Pressure grows for IT inclusion in Copenhagen agreement

Tom Young, Computing, Tuesday 24 November 2009 at 17:09:00

Cisco and Ericsson chief executives are understood to be keen, as well as UN
secretary general Ban Ki-moon

The international body that regulates telecommunications has succeeded in
getting mention of IT into the draft climate agreement to be negotiated at
Copenhagen next month.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) says the move is vital to
getting the IT sector included in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or any
successor to it.

The CDM allows government and businesses in the developed world to receive
carbon credits for investing in certain types of carbon-reduction projects in
the developing world.

But currently IT companies that want to invest in carbon-reduction projects
in developing countries won't receive credits.

This has to change, according to Malcolm Johnson, director of the ITU's
standardisation bureau.

"This is a way of bridging the digital divide and tackling climate change.
It's a win-win situation," he said.

Awarding CDM credits for IT projects would encourage ICTs to develop smart
grids, intelligent transport systems and high-speed broadband in developing
countries ? all of which reduce emissions.

The ITU argues that ICTs will eventually invest in developing countries
anyway. Encouraging them to do so now and awarding credits for certain projects
will encourage them to do so in a more sustainable manner.

For example, instead of simply replacing mobile phone masts which provide the
telecoms infrastructure in African countries, firms would receive carbon credits
if they installed replacement masts powered by renewables.

Cisco chief executive John Chambers and Ericsson chief executive Carl-Henric
Svanberg are understood to be pressing the US and Danish government respectively
to get ICTs mentioned more widely in the Copenhagen agreement.

Johnson says the ITU has written to all governments attending Copenhagen and
asked them to press for further inclusion. The ITU will also have a delegation
at the conference.

The move is also understood to have the support of Ban Ki-moon, secretary
general of the UN, who is likely to mention the importance of ICTs in reducing
emissions in his opening speech at Copenhagen.

But the ITU still fears that the subject of ICTs will be dropped in the
frantic trading that goes on during negotiations.

A report from the Climate Group found that ICTs have the potential to reduce
global greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent by 2020.

Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2253895/top-level-pressure-grows-ict