climate change & internet
TRANSCRIPT
Khaled KOUBAAArab World Internet Institutewww.aw2i.org
Internet and Climate Change
Internet Access Growth CO2 Emission Internet as cause Power consumption The solution Cases studies Recommandations
Internet Access Growth
By 2011, over 550 Millions broadband users
Internet Layers
An Always On, Always Connected Broadband World
Estimated distribution of global CO2 emissions from ICTs
The Future : All IP Addressable
Relationship between bit-rate and power consumption
IT Devices growth
Internet as a cause of Climate Change
The major contribution of Internet to climate change comes from the proliferation of user devices, all of which need power.
Devices acquire more processing power, their requirements for power and for cooling, also rise.
An increasing percentage of ICT usage might be regarded as “unnecessary”, in the sense that it is spam email, SMS and voice calls, or the storage rather than deletion of old material.
The solution
It is important to back up technical solutions with regulatory pressure and more industry participation
European Union, codes of conduct for power saving have been developed for devices ( external power supplies, broadband equipment, data centres, etc ).
For broadband equipment it is estimated that current trends will foresee a level of demand of up to 50 Terawatt hours by 2015, but this could be halved by implementation of the broadband code of conduct.
Climate Savers ITU Google
Cases Studies of Internet Industry in the Climate change activism :
Climate Savers
The Initiative was started in the spirit of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Climate Savers program which has mobilized over a dozen companies since 1999 to cut carbon dioxide emissions, demonstrating that reducing emissions is good business. Participants in the Climate Savers Computing Initiative : computer and component manufacturers commit to producing products that meet specified power-efficiency targets, and individuals, businesses and organizations commit to purchasing power-efficient computing products. By 2010, the initiative seeks to reduce global CO2 emissions from the operation of computers by 54 million tons per year, equivalent to the annual output of 11 million cars or 20 coal-fired power plants. This effort will lead to a 50 percent reduction in power consumption by computers by 2010, and committed participants could collectively save $5.5 billion in energy costs.
Climate Savers Catalog
ITU
Objective 1: Develop a knowledge base and repository on the relation between ICTs and climate change
Objective 2: ITU as a strategic leader on ICTs and climate change
Objective 3: Promote a global understanding of the relation between ICTs and climate change
Objective 4: Achieve a climateneutral ITU within three years
ITU
Google committments :
Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal Reducing Google Carbon Footprint Advancing Green Technology Advocating Public Policy Helping our Users Commitment to Sustainable Computing
Google Project
Google filed a patent application for a “water-baseddata center” detailing a floating data center, complete with an energy supply fed by a wave-powered generator system, and a wind-powered cooling system using sea water
Recommandations
The implementation of pilot projects in partnership with the civil society to raise awareness about ICT Energy waste.
Using the new Internet Social Networking community to disseminate environmental information to keep people informed of the health and environmental impact of using ICT equipment, and of the means of minimizing the resulting risks.
The production and dissemination of scientific periodicals, in Arabic, focusing on health and environmental risks associated with ICT.
