ICTs for reducing C emissions: a development perspective

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ICTs for reducing C emissions a development
perspective

• Richard Labelle
• (rlab_at_sympatico.ca)
• ICT Strategist ITU-D Consultant
• The Aylmer Group
• Gatineau, Canada

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ICTs for abating climate change

• Objective
• Enhance the capacity of developing countries to
  use ICTs to mitigate the effects of and adapt to
  climate change
• Steps
• Document impacts of ICTs on climate change
  worldwide
• Assess relevance to the developing world in
  consultation
• Identify priorities
• Develop strategies and tools
• Consult, test modify, improve
• Raise awareness
• Execute

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ITU Work on e-Environment

• ITU mandate on ICT applications and strategies

• Co-facilitator of WSIS Action Line C7 on
  e-Environment
• Develop guidelines, training materials and
  toolkits on technology policy aspects of
  e-Environment applications
• Assist developing countries in implementing
  relevant ICT applications for environment and
  sustainable development

Mandate Resolution 35, ITU Plenipotentiary
Conference (Kyoto, 1994) Resolution 54, ITU
World Telecommunication Development Conference
(Doha, 2006)
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ICTs for e-Environment Report

• Objective
• Provide guidelines for developing countries on
  the use of ICTs for better management and
  protection of the environment as a key part of
  their development process, with particular focus
  on climate change
• Examines six areas of ICT use
• Environmental Observation
• Analysis
• Planning
• Management and Protection
• ICT Mitigation and
• Capacity Building

http//www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb
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Current ITU-D Activities

• To assist decision-makers in ITU Members States,
  ITU-D has initiated a series of activities
• E-Environment toolkit Practical guidelines for
  assessing needs and establishing strategies for
  the implementation of national e-environment
  plans
• Capacity building Joint training with the Abdus
  Salam International Centre for Theoretical
  Physics (ICTP)

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Effects of ICTs

• 1st Order
• The direct environmental impact of ICT product
  cycles
• Trend newer and more energy efficient
  technologies
• 2nd Order
• in energy process efficiency as a result
  of using ICTs for business and everyday uses
  e-business e-commerce, e-government
• in energy efficiency has potential for
  greatest impact
• 3rd Order
• Behavioural adaptations / System wide effects

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ICTs and energy efficiencytaken from CEC
COM(2009) 111 final

• ICTs enable energy efficiency by reducing the
  amount of energy to deliver a service
• By monitoring and directly managing energy
  consumption in major energy using sectors,
• By providing the tools for more energy-efficient
  business models and practices and lifestyles
  e-commerce, e-government, telework, etc.
• By delivering innovative technologies, ICTs can
  reduce wasteful consumption of energy
  solid-state lighting is one clear example.
  Emerging solutions in computing such as thin
  clients, grid computing and virtualization
  technologies promise to reduce redundancies
  existing in todays systems.

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ICTs and energy efficiency contd taken from
CEC COM(2009) 111 final

• ICTs can provide the quantitative basis on which
  energy-efficient strategies can be devised,
  implemented and evaluated
• Smart metering exploits the capacity of ICTs to
  quantify energy consumption and provide
  appropriate information to consumers
• Measuring energy performance at a system level

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Challenges

• A lack of awareness of the potential that ICTs
  have to mitigate climate change
• More concerned with the limiting the 2 ICT
  related emissions than the potential for reducing
  the 98
• Climate change the environment not priorities
  in many DCs priorities unless dealing with
• Weather or emergencies / disaster preparedness
  agricultural production
• Lack of knowledge
• Limited availability of the documented
  technologies and practices
• What is the impact? How to measure the impact of
  ICTs?
• What standards to use ITU SG5 (Environment
  climate change)
• Cost
• The cost of installing smart meters may be a
  deterrent, etc.
• Some solutions may lead to increased CO2
  emissions initially
• The nature of economic activity that powers the
  economy
• Will less industrialized countries benefit and
  how?
• Will rural dwellers benefit?

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Opportunities

• Better designed ICT devices and components
• Dematerialization
• Increased process efficiency
• Smart motor systems
• Smart logistics
• Smart transportation systems
• Smart buildings
• Efficiency in electricity generation and
  management (Smart Grids)
• Smart human ecosystems

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Questions

• ICTs have potential for helping developed and
  developing countries to mitigate the impact of
  CC - is this so?
• What is the potential for mitigating CC using
  ICTs in developing countries?
• Is using ICTs for mitigating CC in developing
  countries a priority? This needs to be
  demonstrated to secure support
• What has been done so far to research / document
  the effect of ICTs on mitigating CC in the
  developing world?
• Who are potential partners to further research
  and explore this question?

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Australian energy emissions by sector
Source Climate Risk Pty. 2007. Towards a
High-Bandwidth, Low-Carbon Future
Telecommunications-based Opportunities to Reduce
Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Fairlight, Australia.
109 pp. http//www.climaterisk.com.au/wp-content/u
ploads/2007/CR_Telstra_ClimateReport.pdf
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http//cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/sustainable-growth
/studies_en.html
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ICT energy saving potential in the EU (2020)
(Bio Intelligence Service report)
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ICT CO2 saving potential in the EU (2020) (Bio
Intelligence Service report)
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Quoted in study by L. Hilty, V. Coroama, M.
Osses, T.Ruddy, EMPA (CH) / ICT Ensure
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Quoted in study by L. Hilty, V. Coroama, M.
Osses, T.Ruddy, EMPA (CH) / ICT Ensure
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Reducing C intensity in education in Brasil
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(No Transcript)
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What does it mean?

• Greatest potential is in smart motors, energy
  generation and smart controls smart buildings,
  transportation, logistics, grids
• For the EU the Eco solution offers
• Actual results depend on C intensity of energy
  generation technologies used
• In rural areas in DCs, main benefits from
  introducing low bandwidth services wireless
  services
• e-government, e-commerce to reduce displacements,
  queuing, inefficiencies (corruption),
  remittances, for bill payments, etc.
• Probably not significant in the C balance

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Implications for developing countries

• All countries can respond to climate change by a
  process of adaptation to its impacts and by
  reducing GHG emissions (mitigation), thereby
  reducing the rate and magnitude of climate change
  
• The capacity to adapt and mitigate is dependent
  on socio-economic and environmental circumstances
  and availability of ICTs
• Many countries have limited capacity to make
  beneficial use of ICTs for environmental action
• Limited access to affordable infrastructure
  internet
• Limited human capacity to analyze interpret
  climate change data
• Limited capacity to integrate scientific data
  into decision- and policy-making
• Limited capacity to undertake adaptation,
  mitigation, R D
• Little political will
• But popular demand for environmental action is
  increasing

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The e-environment toolkit

• The e-environment Toolkit identifies factors that
  influence the readiness of countries to use ICTs
  as a tool for fighting environmental change in
  general and climate change in particular
• Readiness assessment
• Measure / estimate actual and potential
  contribution of specific ICT technologies and
  applications
• Comparative analysis identify and track
  indicators
• The e-Environment Readiness Index (EERI)
• Work in progress

Prepared in collaboration with Ralph Rodschat of
Nortel, draft under review.
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Indicators used
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Latin America Details
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Latin America Map and Ranking
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First level EERI