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The Role of ICTs in Greening the Economy:

Policy Perspectives and Missing LinksDon MacLean, IISD Senior AssociateTELECOM 2009 Forum, Geneva, 8 October 2009

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The Policy Challenge

• Global policy frameworks for greening the economy have been under development for four decades

• In the last 5 years work has begun on the role of ICTs in greening the economy

• Practical linkages between ICTs and sustainable development are beginning to emerge

• However, there is little connection between the sustainable development and ICT policy communities – nationally, regionally or globally

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International Institute for Sustainable Development

• Founded in 1990 in response to Brundtland Report• Focused on issues related to the intersection of the

economy and the natural environment– Programs on natural resources, energy, climate change,

trade and investment– Green Economy Initiative (GEI) - major project with UNEP

on enabling conditions and Big Ideas for the green economy

• Recently set up a Global Connectivity program on ICTs and sustainable development– Linkages between ICT and SD policy frameworks and

mechanisms– Project on business case for zero-carbon data centres

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Overview of the Presentation

• What are the perspectives of the SD policy community on the policies needed to green the economy and on the role of technologies?

• What are the perspectives of the ICT policy community on these issues?

• Where are there bridges and gaps between the perspectives of the two communities?

• What issues need to be resolved to help maximize the role of ICTs in greening the economy?

5Source: WWF Living Planet Report 2008

SD perspective: Climate change is one of a number of inter-related challenges in greening the economy

6Source: WWF Living Planet Report 2008

SD perspective: A suite of strategies is needed to achieve long-term sustainability

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SD Strategy Suite for Greening the EconomyGeneral strategies:• Getting prices of all goods

and services right – including those provided by the environment

• Supporting green technological innovation

• Incentives and disincentives for businesses and consumers

• Voluntary and mandatory standards

• Public procurement and CSR• Public education and

awareness • Legislation and regulation• Binding international

agreements

Climate change strategies:• Mitigation of GHG

emissions • Adaptation to

consequences of climate change

• Financial mechanisms to support mitigation and adaptation in developing countries

• Technology transfer to developing countries

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ICT perspective: Initiatives to help green the economy are currently focused on energy use and climate change

R&D and Design

Manufacturin

g

Distrib

utionUse

Disposa

l

Global Warming

Toxici ty

Land Use

Ozone Layer Depletion

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Global Warming Energy UseToxicity Non-Energy Resource DepletionLand Use Water UseOzone Layer Depletion Biodiversity

R&D and Design

Manufacturin

g

Distrib

utionUse

Disposa

l

Global Warming

Toxici ty

Land Use

Ozone Layer Depletion

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Global Warming Energy UseToxicity Non-Energy Resource DepletionLand Use Water UseOzone Layer Depletion Biodiversity

ICT Lifecycle Direct Effects

ICT Lifecycle Enabling Effects

Source: OECD/DSTI/ICCP, Towards Green ICT Strategies: Assessing Policies and Programmes on ICT and the Environment

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ICT perspective: Potential ICT contributions to reducing GHG emissions in industry, energy, transportation and buildings

Source: Smart 2020, a report by The Climate Group on behalf of the Global eSustainability Initiative

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The Role of ICTs in Greening the Economy: A Conceptual Bridge

Direct effects

Indirect effects

Systemic effects very big

significant

small easy to measure

hard to measure

mainly theories

Source: ETNO & WWF, 2007, “Saving the Climate @ the Speed of Light”

Impact Information available

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Some general questions for SD and ICT policy-makers:• To what extent should ICT investments be treated

as investments in green technology by tax systems, government programs, green market mechanisms, and international agreements - in ways similar, for example, to renewable energy, CCS, and geo-engineering technologies?

• To what extent would investments in the production, application and use of green ICTs be made anyway in the absence of green support policies and mechanisms - for example to reduce costs, improve productivity, enhance competitiveness?

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Some specific questions for SD and ICT policy-makers:• If ICTs are considered green technologies, are different support

regimes needed for different kinds of ICT investments?– Investments in ICT manufacturing, application and use?– Investments in hardware, software, services, and skills?– Development of smart energy, transportation and building

infrastructures?– Greening of supply chains, business processes, and organizational

structures?

• In a connected, Web 2.0 + world, where traditional relationships between producers and consumers are being transformed, what principles should guide the allocation of green ICT credits under different support regimes based, for example, on taxation, government programs or green market mechanisms?

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Some key issues requiring further study• Measuring the direct, indirect and systemic effects

of ICTs in helping to green the economy• Frameworks for dealing with the dual nature of ICTs

as a growing part of green economy problems and an increasingly significant contributor to green economy solutions

• Policies for eliminating barriers to de-materialization of work, learning, health care, leisure and consumption

• Strategies for anticipating and controlling the rebound effects and unintended consequences of green ICTs

• Opportunities for applying ICT-enabled networked governance approaches to sustainable development policy-making and implementation

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Thank you for your kind attention. If you would like further information about IISD and its Global Connectivity program, please contact:

Heather Creech, Director Global Connectivity Programhcreech@iisd.ca