Information and communication technologies (ICTs) and ... - ITU

Introduction
Climate change has become one of the major challenges faced at the global level. The impact of more
frequent and intense climatic events and long-term changes in the environment can significantly hinder the
development efforts of vulnerable developing countries, causing devastating effects on fragile ecosystems,
agricultural livelihoods, food and water security, human settlements and infrastructure, among many other
areas that are crucial for economic growth and well-being.
But while the impacts of climate change are posing unprecedented challenges, they can also offer
unprecedented opportunities for the achievement of sustainable growth and resilient development.
As this report suggests, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can help developing countries
to unlock those opportunities, and overcome the challenges posed by climate change through e-enabled
adaptation and mitigation responses.
This report focuses on exploring an increasingly important question: ‘How can developing countries
effectively integrate ICT tools within climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies?’
The contribution of this report is two-fold. It presents the potential of ICTs towards adaptation and
mitigation through the concrete case of Ghana, illustrating the challenges and opportunities faced by
developing countries in this field. The report complements this analysis by offering concrete lessons learned
and practical suggestions aimed at developing country decision makers and practitioners, thus fostering the
adoption of novel, ICT-supported approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation.
This document is composed of two reports that present complementary views on the challenges and
opportunities posed by climate change to developing countries in the fields of adaptation and mitigation.
The first report explores the integration of ICTs into national climate change adaptation strategies, based on
the case of Ghana. The analysis identifies the main areas of climate change vulnerability faced by
developing countries such as Ghana, as well as the adaptation strategies and actions that are being adopted
in the field.
The report highlights the importance of adopting ICT-enabled responses to better withstand, recover and
adjust to current and future climatic impacts, and identifies the role and potential of ICT tools as part of
local, sectoral, national and international adaptation strategies.
The adaptation report concludes by identifying key areas for action towards the integration of ICTs and
climate change adaptation in developing countries, including (a) fostering coherent, flexible and long-term
strategies based on content, structures and process, (b) promoting awareness raising on ICTs’ current and
emergent areas of potential, (c) supporting inclusive and participatory processes and structures led by
trusted institutions, and (d) addressing prevailing challenges of connectivity, access and use. The analysis
also provides suggestions for the ICT sector of developing countries to adapt to the changing climate.
The second report is based on the role of ICTs in climate change mitigation. After acknowledging the
positive and negative consequences of ICTs in the environment, the report presents a comprehensive
overview of sources of green house gas (GHG) emissions in Ghana, and identifies the ways in which the ICT
sector can help reduce those emissions in multiple sectors through energy efficiency and mitigation.
The report presents concrete suggestions on how developing countries such as Ghana can expand
broadband infrastructure without increasing carbon emissions, exploring the potential of mobile services,
mobile infrastructure sharing, wireless and fibre-base broadband networks and next generation networks
(NGN), among others. The final sections of the report explore the fundamental role played by international
standards and clear targets in the delivery of energy efficiency, including the use of methodologies for
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