ICTs, ITU and Climate
Change
Arthur Levin, Chief, Operations and
Planning Dept, TSB, ITU
(ITU-T)
Session 3: Hot Standardization Topics
Fiji, 4 July 2011
International
Telecommunication
Union
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the ITU or its Membership.
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Climate Change Impacts in Fiji
What the IPCC 4th Assessment Report has found:
 Coastal erosion, water resources and human
settlement on Pacific small islands will be at
increasing risk with changes in temperature, rainfall
and sea level rise. Accelerated coastal erosion,
saline intrusion into freshwater sources and
increased flooding from the sea may cause large
effects on human settlements. Less rainfall coupled
with accelerated sea level rise compound the threat
on water resources.
 Beach erosion is prevalent due to sea level rise
and human clearing of mangroves (1960s-1990s)
 It has been shown that port facilities would
experience overtopping, damage to wharves and
flooding of the hinterland if there were a 0.5 m rise
in sea level combined with waves associated with a
1/50 year cyclone.
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The Challenge in the Pacific
 Impact of CC is costly even though Pacific
Islands are not a major source of emissions
 Total GHG emissions of Pacific Island
countries is around 0.03% of global total
 Typhoon/hurricane damage will increase
by 10-26% for each 1 degree warming of
sea
 Half the population of island countries live
with less than a mile of their coastlines;
coral atolls no more than 3 meters above
sea level
 Impact of CC on marine environment,
particularly on coral reefs, fisheries ad food
security
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Looking Ahead to COP-17
 COP-17: 28 November - 9 December 2011,
Durban (South Africa)
 Bonn, June 2011: Fiji calls international community for
concrete legally binding commitments beyond 2012 (Kyoto
Protocol) – Mr. Peceli Vocea, Fiji’s Ambassador to the
European Union and Belgium
 Linking ICTs with the Cancun Agreements:
 The role of technology is already well recognized in
the UNFCCC process (through the Technology
Mechanisms and the Climate Technology Center and
Network – CTCN- established in the Cancun
Agreements)
 Innovation and the transfer and dissemination of
technologies, including ICTs, is key to both
mitigation and adaptation.
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1
 By driving down emissions in the
ICT sector itself
 By
2
cutting emissions and raising
energy efficiency in other sectors
 By
3
helping countries adapt to the
negative effects of climate change
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PCs:
Data Centres:
> Efficiency gains and longer product life.
> Shift from desktops to laptops
> Shift from CRT to LCD screens
> Potential breakthroughs – solid state hard drives,
new LCD screens, new battery technology, quantum
and optical computing
> Higher rates of virtualisation; more efficient
virtualisation architectures
> Low energy cooling
> “Utility”/“cloud” computing, Software as a
service
REDUCING ICT
SECTOR EMISSIONS
Telecoms Devices :
> “Smart” chargers
> 1W or lower standby devices
> Broadband routers and IPTV boxes’ footprint
increases over timeframe due to higher penetration
from small base today
Telecoms Infrastructure:
> New network management tools
> Network optimisation packages
> Solar-powered base stations
> Potential breakthroughs – night battery operation,
natural ventilation, “network sharing”
June 2011
Green by ICT
 Identifying priority sectors where ICTs
can reduce emissions (e.g. smart
buildings, intelligent transport systems,
smart grids)
 The promotion of NGNs (reducing power
consumption by up to 40%)
 Lifecycle analysis including
disposal/recycling of ICTs
 All new standards are now
checked for energy efficiency
International
Telecommunication
Union
Applications of ICTs to Climate
Change Adaptation
1. BASE LINE
-Socioeconomic
-Demographic
-Infrastructure
-Environmental
….etc…
Time
5. Activities
in targeted areas
Disaster Management Time Line
3. Monitoring
Shock
event
2. Risk Analysis
Identification of
Indicators and
Vulnerable areas
to monitor
4. Early warning
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Union
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ICTs at work for monitoring climate
change
 WMO World Weather





Watch, incorporating:
 Global Observing
system
 Global Telecom System
 Global Data Processing
system
Remote sensing
Environmental monitoring
 Tsunami early-warning
system
Digital climate forecasting
models
GPS-enabled telemetry
Ubiquitous sensor networks
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What ITU is doing to tackle
climate change and protect the
environment?
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ITU-T created Study Group
“Environment & Climate Change”
 ITU-T Study Group 5 (April 2009)
 New Working Party “ICT and Climate Change”
 Continuing and expanding the work
of ITU-T Focus Group on ICT and CC
 Next meeting will be held from
20 - 28 September, Seoul - Korea
 All ITU-T study groups to examine
impact of recommendations on climate
change
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ITU-T SG5 established seven
work areas
 Coordination and Planning of ICT&CC related standardization

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
(Question 17 of ITU-T SG 5)
Methodology of environmental impact assessment of ICT
(Q18/5)
Power feeding systems (Q19/5)
Data collection for Energy Efficiency for ICTs
over the lifecycle (Q20/5)
Environmental protection and recycling of
ICT equipments/facilities (Q21/5)
Setting up a low cost sustainable
telecommunication infrastructure for
rural communications in developing countries (Q22/5)
Using ICTs to enable countries to adapt to climate change
(Q23/5)
June 2011
ITU-T Methodology
 Common methodology for measuring ICT
carbon footprint
 Without, it will be impossible to provide
meaningful comparisons
 Helps to establish the
business case to go green
International
Telecommunication
Union
6 Recommendations under preparation

Overview and general principles, approved in February 2011

Environmental impact of ICT goods, networks and services

Environmental impact of ICT in organisations

Environmental impact of ICT projects

Environmental impact of ICT in countries

Environmental impact of ICT in cities
 Covers definition of different types of environmental impacts, and general
principles for the evaluation of ICT environmental impacts
 Focuses on energy and GHG emissions
 Covers direct and indirect impacts of ICT
 Consent expected in September 2011
 Includes 3 scopes of ISO 14064-1
 Consent expected in September 2011
 Consent expected in 2012
 Consent expected in 2012
 Consent expected in 2012
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Union
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Standard for a universal
charger for mobile phones
 “Universal power adapter and
charger solution for mobile
terminals and other ICT
devices” (ITU-T
Recommendation L.1000)
 specifies general requirements
 covers charger for mobile phones
 Future version will cover other
ICT devices
June 2011
ITU’s universal charger standard
Instead of this …
… have this:
Recommendation rev. L.1000
Approved June 2011 New
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Union
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Collaboration with UN
Agencies
 ITU with UNEP Basel Convention, United Nations
University and in collaboration with SteP Initiative and
the Center for Environment and Development for the
Arab Region (CEDARE) will carry out a joint survey on
e-waste (July 2011)
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Raising Awareness
 Research & Publications
 Technology Watch Reports
 Resources Website
 Symposiums, Events and
Workshops
 ITU Symposium in Ghana
 ITU Green Standards Week
 Workshop in Korea
 Joint Coordination Activity on
ICT&CC
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Using Submarine
Communications Networks to
Monitor the Climate
This ITU-T Technology Watch Report gives an overview of how old and new
submarine cables could be used for decades to come as a major resource
and a real-time global network to monitor climate change and to provide
tsunami warnings.
Future generations of cables and associated components could have the
capacity to directly measure climate variables, such as water temperature
and salinity, as well as give pressure readings on the ocean floor.
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/techwatch/Pages/submarinenetworks.aspx
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ICT as an Enabler for Smart
Water Management
Smart water management has become a key policy issue for the 21st
century, as a growing number of factors are impacting the delivery of
already scarce fresh water to millions of people.
Economic growth, seasonal climatic conditions and rising population are all
affecting availability of water resources. Moreover, a number of effects linked
to climate change, such as lengthy droughts and extreme weather events,
are worsening the situation.
This ITU-T Technology Watch Report provides an overview of how ICT can be
a strategic enabler for smart water management policies and surveys
upcoming ICT standards that will enable smart water initiatives.
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/techwatch/Pages/smartwatermanagement.aspx
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ITU Symposium on ICTs, the Environment
and Climate Change
 Where: Accra, Ghana
 When: 7-8 July 2011
 Objective: identify possible
goals, commitments and
modalities of the ICT sector
engagements to be developed
in the process leading to the
forthcoming 2011 United
Nations Climate Change
Conference (COP17-CMP7), to
be held in Durban, South
Africa in November 2011.

Organiser

Host

Sponsors
…..including Remote participation
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ITU is organizing the first Green Standards
Week from 5 to 9 September 2011 in Rome, Italy,
hosted by Telecom Italia.
Organiser
The Green Standards Week will bring together leading
specialists in the field, from top policy-makers to
engineers, designers, planners, government officials,
regulators, standards experts and others.
The main purpose is to raise awareness of the
importance and opportunities of using ICT standards to
build a green economy.
Host
General Information
 When: 5 - 9 September 2011
 Where: Rome, Italy
 Participation is free of charge
 Discussions will be held in English only
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange/gsw/201102/index.html
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ITU Green Standards Week
 5 September 2011.: Workshop on Methodologies for
Environmental Impact Assessment of ICT will examine work
underway to measure the impact of ICTs on climate change
and how to standardize the way to calculate the reduction of
GHG that ICTs have.
 Jointly organized with European Commission
 6-8 September 2011: Workshop on Moving to a Green Economy
through ICT Standards will explore how ICTs can help to address
climate change and build a green economy, shedding light on
standards, policies and best practices.
 High Level Segment with Ministers & CEOs
 8-9 September 2011: Workshop on Using Submarine
Communications Networks to Monitor the Climate, will aim to
encourage the development of new technologies and standards
and will explore business opportunities for telecommunication
companies to become active players in monitoring climate
change.
 Jointly organized with WMO
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ITU Workshop on Progressing the Climate
Agenda Through Green ICTs
 Where: Seoul, Korea
 When: 19 September
2011
 Objective: to move
forward the agenda on
using ICTs to monitor
climate change, mitigate
and adapt to its effects.

Organiser

Host
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ITU-T established Joint
Coordination Activity (JCA)
 Objectives:
 to co-ordinate across ITU-T study groups
and with ITU-R and ITU-D
 to seek co-operation from external bodies
including non-ITU member organizations
 Next Physical Meeting: 28 September 2011, Seoul,
Korea (remote participation will be provided)
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
“The objective of
this competition is
to push
contestants to
think outside the
box and develop
concept papers for
an ICT application
that will be a
valuable
contribution to
green ICT
industry. Looking
forward to
receiving your
creative and
exciting ideas! ”
Malcolm Johnson
Director, ITU
Telecommunication
Standardization Bureau
Sponsors

Deadline – 15 July 2011
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Call to Action
ICT plays a critical role for:
 Mitigation
 Adaptation
 Capacity building
 Technology transfer
Overall ICT impacts every facet of
human life – it is a driving engine
for socio-economic development
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Links & Additional
Information
 ITU-T and climate change
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange
 ITU and climate change
http://www.itu.int/climate
 ITU Symposia & Events on ICTs and Climate Change
http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/worksem/climatechange
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arthur.levin@itu.int
June 2011