Our Work Programmes: ICT
How will the continued growth of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) impact climate change?
How could ICTs enable the transition to a low carbon economy?
The °Climate Group explored these questions and more along with GeSI [Global e-Sustainability Initiative] in the development of the global report SMART 2020: Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age, which was released on June 20th 2008.
The report’s key findings include:
> A new ‘socially networked’ generation around the world continues to drive unprecedented global demand for ICT hardware, software and services providing mobile and instant access to information.
> Despite the major anticipated advances in the energy efficiency of products, the ICT sector’s own footprint – currently 2% of global emissions – is expected to grow at 6% per year (CAGR) and double by 2020 driven by increased technology uptake in India, China and rest of the world.
> To help, rather than hinder, the fight against climate change, the ICT sector must manage its own growing impact and continue to reduce emissions from data centres, telecommunications networks, and the manufacture and use of its products. Trends like virtualisation of data centres, long-life devices, smart chargers, next generation networks and growth of renewable energy consumption (e.g. solar powered base stations) could help deliver future sustainable sector growth.
> Through enabling other sectors to reduce their emissions, the ICT industry could reduce global emissions by as much as 15% by 2020 – a volume of CO2e five times its own footprint in 2020. If global businesses systematically used ICT to realise all of the solutions indicated in the report they would unlock global energy efficiency savings of over EUR 500 billion. This enabling effect is due to ICT’s unique ability to allow us to measure, optimise and therefore manage energy consumption.
Regional case studies examined four major global opportunities:
1) Applied globally, smart industry motors and industrial automation would reduce 0.97 GtCO2e in 2020, worth EUR 68 billion (USD 107.2 billion). A review of manufacturing in China uncovered that, without technological improvements, 10% of China’s emissions (2% of global emissions) in 2020 will come from China’s motor systems alone: To improve China’s industrial efficiency by even 10% would deliver up to 200 million tonnes CO2e savings.
2) The global emissions savings from smart logistics in 2020 would reach 1.52 GtCO2e, with energy savings worth EUR 208 billion (USD 441.7 billion). In Europe, the logistics industry looks set to grow by 23% between 2002 and 2020. Through a host of efficiencies in transport and storage, smart logistics in Europe could deliver fuel, electricity and heating savings of 225 MtCO2e in 2020.
3) Buildings are the second highest consumer of power in the world behind industry. Globally, smart buildings technologies would enable 1.68 GtCO2e of emissions savings, worth EUR 216 billion (USD 340.8 billion). A closer look at buildings in North America indicates that through better building design, management and automation, 15% of North America’s building emissions could be avoided.
4) Smart grid technologies were the largest opportunity explored in the study, and could globally reduce 2.03 GtCO2e, worth EUR 79 billion (USD 124.6 billion). In India, currently over 30% of the generated power is lost through aggregated technical and commercial losses (AT&C). Reducing these losses in India’s power sector by 30% is possible through better monitoring and management of electricity grids, first with smart meters and then through integrating more advanced ICTs into the so-called ‘energy internet’.
>Next steps:
> Going forward, the report recommends a SMART framework is implemented, outlining key actions required by the ICT sector, national governments and industry. Transformation of the economy will occur when standardisation (S), monitoring (M) and accounting (A) of energy consumption prompt a rethink (R) in how we optimise for energy efficiency and how we live, work and play in a low carbon world. Through this enabling platform, transformation (T) will occur when the business models that drive low carbon alternatives can be developed and diffused at scale across all sectors of the economy.
> The Climate Group, along with GeSI, will be taking the report findings to the USA, China, India and Europe to work with decision makers and leading companies to develop a set of scenarios – the vision – focused on how to turn the ideas presented in the report into a global reality.
For more information, please visit www.smart2020.org or email smart2020@theclimategroup.org
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THE SMART 2020 REPORT
> SMART 2020 (Full report)
> SMART 2020 (Report summary)
> SMART 2020 Press release
ICT WEBINARS
Previous:
> 11 December 2007: Growth and impact of data centres
Watch and Listen (1 hour)
23% of ICT’s carbon footprint is attributed to data centres. And demand for services and data processing is only growing. Hear Jon Koomey of Lawrence Berkeley Labs, Chris Bone of Fujitsu Siemens Computers, and David Douglas of Sun Microsystems share their thoughts in our webinar.
> See how some of the ICT companies involved in the SMART 2020 are reducing their direct emissions.