ICTs for reducing C emissions: a development perspective

Richard Labelle(rlab@sympatico.ca)

ICT Strategist & ITU-D ConsultantThe Aylmer GroupGatineau, Canada

ICTs for abating climate changeObjective• Enhance the capacity of developing countries to use ICTs to

mitigate the effects of and adapt to climate changeSteps• 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

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)

ITU mandate on ICT applications and strategies:

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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)

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

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 today’s systems.

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

ICTs and energy efficiency – cont’d taken from: CEC: COM(2009) 111 final

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?

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

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?

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/uploads/2007/CR_Telstra_ClimateReport.pdf

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/sustainable-growth/studies_en.html

ICT energy saving potential in the EU (2020) (Bio Intelligence Service report)

ICT CO2 saving potential in the EU (2020) (Bio Intelligence Service report)

Quoted in study by L. Hilty, V. Coroama, M. Osses, T.Ruddy, EMPA (CH) / ICT Ensure

Quoted in study by L. Hilty, V. Coroama, M. Osses, T.Ruddy, EMPA (CH) / ICT Ensure

Reducing C intensity in education in Brasil

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

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

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.

Indicators used

ICT indicatorsEnvironmental

indicatorsInfrastructure Biodiversity measures

Applications Greenhouse gases emissions

e-Environment Long term preparedness

Energy quality Policy and public awareness

Human capacity

Latin America Details

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Argentina 6.0 5.5 5.6 8.4 4.8 3.9 4.7 6.6 1.625 8.5 6.4 10.0Bolivia 5.5 3.2 3.8 4.7 3.3 2.4 1.7 7.8 5.3 9.7 8.8 5.3Brazil 7.4 5.5 6.4 8.4 5.4 4.3 3.4 9.2 7.4 9.3 9.8 9.4Chile 6.5 5.9 6.1 8.4 5.1 5.0 4.9 7.2 4.7 8.5 7.4 7.5Colombia 6.5 4.3 5.4 4.7 4.3 3.7 3.4 8.8 6.6 9.5 9.1 9.4Costa Rica 6.9 5.8 5.5 10.0 5.6 5.1 3.1 7.9 7.8 9.4 7.4 7.5Ecuador 5.4 3.7 4.2 4.7 4.2 2.2 3.0 7.2 6.4 9.1 7.4 5.3Guatemala 5.6 3.8 4.4 4.7 4.7 2.0 3.2 7.3 8.2 9.6 7.3 4.1Guyana 5.4 3.4 3.0 4.7 ... 3.6 2.3 7.4 0.6 9.2 9.2 7.5Honduras 6.1 4.2 3.8 8.4 3.8 2.1 2.7 8.1 5.3 9.5 8.1 9.2Jamaica 5.6 4.3 4.8 4.7 4.1 3.2 4.7 6.9 5.2 8.4 6.7 7.5Mexico 6.1 5.4 6.1 10.0 2.0 6.4 3.1 6.8 2.0 8.3 6.7 10.0Nicaragua 5.2 3.4 3.3 4.7 4.6 2.6 1.8 7.0 4.2 9.7 8.2 3.8Paraguay 6.3 4.6 3.6 8.4 5.4 3.0 2.3 8.0 1.5 9.7 9.1 10.0Peru 6.1 4.7 5.0 8.4 3.6 3.7 2.8 7.5 3.5 9.5 8.8 5.7Uruguay 4.9 4.3 5.2 3.1 4.7 4.2 4.1 5.5 0.1 9.3 5.8 5.7Venezuela 6.7 4.1 4.8 4.7 4.8 2.9 3.5 9.2 10.0 7.4 9.6 9.8

Latin America Map and RankingBrazil 7.4Costa Rica 6.9Venezuela 6.7Colombia 6.5Chile 6.5Paraguay 6.3Honduras 6.1Mexico 6.1Peru 6.1Argentina 6.0Jamaica 5.6Guatemala 5.6Bolivia 5.5Ecuador 5.4Guyana 5.4Nicaragua 5.2Uruguay 4.9

First level EERI