‘Technology Can Help World Move To Low Carbon Economy’

The United Nations (UN), says the use of broadband in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can help the world move to low carbon-economy and address the causes and effects of climate change.

Our UN Correspondent reports that this is contained in a report published at the UN Headquarters in New York last Monday.

“Addressing climate change implies completely transforming our way of life, the way we work, the way we travel, shifting our model of development to a fairer, more sustainable model to ensure our survival.

“We need to put at stake all the resources available to us, and mobilise the political will to turn discussions and negotiations into agreements and actions,” the scribe of the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Hamadoun Touré said in the report.

The report also highlighted the importance of public private partnerships in accelerating change.

It provides practical examples of how broadband can contribute to reducing greenhouse gasses, mitigate and help adapt to the effects of climate change, and promote resource efficiency.

The report presented recommendations for policymakers and leaders to hasten and strengthen the power of ICT and broadband to accelerate global progress towards a low-carbon economy including the adoption of long-term national broadband plans.

It also recommended the convergence in ICT strategies to align them with other sectors, such as energy, health, education and climate.

Others include clear regulatory rules to create a framework of investment certainty, cross-ministry collaboration and integrated decision-making to link climate and digital goals among others.

The report also called for partnerships, harmonised metrics and common standards and knowledge sharing.