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

types of) services and more choice of services for consumers 155 . This does not normally include energy
efficiency considerations.
The possible principles for regulation to encourage energy efficiency were discussed at the 10 th ITU Global
Symposium for Regulators 156 . These included the questions of:
and:
“whether the responsibilities of ICT sector regulators should be broadened to encompass
environmental objectives, particularly policies and interventions that relate to climate change”
“should GHG reduction measures be incorporated into existing regulatory mechanisms or is
there a need to devise specific regulatory interventions”.
To ensure a reduction in GHG emissions from the ICT sector in Ghana, it will be beneficial to include
measures to ensure “a reduction in GHG emissions down to a sustainable level” as part of the regulatory
framework. However such regulation should not stifle the processes of liberalisation, increasing efficiency
and continuous innovation that ensure a diverse and growing market.
Suggested action: The EPA and MoC should promote legislation to reduce GHG emissions caused by ICTs
and identify ways to reduce emissions according to an agreed national strategy.
Alternative methods of achieving this would be:
• A Carbon Tax: a tax on the burning of fossil fuels assessed according to their carbon content.
Renewable energy, such as solar and hydro, does not convert hydrocarbons to CO2 and so is favoured
by not taxing them.
• Cap-and-Trade: which would cap GHG emissions at existing levels by allocating a fixed number of
‘permits to emit’. To be able to emit more CO2, a company would have to buy more permits on the
open market.
A carbon tax would be simplest to implement but does not guarantee to keep emissions at current levels or
reduce them. Cap and Trade allows for reductions to be achieved by progressively withdrawing permits
from the market. Examples of both of these are given in the following sections.
6.2 Regulation in developed countries
The Kyoto Protocol (KP) to the UNFCCC provides the sole global binding agreement defining specific targets
for the reduction of GHG emission in a limited group of countries. During the Durban Climate Change
Conference held in 2011, parties to the UNFCCC agreed a second commitment period under the Kyoto
Protocol to start 2013. Additionally, Durban cemented mitigation plans of 89 countries from now until 2020,
and identified the path toward the future legal framework that will cover all nations of the world,
remarkably departing from the past 157 .
As countries advance in the negotiation of a universal legal agreement under which all countries will
mitigate their emissions in the long run (aiming at concluding these negotiations by 2015 for the agreement
to enter into force in 2020), there are valuable examples of regulations that developed countries have
implemented at the national level, as shown below.
6.2.1 Example from the United Kingdom (UK)
As part of a national strategy to reduce overall GHG emissions, the UK has adopted the Climate Change Act
2008 158 which sets a target date of 2050 for the reduction of targeted GHG emissions. This is legally binding.
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