Subscribe

Green IT can save $800bn

By Siyabonga Africa, ITWeb junior journalist
Johannesburg, 09 Sept 2008

The ICT industry can save more than $800 billion in energy costs by 2020, says International Telecommunication Union (ITU) director Malcolm Johnson.

The ICT sector currently contributes 3% to global emissions and this is set to double in the next two years.

Johnson was speaking at the Southern African Telecommunications Networks and Applications Conference (Satnac), this week, at the Wild Coast Sun. The ITU director said ICT could contribute to the fight against climate change by lowering energy consumption.

"We held a symposium in Kyoto last year and found the ICT industry contributes more than 3% to global emissions. With the right strategies, companies can reduce their emissions by 15% and save more than $800 billion in energy costs (by 2020)," said Johnson.

He pointed to the Google data centre, situated in Oregon, in the US, where energy consumption equals that of the entire city of Geneva, in Switzerland.

"The ICT industry has not done much in terms of fighting climate change; in fact, in a survey we conducted in the UK, we found the energy industry is doing the most to combat climate change."

Johnson highlighted other key challenges during his speech at Satnac, including the rise in cyber-crime. "We, at the ITU, are committed to fighting cyber-crime and have formulated a body to address this challenge."

Johnson noted the ITU is also looking at standardising its forums across the world and wants to close the gap in telecommunication standards in the developed world and developing countries.

Share