UN talks IT and climate change

The UN heard yesterday that information and communication technologies are largely contributing to climate change but also hold the key to tackling it. Alexander Karsner, United States Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, spoke at the outset of a two-day meeting on the impact of ICT on climate change, and called for “very proactive problem-solving through the deployment of technology,” and commented that “markets alone do not make global strategies.”

Xerox Corporation Environment Vice-President Patricia Calkins also spoke. She told the nference that the paper industry was the fourth largest user of fossil fuels, and nearly half of all office paper became waste within a day.

Office solutions? Recycle paper into scrap notebooks or use a scrap printer. Sent printer defaults to double-sided. Are you buying your paper recycled? Do you use online rather than hard copy newspapers? Defniitely a couple of things to think about.

IT industry under the spotlight.

Business

• The Climate Group launched a study yesterday on the role the ICT sector plays in preventing or facilitating climate change. Though the sector currently accounts for less than 2% of global GHG emissions, the group is eager to assess its exact impact and its potential role in moving to a low carbon economy. Meanwhile, The451Group has released a report on green IT, reviewed here by BusinessGreen
• General Electric has published a case study on the impact of new process and water technologies.
• Recycling can be costly, at least that's the case if you're ASAP Ventures, the buyer of the recycle.co.uk domain name. They parted with £150000 for the privilege of informing us all about recycling.
• The renewables industry is booming, accordingto BusinessGreen
• ACI will be holding a Green Retail conference in London on 20-21 February 2008. To get a full brochure or to register, please contact Anais Donnee of ACI on +44 (0) 207 981 2503 or adonnee@acius.net.

Consumers

• Penny Hancock writes about clothes and consumerism in The Independent.

Science

• The Guardian discusses the benefits of phytoplankton
• A fascinating article on the phenomenon of 'greenup' on Wired argues that changing patterns in the spring greening of plants reflect climate change.