ICT ‘could fight climate change’
Information communication technology (ICT) could help fight climate change by enabling new ’smart’ product designs, a study has claimed.
Research by independent non-profit organisation The Climate Group and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) claimed that by transforming the way technology is used, it could reduce man-made emissions by 15 per cent by 2010.
ICT could "unlock the clean green industrial revolution we need to tackle climate change and usher in a new era of low carbon prosperity", noted Steve Howard, chief executive officer of the Climate Group.
Most savings could be made by "applying ICT to global infrastructure and industry", rather than replacing physical products with virtual alternatives, the report suggested.
The best solution, it concluded, is to use ICTs to help monitor and maximise energy efficiency.
Luis Neves, chair of GeSI, said: "The ICT industry is a key driver of low carbon growth and can lead transformation towards a low carbon economy and society."
A recent report from The Register and FreeForm Dynamics suggested that it is the smallest firms that are most concerned about green issues.
