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

Remote health monitoring enables individuals to continue to lead independent lives in their own homes.
Telemedicine can also provide patients with access to specialists outside their geographical area using a
broadband network. This can remove the need for all patients to travel to a medical centre and therefore
has the potential to reduce GHG emissions. This technology is especially valuable in remote rural
communities where travel to clinics or hospitals may otherwise be lengthy and impractical for patients.
Suggested action: To fully realise the benefits of mitigation in other sectors, it is recommended that
Ghana sets up a broadband infrastructure to complement the mobile infrastructure that is already
widely used for narrowband voice communications. This would bring benefits in terms of education,
health care and waste management, as well as the capability to monitor the impact of climate change
and reduce its worst effects. (The broadband infrastructure is explored more fully in Section 4).
Suggested action: It is also recommended that a Broadband Applications Stakeholder Group (BASG) is
also set up in conjunction with the proposed Green ICT Council. This would monitor the implementation
of broadband applications and ensure value for money from any new broadband infrastructure. It should
explore how Ghana can benefit from broadband applications before setting up a potentially costly
broadband infrastructure.
Suggested action: The appropriate agency in Ghana should assist and set targets for TSPs to deploy
mitigating technologies such as travel substitution to reduce GHGs in other sectors.
4. How to make broadband infrastructure available to all Ghanaians
without adding to GHG emissions
This section identifies specific ways to save energy and reduce GHG emissions in Ghana. Actions suggested
for an evolution path for Ghana are provided in the green boxes.
To reduce the energy use per customer connected to either a wireless or wireline network, it is necessary to
make networks and systems that are more energy efficient. If the use of renewable energy sources could be
increased and the dependency on fossil fuels reduced, then networks and services could be expanded
without increasing GHG emissions overall. This should be the aim of the NCA guided by the EPA to allow
growth of telecommunication services in Ghana without increasing overall GHG emissions.
Energy costs are one of the largest operating expenses borne by TSPs, whether fixed or mobile. Therefore,
there is a great incentive to reduce energy consumption in their networks and most TSPs have programmes
to do so. Achieving this is also seen to deliver non-pecuniary environmental benefits which are reported
either in the Annual Report or in a separate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report to bring brand and
reputation benefits.
Smarter use of ICTs and the incorporation of smart ICTs can help cut emissions by:
• Reducing the power consumption of ICTs
• Turning equipment off when not in use
• Using standby modes
• Requiring low-carbon equipment in procurement specifications
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