DOCUMENT #:
GSC13-PLEN-11r1
FOR:
Presentation
SOURCE:
ITU
AGENDA ITEM:
Plenary, 6.9
CONTACT(S):
Malcolm Johnson, Kevin Hughes
ITU activities associated with
climate change
ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T)
ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R)
Submission Date:
July 14, 2008
Highlight of Current Activities (Radio)
• ITU-R studies focus on use of ICTs for:
– climate monitoring and weather forecasting
– prediction, detection and mitigation of effects of natural disasters
• Space-based active and passive sensors
– track tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, forest fires, etc.
– monitor atmospheric composition (GHGs)
– monitor ocean topography, sea temperature, ice distribution, etc.
• Many radio services involved
– for remote sensing: Met-sat, EESS, Met-aids
– for dissemination of remote sensing data, warning of impending natural
disasters and subsequent relief operations: FSS, BSS, BS, FS, MS
– all systems contribute to Global Observing System (GOS)
• Quality of data (precision and resolution) depends on adequate
availability of interference-free spectrum
– ITU-R Study Groups (particularly SG 7)
– WRC decisions
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Highlight of Current Activities (Standardization)
• Symposia on ICTs and Climate Change
– Kyoto April 2008, London June 2008, other regions 2009
• Review of Recommendations in light of climate change
– TSAG in December (liaison statement 30) recommended a systematic review
of all ITU-T Recs to understand their possible implications for climate change
– SG15 WP/1 has developed a checklist to assist standards developers
• Creation of Focus Group on ICTs and Climate Change
– TSAG in July established a Focus Group on ICT & Climate Change open to all
• in particular to develop a common methodology for evaluating the direct and indirect
impacts of ICTs on GHG emissions
– To join please email Fixit@itu.int
– First meeting Geneva, 1-3 September
• Research reports (ITU-T Technology Watch Briefing Reports)
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ICTs and Climate Change
Remote collaboration tools
Telepresence: high-performance video-conferencing
NGN and energy efficiency (forthcoming)
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Strategic Direction (Radio)
• WRC-07 extended spectrum allocations and adopted protection
criteria for services involved in environmental monitoring in
general, some of which are directly relevant to climate monitoring
• WRC-07 and RA-07 adopted Resolutions on studies and actions
by Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) relating to the services
involved with Earth observation and with disaster prediction,
detection and relief
• Draft agenda of WRC-11 contains several items concerning the
use and further development of radiocommunication systems
involved with environmental monitoring
• Increasing the awareness of Member States to the beneficial use
of ICTs in monitoring and reducing the impact of climate
change
• General move from analogue to digital broadcasting will result
in a reduction in number of transmitters and their power
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Strategic Direction (Standardization)
• Development of a common methodology
– Evaluating direct emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from use of ICTs
(around 2 per cent of total and growing according to new GeSI report)
– Evaluating savings in GHG emissions in other sectors through application of
ICTs (e.g. teleconferencing, teleworking, smart buildings etc)
– Active participation of mitigating climate change (e.g. Ubiquitous Sensor
Networks for monitor/prompt reaction, ITS etc.)
• NGN and energy efficiency
– Building energy efficiency principles into standards development right from
the start
– Achieving savings in implementation, eg through reduction in number of
switching centres
– Developing multiple power modes eg for xDSL equipment
• Carrying out a gap analysis of standards work
– Identifying which standards development organisations (SDOs) are carrying
out what activities – contributions welcomed
– Identifying new candidates for standardization
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Challenges
“There need to be new technical
standards. For transport, power
grids and buildings to become
more efficient, there must be rules
on how, for instance, refrigerators
should talk to electricity meters,
and thermostats to heating
systems. But the internet shows
that when common standards are
agreed on in an industry, great
things can happen. The
technology industry's contribution
to tackling climate change may
come from its standards bodies as
much as its clever gizmos.”
The Economist, June 19 2008
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Next Steps/Actions
• Radiocommunication
– Studies and actions relating to the services involved with Earth observation
and with disaster prediction, detection and relief
– Use and further development of radiocommunication systems involved with
environmental monitoring
• Telecommunication Standardization
– October 2008: World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA)
– likely adoption of new Resolution guiding standardization work on climate
change 2009-2012
• ITU-wide
– June 2008: Start of carbon audit with a view to making ITU climate-neutral
within three years
– November 2008: High-level segment during ITU Council on Climate Change
– December 2008: ITU-led side-event at UNFCCC climate change conference
in Poznan, Poland
– December 2008: ITU-led dynamic coalition workshop on Internet and climate
change, IGF meeting, Hyderabad, India
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For more information
• ITU-wide
– www.itu.int/climate
• Radiocommunication
– www.itu.int/ITU-R/index.asp?category=information&rlink=climatechange&lang=en
• Standardization
– www.itu.int/ITU-T/climatechange
• ITU Background paper on ICTs and Climate Change
– www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/06/0F/T060F0000070001PDFE.pdf
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Supplementary Slides
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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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Mitigating the impact
• Directly, e.g., through energy-saving
– Next-Generation Networks (NGN) should reduce GHG emissions
by 40% relative to separate, circuit-switched fixed-line and mobile
networks
– Modern radio technologies reduce energy consumption by
transmitters ~ 10 times
• Indirectly, e.g. ICTs for carbon abatement
– Video-conferencing to reduce business travel in Europe by 1%
would save 1m CO2 tonnes
• Systemically, e.g., by “dematerialisation”
– Intelligent Transport Systems could reduce vehicle carbon
emissions below 130g per km
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Towards a climate neutral ICT sector
• BT has reduced carbon emissions by 60% compared since 1996
• ETNO Members reduced carbon emissions by 7% and carbon
intensity by 14%, 2000-03
• NTT’s “Total Power Revolution” saved 124m kWh in 2007
• Other initiatives:
– GeSI, Green Grid, WattWatt, FTTH Council Europe, EU codes of
conduct, CBI Task Force etc
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Using ICTs for carbon abatement /
displacement
• Reducing / substituting for travel
– In 2007, Telstra held 7’500 video conferences saving 4’200 tonnes of
CO2
• Flexible work arrangements
– Each one million EU workers could save one million tonnes of CO2
annually by telecommuting
• Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
– In-car systems to assist in “eco-driving” can reduce CO2 emissions
by up to 20 per cent
• Dematerialization (replacing atoms with bits)
– ITU-T Recommendations Online save 105 tonnes of CO2 annually
compared with distribution of paper copies
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Emergency telecoms: ITU Role
• Telecommunications/ICTs for disaster preparedness
– Tampere Convention
– PP-06 Resolutions 36 and 136 on use ICTs for humanitarian
assistance
– WRC Resolutions 646, 647, 673 on use of radiocommunications for
environmental monitoring, public protection and disaster relief
– WTDC-06 Resolution 34 on the role of ICTs in mitigation of effects of
disasters and humanitarian assistance
– Partnership Coordination Panel on Telecoms for Disaster Relief
(PCP-TDR)
– E.164 country code (888) for UN OCHA
– Recommendations E.106 on call priority and X.1303 on common
alerting protocol
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Towards a climate-neutral ITU
• Developing a knowledge base and repository
– Conducting systematic review of ITU Recommendations
– Creating a Focus Group on methodologies for estimating the GHG
emissions from ICTs
• Positioning ITU as a strategic leader
– Developing a Resolution for WTSA-08
• Promoting a global understanding through international fora and
agreements
– High-level segment at Council 2008
• Achieving a climate-neutral ITU within three years
– Conducting carbon audit
– Using remote collaboration tools
– Developing projects under Clean Development Mechanism
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ITU Symposia on ICTs and Climate
Change
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Kyoto, Japan, 15-16 April, co-organized by MIC Japan
London, UK, 17-18 June, supported and hosted by BT
Outline agenda
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ICTs to the Rescue?
Corporate responsibility: Towards a climate-neutral ICT sector
ICTs for monitoring climate change
ICTs as a green technology
Towards a high-bandwidth, low carbon future
Adapting to climate change
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Webcast using GoToWebinar
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