IDC targets ICT-based solutions to reduce C02 emissions

SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG: Up to 5.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions can be eliminated through the focused use of ICT-based solutions by 2020, according to market intelligence and consultancy firm IDC.

The data from IDC's G20 ICT Sustainability Index was released last week in parallel with the United Nations COP15 meetings in Copenhagen. It estimated that the six countries from the Asia Pacific region that were included in the study, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Korea, can contribute in the reduction of 2.4 billion tonnes (or 41.4%) within this target.

IDC ranked Japan as the only top-tier country in the Index with the score of 16, meaning of the G20 nations, Japan has the most potential of reducing greenhouse gases. Australia, China and Korea were ranked in the fourth-tier of the Index, while India and Indonesia were ranked in the fifth-tier.

"It is clear that Asia Pacific as a region has a prominent role to play in dealing with climate change as a global issue," said Philip Carter, Associate Research Director for IDC's Asia Pacific Practice and Green IT & Sustainability Research.

"IDC's ICT Sustainability Index provides a perspective on how ICT can be used to actively reduce greenhouse gases at a country level. We are hopeful that governments in the region start to identify TECHNOLOGY [] areas highlighted in the study and provide incentives for companies and consumers to start using them more specifically with this objective in mind.

"We also anticipate that more progressive policy makers will go a step further and begin to mandate the usage of some of these technologies and associated solutions in certain industries," he added.

In the Asia Pacific region, the importance of specific sectors and technologies varies significantly by country. Transport-related sources constitute the largest share of CO2 reduction potential in Japan (30%) and supply chain and logistics optimisation is the specific technology area expected to have the greatest impact in meeting the target for this sector.

For China, the energy generation and distribution sector is where most opportunity lies to reduce CO2 emissions, and renewable energy management systems utilising the smart grid is expected to drive most of the savings within this sector.

In a separate study to determine how businesses and enterprises in the region are reacting to the increasing focus on green IT and sustainability, IDC conducted its third annual Green IT and Sustainability Survey that included 450 organisations in Asia Pacific.

According to the survey findings, the cost of energy is still the key driver for organisations, with over 60% in the region indicated this to be the case. Growth in IT infrastructure was also indicated as a factor that is rising fast on the agenda, particularly in China.

Further local differences become clearer between countries within the Asia Pacific "jigsaw puzzle", particularly when comparing emerging countries such as China against the more developed ones like Australia and Japan. In Australia and Japan, senior executives are taking the leading role in these initiatives. By comparison in China, this responsibility is being pushed to IT management, IDC said.