premium on their energy consumption which will encourage them to reduce emissions by turning down the thermostat or using public transportation. Not only does the consumer benefit, but this business model also provides new revenue opportunities for network operators, optical equipment manufacturers, and eCommerce application providers.
Universities can also play a significant leadership role as cyber-infrastructure is one of the major producers of CO2 emissions at our universities. Although cyber-infrastructure is part of the problem, it can also be part of the solution. The beauty of cyber-infrastructure and ICT in general, is that thanks to high speed optical networks, this equipment can be located virtually anywhere. Relocating cyber-infrastructure computers, databases, instrumentation and laboratory equipment to remote renewable energy sites not only helps the environment but can also save the institution significant money in their energy bills. More importantly such a strategy also allows the university or researcher to earn valuable carbon offset dollars. A good example of this strategy is the PROMPT initiative "Next Generation Internet to Reduce Global Warming (G-NGI)" where researchers and institutions can earn valuable offset dollars for Internet technologies and process that reduce CO2 emissions. Universities can also encourage students and faculty to reduce their respective carbon footprint by also implementing a "gCommerce" reward system such as free eTextbooks, free downloads of video and music in exchange for students paying a premium on parking, travel and other related activities.
For more details please see
Free Fiber and High Speed Internet to the Home Initiative
http://free-fiber-to-the-home.blogspot.com/
ICT and Global Warming - opportunities for innovation and economic growth
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dgbgjrct_2767dxpbdvcf
PROMPT Next Generation Internet to Reduce Global Warming
http://www.promptinc.org/documents/NGI_release_en_v2.pdf
Monday, September 22, 2008
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