Information and communication technologies (ICTs) can improve environmental performance and address climate change across the economy. The biggest gains for smarter environmental and economic strategies and applications are in power generation and distribution, buildings and transportation – three areas which contribute to the bulk of greenhouse gases. Further environmental benefits of ICT applications are evident in areas such as water management, biodiversity protection, pollution reduction.
ICT innovation is a key element to spur green growth in the economic crisis and recovery. However, OECD work suggests that most government and business initiatives are still following business-as-usual paths and do not sufficiently tap the sector’s innovation potential.
Clean technologies and smart ICT applications are key to effectively fight climate change, protect biodiversity and manage our water resources. In the declaration on green growth, ministers from OECD countries and beyond underscore that “green” and “growth” can go hand in hand.
How can ICTs slow down global warming, improve environmental performance and spearhead the economic recovery? ICT companies can punch above their weight in the fight against climate change. But there is lack of awareness of this potential in expert and policy communities beyond the ICT sector. High-level speakers from government, business,academia and civil society discussed how the OECD can help bridge these gaps.
Governments focus on greening ICTs rather than creating smart ICT applications. The OECD report analyses government programmes and business initiatives on ICT and the environment to address environmental challenges, particularly global warming and energy use.
The OECD Ministerial Meeting on the Future of the Internet Economy in June 2008 concluded that research and analysis of the environmental impact of ICTs and the Internet and the introduction of appropriate policies are essential for the development of the global Internet economy.
ICT innovation is a key element to achieve OECD government objectives in response to the economic crisis and environmental challenges. Work undertaken by the OECD Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP) is particularly relevant for the OECD Ministerial Meeting in June 2009, where governments co-ordinate international policy approaches to build a “stronger, cleaner, fairer economy”, as well as the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009 (COP15).
Watch a video on this issue with
Arthur Mickoleit,
Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry
(English, 3:06)
Ongoing work
The OECD is
Developing a framework for analysis of ICTs and environmental challenges. The aim is to comprehensively model environmental effects of ICT production, use and their application across industry sectors.
Analysing existing indicators and statistics on the relationship between ICTs and the environment with the aim of improving availability and comparability of official statistics.
Identifying priority areas for policy action including life cycle analysis of ICT products and impact assessments of smart ICT applications. This work covers the potential of sensor-based technologies and broadband networks to monitor and address climate change and facilitate energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy.
RSS feed for OECD news on Information and Communication Technologies
