Climate Action 2009-2010

TECHNOLOGY
GeSI envisions ICT sustainability through innovation.
Responding to the new
challenge of ICT-driven
sustainability
© ULTRA.F/Getty Images
Luis Neves
Chairman of the Global e-SuStainability initiative (GeSi)
Modern high-speed communication networks are a
crucial enabler for almost all industries, essential
for leading the way to a low-carbon society. This is
the firm belief of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative
(GeSI), along with the conviction that sustainability
is fundamental for long-term economic growth and
competitiveness. In the context of the necessity to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the author outlines
the range of initiatives that GeSI has undertaken with
its members and global partners.
The GeSI flagship report, ‘SMART 2020: Enabling a Low-
Carbon Society’, shows that ICT has a significant and growing
impact on the world’s climate. The report’s supporting
analysis, conducted independently by consultancy firm
McKinsey & Co, indicates that while ICT’s own sector CO 2
emissions will nearly double by 2020, the application and
diffusion of ICT in other business sectors can reduce total
global CO 2
emissions by 15 per cent. These savings are five
times larger than the total expected emissions from the
entire ICT industry. In addition to these reductions, potential
energy savings can be achieved from the capacity of ICT to
enable dematerialisation – replacing high-carbon physical
products and services with low-carbon virtual equivalents.
Over the past year, GeSI has enabled its working groups
to go further by including new groups and partners. This
has expanded the GeSI network so as to fully launch the
vision of what the ICT industry can offer to create a more
sustainable environment.
The SMART 2020 report has been extremely well
received and continues to used and cited by the
European Commission, ITU and OECD, financial
institutions, universities, scientists and national
governments. Meanwhile, GeSI members have been
focused on implementing the recommendations and
communicating the findings of the report. At the same
time, GeSI has been supporting regional versions of the
report, expanding the scope of its working and shaping
policy needed to accelerate the transformation process
needed to respond to the challenges of global warming.
In order to be able to fully utilise the positive impact
of ICT, reliable and capable high-speed broadband
networks are of the utmost importance. Without a
world class state-of-the-art telecommunications
infrastructure, we will definitely not be able to realise
the ICT-related CO 2
emissions reduction potential. This
makes the implementation of an investment-friendly
framework, which effectively fosters the roll-out of
high-speed Next Generation Access Networks, an
even more pressing issue. Unfortunately, the current
policy measure proposals do not provide the required
breakthrough.
Without the superhighways built we will not be able to
foster social inclusion and enhance competitiveness
in the information age. These investments are also
a prerequisite for effectively tackling climate change
and achieving the necessary CO 2
emissions’ reduction
targets.
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