InternationalTelecommunicationUnion
Measuring the ICT impact on Climate Change
Keith DickersonChairman SG5 WP3 ICT &
Climate Change
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2
Introduction
Background What has ITU-T done? How do we measure the impact of
ICTs on Climate Change? What is ITU-T going to do in the
future?
ITU-T timeline for ICTs and Climate Change
December 2007: ITU Technology Watch report to TSAG on ICTs & CC
July 2008: TSAG set up Focus Group to investigate ICTs & CC open to ITU non-members 4 deliverables including methodology
October 2008: WTSA resolution on ICTs & CC April 2009: FG ICTs & CC report to TSAG May 2009: SG5 renamed “Environment & Climate
Change” and sets up: WP3 on ICT & CC JCA on ICT & CC
ITU-T FG ICTs & CC Deliverables
D1 Definitions Defined key metrics
D2 Gap analysis and Standards Roadmap Reviewed activities concerning ICT and climate change
inside and outside ITU Identified Gaps and Issues for Future Work
D3 Methodologies to calculate carbon footprint ICT devices’ own emissions (embodied and in-use) Mitigations in other sectors using ICTs
D4 Direct and Indirect Impact of ITU Standards Identified key activities inside ITU-T and ITU-R Questionnaire sent to ITU-T and ITU-R SGs identified what
was going on
- Reduction of ICT’s own emissions over their entire lifecycle (direct impact)
=> Power reduction methods
- Mitigation that follows through the adoption of ICTs in other relevant sectors (indirect impact)
=> CO2 saving calculation methods
Internationally agreed common methodology for measuring the following impacts of ICTs on climate change:
Goal of Deliverable 3 Methodologies
Scope of Deliverable 3 Methodologies
To include: a calculation methodology of energy consumption
saved through ICT utilization; the definition of basic units relevant to the cases
considered; the identification, gathering and processing of
relevant parameters (e.g. user behavior); the principles and tools to measure and evaluate the
results; a list of examples of the uses of how ICTs can
replace or displace other energy-consuming technologies/uses;
analysis of existing standards and a proposal for development of new standards, if needed.
Relevant metrics and Units
Power unit: 1 W = 1 kg m2 s-3
Energy unit: 1 J = 1 W.s 1 kWh = 3,600,000 J Mass unit: 1 kg or 1 t = 1,000 kg Volume unit: 1 m3 = 1,000 L
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) = 1 CO2e Methane (CH4) = 25 CO2e Nitrous Oxide (N2O) = 298 CO2e Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) = 22,800 CO2e HFC-23 (CHF3) = 14,800 CO2e
Global warming Potential (GWP)
Metric System
Direct Emissions– CO2 intensity
(1) Calculate energy consumption reduction through the use of ICTs
(2) Convert into CO2 emissions reduction
Use CO2 emission intensity reflecting the situation in each country.
Impact of own GHG emissions
LCA require to set Functional Unit System boundary Allocation procedure
LAN switch
Router
LAN switch
Router
DSU
Subscriber module DSLAM OLT
ONUADSL modem
PC PC PC
Access network equipment
Subscriber station
Transfer facility
Internet Service Provider
ISDN ADSL FTTH
Boundary for evaluation
Metallic cable Metallic cable Optical cable
LAN switch
Router
LAN switch
Router
DSU
Subscriber module DSLAM OLT
ONUADSL modem
PCPC PCPC PCPC
Access network equipment
Subscriber station
Transfer facility
Internet Service Provider
ISDN ADSL FTTH
Boundary for evaluation
Metallic cable Metallic cable Optical cable
Case study: LCA of Wired NetworkCase study: LCA of Wired Network
-20.0
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
ISDN ADSL FTTHCO
2 em
issi
ons
[kg-
CO
2/ye
ar/s
ubsc
ribe
r]
Disposal/recycling
Use
Production
Recovery by recycling
Impact of own GHG emissions
LCA require to set Functional Unit System boundary Allocation procedure
Case study: LCA of Wireless NetworkCase study: LCA of Wireless Network
LS GS TS GS LS
BSMS
CiRCUS
Voice call / videophone
Core network
Tokyo NiigataWPCGWPCG
BS MS
LS GS TS GS LS
BSMS
CiRCUS
Voice call / videophone
Core network
Tokyo NiigataWPCGWPCG
BS MS
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
CO
2 em
issi
ons
[kg-
CO
2/ye
ar/s
ubsc
ribe
r] Use
Production
Disposal/ recycling
-0.1
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
Ene
rgy
cons
umpt
ion[
GJ/
year
/sub
scri
ber]
Use
Production
Disposal/ recycling
Mitigation- Impact on other sectors
Dematerialisation to reduce energy in production of goods (paper, CDs, DVDs, etc.)
Efficient use of power (e.g. standby modes, load shifting) Travel avoidance to reduce energy in movement of people
(cars, buses, rail, aircraft, etc.) via teleconferencing, etc Process optimisation to improve energy efficiency in
movement of goods (mail, trucks, rail cargo, cargo ships, etc.) Improved efficiency in use of office space (electricity, office
area, etc.) reduces the need for heating lighting, etc (e.g. hot desking)
Reduced storage of goods, e.g. in the ‘just in time’ supply chain to save warehouse lighting and heating
Improved work efficiency (workload etc.) e.g. streamlining processes and online training
Waste avoidance and efficient recycling
Video conference held between Tokyo and Yokohama, once a week (48 times / year), one hour each time, participated in by two people from each office
Video conference held between Tokyo and Yokohama, every working day (240 times / year), eight hours each time, participated in by two people from each office
Evaluation Result
0
5
10
15
20
25
Conference on a trip Video conferenceEner
gy C
onsu
mpt
ion(
GJ/
year
)
DisposalUseProduction
Evaluation Result
0.00.51.01.52.02.53.03.54.04.5
Conference on a trip Video conferenceEner
gy C
onsu
mpt
ion(
GJ/
year
)
DisposalUseProduction
Reduction of 53% Reduction of 52%
Impact on other sectors- Videoconferencing
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Conventional wisdom “Substituting kilobits for kilograms cuts down
carbon emissions…” Obviously, this is an area in which ICT has a
critical role to play Reducing travel (of goods and people) is
always beneficial This is generally true but… Some projections about the resulting carbon
savings are greatly exaggerated Average commuting distance is often overestimated
(and sometimes attributed to car travel only) The increase in domestic energy use incurred by
teleworking is usually not factored in
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Domestic carbon footprint Teleworking increases domestic energy
consumption Flexible workers estimate that their
home is occupied an average 21hrs/week more when they telework
This is an (optimistic) >12.5% increase Yearly energy usage of an average UK
household (source: OFGEM):3300 kWh (Electricity) 400 kWh extra20500 kWh (Gas) 2500 kWh extra
Preliminary conclusions Teleworking is definitely and provably
beneficial Most businesses will substantially reduce
their carbon footprint by encouraging it However, looking at the big picture, it
becomes obvious that:Linear extrapolation leads to overoptimistic
projectionsAccompaniment measures will make a big
difference (e.g. “educating” home-workers)Secondary optimisation is needed to
maximise impact
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Secondary optimisation The increase in domestic CO2 emissions can
be more than offset by scaling down office space One of the least controversial “green”
propositions Potentially huge savings on utility bills and/or
rental costs But there are obstacles
“Discretisation”: until you can power down a room, floor, building or site you’ve gained nothing!
Semi-flexible workers means this is often impractical
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Further work in ITU-T SG5
Q. # Title Rapporteur
17/5 Coordination and Planning of ICT&CC related standardization
Paolo GemmaAssociate: Franz Zichy
18/5 Methodology of environmental impact assessment of ICT
Jean-Manuel CanetAssociate: Takafumi Hashitani
19/5 Power feeding systems Ms Kaoru AsakuraActing associate: Didier Marquet
20/5 Data Collection for Energy Efficiency for ICTs over the lifecycle
Gilbert ButyAssociate: Dave Faulkner
21/5 Environmental protection and recycling of ICT equipments/facilities
Didier Marquet; Júlio Cesar FonsecaAssociate: Ms Xia Zhang, Paulo Curado
Chairman WP3: Mr. Keith Dickerson (BT, UK), Vice chairs: Ms Eunsook Kim (Korea) and Mr. Takeshi Origuchi (NTT, Japan)