The ICT sector have emerged as a key contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with estimates ranging from 1.5 to 4 per cent of the world’s total carbon footprint.
With the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure, data centers and global connectivity, the sector faces a critical challenge in reducing its emissions to align with the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. To meet this target, emissions from the ICT sector need to be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030.
The ICT Sector GHG Emissions Pillar under the Green Digital Action initiative is mobilizing companies to commit to science-based targets (SBTis) and the development of decarbonization transition plans for GHG reduction. The ITU and World Benchmarking Alliance Greening Digital Companies 2024 report highlighted gaps in transparency, accountability, and the need for open data to track progress in emissions reductions.
This event seeks to update participants on the progress of this Pillar, launch a new commitment and a new Greening Digital Companies Tracking Dashboard, designed to monitor ICT sector GHG emissions and energy usage based on data from corporate sustainability reports of 200 leading digital companies over the past three years.
This session aligns with the context of the Digital Economy Report 2024: Shaping an environmentally sustainable and inclusive digital future and its call for ensuring that the ICT sector addresses its direct impacts on the environment while enabling trade and development as inclusively as possible.
Tentative speakers:
- Welcome remarks: Mr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU
- Ms. Vanessa Gray – Head, Climate and Emergency Telecommunications, BDT, ITU – Moderator
- Ms. Chantal Line Carpentier, Head, Trade, Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development Branch, UN Trade and Development
- Mr. Seth Ayers, Senior Digital Development Specialist, The World Bank
- Representative from the private sector
Session format: one-hour event with brief presentations which showcase the new commitments and dashboard, then a panel of digital leaders, policymakers, and sustainability experts followed by Q&As and discussion.
