InternationalTelecommunicationUnion

Internet Governance ForumNairobi, 30 September 2011

ITU’s Activities on ICTs, Environment and Climate

Change

Cristina BuetiProgramme Coordinator

ITU

By driving down emissions in the ICT sector itself By driving down emissions in the ICT sector itself11

By cutting emissions and raising energy efficiency in other sectors By cutting emissions and raising energy efficiency in other sectors 22

By helping countries adapt to the negative effects of climate change By helping countries adapt to the negative effects of climate change33

How ICTs can tackle climate change?

Work in Mitigation

Reduction of energy consumption by ICT equipment through new standards; E.g. The promotion of Next Generation Networks

(reducing power consumption by up to 40%) Better use of spectrum to reduce energy consumption

of wireless devices.

Advancing on new standards to promote reduction of emissions by other sectors Smart grids and smart buildings Intelligent transport systems Remote working technologies Sensor-based networks

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Adaptation

Support to get telecoms up and running after disasters Recent examples Pakistan, Haiti and

Chile

E-Environment Toolkit will help countries to assess the contribution that ICTs can make to reduce GHG emissions.

ITU-UNFCCC project in Ghana

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Ensures availability of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits for climate monitoring and climate change prediction

Develops international treaty level standards to ensure non-interference operation of systems involved in climate monitoring;

Carries out studies (through ITU-R Study Groups) for development of new wireless technologies to increase use of remote sensors;

Assists administrations in implementing radio systems by analyzing compatibility between new and existing systems

As the steward of the global framework for spectrum and satellite orbits, ITU:

Data Monitoring

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Technology transfer Within the WSIS process ITU has built a global online

community to exchange best practices in the use of ICTs to promote sustainable development;

Focus in project stocktaking; Open to multi-stakeholders (government, academia, private

sector, NGOs, etc.)

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Related topics: E-agriculture E-environment

ITU-T created Study Group “Environment & Climate

Change” ITU-T Study Group 5 (April 2009)

Next meeting will be held in Geneva

from 11- 19 April 2012

SG 5 meeting concluded in Seoul on 28

September with the approval of 12

Recommendations

All ITU-T study groups to examine impact of recommendations on climate change

ITU-T SG5 established seven work areas

Coordination and Planning of ICT&CC related standardization (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)

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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

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6 Recommendations under preparation

Overview and general principles, approved in February 2011 Covers definition of different types of environmental impacts, and general

principles for the evaluation of ICT environmental impacts Focuses on energy and GHG emissions

Environmental impact of ICT goods, networks and services Covers direct and indirect impacts of ICT Consented in September 2011

Environmental impact of ICT in organisations Includes 3 scopes of ISO 14064-1 Consented in September 2011

Environmental impact of ICT projects Consent expected in 2012

Environmental impact of ICT in countries Consent expected in 2012

Environmental impact of ICT in cities Consent expected in 2012

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Cooperations include

Waste Management with Smart ICT

Waste management often linked to farming because of methane emissions

In the context of ICT, there is Industrial waste during production Waste due to obsolescence

A ‘cradle to cradle’ raw material and recycling approach aims to keep all the materials in circulation [1] Design includes easy disassembly Obsolete products returned to factory No need for mining of raw materials

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 requirementscovers charger for mobile phones

Future version will cover other ICT devices

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ITU’s universal charger standard

… have this:Instead of this …

Recommendation rev. L.1000Approved June 2011 New

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 ( to be officially launched in October 2011)

Raising Awareness

Research & Publications Technology Watch Reports Resources Website

Symposiums, Events and Workshops ITU Symposium in Ghana ITU Green Standards WeekSymposium in Korea Joint Coordination Activity on

ICT&CC

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

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- UNFCCC Project“Climate Change Adaptation

& Mitigation: the Case of Ghana”

Accra Call to Action (1)

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

Accra Call to Action (2) Enhance the transformational role of ICT for climate change

adaptation and disaster risk reduction, will require the use of three technology types: telecommunication systems, observation systems, and information systems.

Recognize that there is need to build capacities in developing countries to support ICT as tool for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Capacity development is required in three dimensions - institutional development, human resources enhancement and systems development, in particular, relating to legislative and regulatory frameworks.

Forge partnerships and engage all stakeholders to address climate change, due to its multi-disciplinary nature, is critical.

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ITU Project in Ghana

How the Telecommunications Sector in Ghana can Reduce Its Own Emissions

The Role of ICTs in Climate Change Adaptation: the Case of Ghana

Key Stakeholders are:

Sponsors

Ministry of Communications

Environmental Protection Agency

Agencies

In cooperation with

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

°

Climate in Ghana Total GHG emission is estimated to be 24MtCO2e. Equivalent of 1tCO2e

per capita.

Energy, Agriculture and Land use change and forestry are the sources of GHG.

Energy production, consumption and transport constitute key source of emissions. Oil exploitation is expected to impact on the emission growth in future.

CO2 and CH4 are the major important GHG gases.

Evidence of climate change abound in Ghana. Temperature has increased by 0.6 - 0.8 °C since 1960.

According to projections of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), by the year 2080, the rainfall in the country will reduce by 20 to 40 per cent while the temperature will rise by 4.5 C.

Ghana & UNFCCC

Ghana signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Rio de Janeiro Earth summit in June 1992 and ratified same on 5 September 1995.

The Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC was also ratified on 16 November 2002. The instrument of ratification was deposited at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in March 2003.

The Effects of Climate Change in Ghana

“Africa's contribution to greenhouse gases is low; however the continent is suffering the most in terms of the effect of climate change.

Cocoa for instance could become a rare crop in the next 15 years if something is not done to reverse the effects of climate change.”

H.E. John Dramani Mahama, Vice President, Ghana

All these conditions will not be suitable for the growing of cocoa anywhere in the country.

As a result of climate change, only the Western Region is producing the bulk of the nation's cocoa as the other regions have lost their soil fertility.

The rainfall pattern in the country is already affecting maize production and by the year 2020 it is projected that there will be a seven per cent decline in maize

production.

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How ICTs Can Help Ghana to Adapt to the Effects of

Climate Change

Ghana is experiencing rapid growth in ICT infrastructure & services

This increased access to information, services and applications brings the potential to facilitate adaptation to climate change across a wide range of sectors in Ghana.

ICTs are the key to unlocking a broad range of solutions which can help countries like Ghana adapt to climate change.

Ghana has a well developed ICT training infrastructure, which it can use to ensure that the right skills are available to implement programmes which marry ICTs to climate change adaptation.

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Adaptation: Involving ICTs

Ghana already has a National Climate Change Committee, currently consulting on the discussion paper “Ghana Goes for Green Growth”.

National telecommunication policy is promoting the migration from separate networks to a single unified network generation networks platform which reduces the number of switching centres and involves higher capacity equipment. Min of Comms & Min of Env developed guidelines for the deployment of masts

and base stations for the communication industry

Ministry of Communications is pursuing the migration from analogue to digital transmission of radio and TV which envisages significant reduction of transmitter power.

National e-government network project which will extend broadband infrastructure to all the District Assembly areas and allow the use of ICT to provide emergency telecommunications

Climate Change: Adaptation includes Ghana’s

ICTs Risk of more

frequent/serious extreme climate events could produce service disruption.

Hence, Ghana’s ICTs will need: More robust

infrastructures. Greater technical

knowledge. Enhanced engineering

capabilities and international standards

Photo Ghana Goes for Green Growth

Preliminary Assessment

No single ICT solution can deliver all of the necessary capabilities required for adaptation.

The multiplicity of ICT solutions required means that Ghana will need to prioritise the optimum technologies to achieve its stated climate change adaptation objectives.

ICT solutions to climate change adaptation in Ghana will need to deliver the following functions: observation; analysis; planning; implementation and management; capacity building; networking.

Next Steps

Climate change is complicated and uncertain. There is no single mode of adaptation to climate

change. Hence, there is no one recipe for using ICTs in climate

change adaptation. What’s needed:

Primary research in Ghana to consider the role for ICTs in climate change adaptation, using existing adaptation framework(s).

Review which elements can be delivered with Ghana’s current ICT assets and capability.

Consider which ICTs are needed to deliver the optimum capability for climate change adaptation.

Raise awareness and build capacity

Expected Results

Guidelines for the telecommunications sector on how to reduce their emissions, including suggested actions to be included in their CSR and internal policies. The first report will also provide guidance on how to implement international standards (including ITU-T Methodology on the Environmental Assessment of ICT).

Guidelines for Ghana as to how it can adapt to climate change using ICTs including suggested actions for the government of Ghana which will be in line with the ongoing UNFCCC process.

Including the establishment of a coalition of stakeholders to mainstream ICT in climate change activities and policies.

Looking Ahead to COP-17

COP-17: 28 November - 9 December 2011, Durban (South Africa)

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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Conclusion

“Climate change is affecting Ghana’s economic output and livelihoods and is a threat to our development prospects. This is now everybody’s business, and all stakeholders need to be part of the response.”

The Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communications, Ghana

It is time to include ICTs in Ghana’s adaptation policy process.

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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

For additional information: cristina.bueti@itu.int

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Thank you!