Lowering ICT carbon footprint seen as major goal in battle against global warming

Need to unify disparate initiatives

Using revenues from government-imposed carbon levies for information and communications technologies (ICT) R&D could help the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions become part of the solution instead of a major source of the problem. While some provincial governments — notably Quebec — have recently announced new funding for ICT-related green R&D, the swelling coffers of government climate change funds could dramatically accelerate the required research for moving to a low-carbon economy.

A recent report by the not-for-profit The Climate Group estimates that the application of low- or zero-carbon ICT could reduce overall GHG emissions by an astounding 20%, more than offsetting its contribution to emissions and helping other sectors achieve their reduction targets. ICT emissions currently account for just 2% of the global total but with an annual growth rate of 6% it will represent 12% of all emissions by 2020 without mitigation.

And a new report from Bill St Arnaud argues that CO2 reduction via green ICT is a far more effective strategy than pursuing energy efficiency, with the ultimate objective of eliminating dependence on coal-generated electricity from the grid.

The concept of allowing ICT researchers in academia and industry to tap into the billions in climate change dollars being generated by governments is new to Canada, requiring a process of education for both industry, academia and policy makers, says St Arnaud, a fervent advocate of low-carbon ICT strategies and solutions and former chief research officer at CANARIE. While at CANARIE, St Arnaud championed the creation of a $3-million pilot Green IT program, which awarded $2 million to the Green Star Network to develop a groundbreaking Internet in which network nodes will be powered entirely by wind and solar power (R$, December 21/09).

"Across Canada there is nearly $5 billion in these funds and they can't find any worthwhile projects. This is the huge challenge," says St Arnaud, adding that many billions more will be generated once a cap and trade system is introduced in Canada. "Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia are leaders in this area and Alberta is ahead of all of them. At the federal level there's no interest in this at all, at least at the political level."

St Arnaud says an urgent requirement for green ICT to move forward is the development of ISO 14064 standards related to GHG reduction possibilities. Standards development is part of the CANARIE-funded Green Star project, with work being undertaken in conjunction with the Canadian Standards Association. Once complete in about one year's time and accepted by various regulatory bodies, research projects can be verified and launched.

"Green Star is well on its way to building an Internet powered by renewable sources and the Canadian Standards Association is developing standards based on Green Star architecture. It could be a real game changer," says St Arnaud.

prompt pushing to coordinate activity

In addition to Green Star, several other early-stage initiatives are underway to build credibility, support and buy-in for green ICT. The Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP) awarded a small $25,000 contract to McGill Univ and Univ of California San Diego (UCSD) to develop a research framework and business plan for green ICT, which has been subcontracted to Montreal-based PROMPT Inc (Partnerships for Research on Microelectronics, Photonics and Telecommunications). PROMPT is leveraging CCSIP support and engaging industry with $50,000 from the North American Partnership Program (NAPP) of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (DEC).

In parallel, McGill and UCSD have launched the Canada-California Consortium for a Zero Carbon Internet to identify pilot projects that utilize universities as living laboratories for ICT test beds.

"Now is the time to build critical mass. Two years ago no one was talking about this. We've had to sensitize and open people's eyes to the opportunities and explain the value proposition to those in industry and academic circles," says PROMPT president and CEO Charles Despin. "We want to bring all the initiatives together in a coherent format … The ICT carbon footprint is small but it's growing fast. There are huge opportunities for the ICT sector and other sectors here and globally. We can help other sectors by providing them with big opportunities."

Another initiative in which PROMPT played a major advocacy role is the Quebec government's recently announced Ecolo TCI initiative, a $60-million government-industry partnership to make the province a leader in green ICT by developing a pool of world class expertise. Part of the recently released Quebec Research and Innovation Strategy (see page 1), EcoloTCI will receive $30 million each from government and industry over three years, making it by far the biggest green ICT initiative in the country.

"We're extremely pleased. The government has not yet said how the money will be spent but we will work with other partners for research, prototyping and commercialization," says Despin.

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