CANARIE - Green IT Program

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Green IT Quick Facts

Quick Facts: Carbon Emission from the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Industry

  • According to some studies, the ICT sector currently represents between two and eight per cent of all global energy consumption and some experts believe that number is expected to grow to about 20 per cent in certain countries by 2020.
  • In a typical building, IT represents 40 per cent of all energy consumed, making it the second biggest energy drain, after heating and cooling (which represents 50-60% of a typical building’s energy consumption).
  • It’s estimated that the ICT industry alone produces carbon emissions equivalent to the carbon output of the entire aviation industry. (www.globalactionplan.org.uk)
  • According to a 2008 study by independent non-profit group, The °Climate Group, and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) (the world’s first comprehensive global study of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector’s growing significance for the world’s climate):

    • PC ownership will quadruple between 2007 and 2020 to four billion devices and emissions will double over the same period, with laptops overtaking desktops as the main source of global ICT emissions (22 per cent)
    • Smarter technology use (ie/ energy-efficient computers, data centres, cellphones) could reduce global carbon emissions by 15 per cent and save global industry EUR 500 billion in annual energy costs by 2020.
    • Networks, and ICT in general, could reduce CO2 emissions equal to what is currently produced by US and China combined.

Other resources:


The Climate Group
www.smart2020.org
www.theclimategroup.org/news_and_events/smart2020pressrelease/

Draft or Daft? No ICT mentions at Climate Change Conference
Posted By TelecomTV One, November 3, 2009
http://www.telecomtv.com/comspace_newsDetail.aspx?n=45699&id=e9381817-0593-417a-8639-c4c53e2a2a10#

ITU seeks inclusion of ICTs in Copenhagen document
November 3, 2009 By Prince Osuagwu
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/11/03/itu-seeks-inclusion-of-icts-in-copenhagen-document/

GreenStar Network:


www.greenstarnetwork.com

Members:

Quebec

École de technologie supérieure (Montreal)
Prompt (Montreal)
Université du Québec à Montreal
CANADA Inc (Wakefield)
Inocybe Technologies (Montreal)
SIGMACO (Shawinigan)

Ontario

Canadian Standards Association, Climate Change Division (Ottawa)
Communications Research Centre (Ottawa)

Alberta

University of Calgary, Grid Research Centre (Calgary)
Cybera Inc (Calgary)

British Columbia

Rack Force Networks, Inc (Kelowna)

Nova Scotia

BastionHost Ltd. (Halifax)

International

i2CAT (Barcelona, Spain)
HEAnet Ltd. (Dublin, Ireland)
National Digital Research Ltd (Dublin, Ireland)
Interdisciplinary Institute for Broadband Technology (Belgium)
Energy Science Network (Berkeley, California)
California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (San Diego, California)