International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Cristina Bueti Adviser of ITU-T Study Group 5 The power of ICT for climate change adaptation

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Our biggest water reservoirs are dwindling

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Planet Earth has a fever…

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week And what if we can’t stop climate change?

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Climate change impacts and threats Economic losses Loss of biodiversity Rising sea levels Melting glaciers Increase in natural disasters Higher temperatures Changing landscapes Increased risk of drought, fire and floods Stronger storms and increased storm damage The Asia Pacific region accounted for 91% of the world's total deaths and 49% of the world's total damage due to natural disasters in the last century.

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Impacts and adaptation measures on vulnerable sectors  Building resilience requires identifying the risks in each sector and identifying adaptation measures that are possible and economically sound.

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Assessing and managing the risks of climate change using ICT Source IPCC  According to UNFCCC, ICT tools “can be critical in predicting, identifying and measuring the extent of climate change; as well as in the development of effective response strategies to adapt to negative effects of climate change in sectors such as agriculture, employment, technology transfer and energy, among others”

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week What ITU is doing… Research and development ITU-T Study Group 5 “Environment and Climate Change” Raising awareness Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world ITU-T Study Group 5 Lead study group for: ICTs and climate change WP2/5 Electromagnetic fields: emission, immunity and human exposure WP3/5 ICT and climate change 6 Questions 7 Questions 5 Questions WP1/5 Damage prevention and safety Q15/5 – ICTs and adaptation to the effects of climate change

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Question 15/5 Main study area:  Studying how ICTs can be effective in enabling countries to better adapt to climate change;  Studying how the telecommunications infrastructure and associated ICT can be resilient to the effects of climate change;  Producing Recommendations;  Collecting, sharing and disseminating information and best practices. ICTs and adaptation to the effects of climate change

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Question 15/5 Main tasks:  Establishing requirements via questionnaires and analysis;  Seeking cooperation with various expert groups and Task forces;  Encouraging the sharing of use cases in ICT and climate change;  Encouraging ICT industry involvement in climate change adaptation. ICTs and adaptation to the effects of climate change

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Deliverables under study  Draft Recommendation ITU-T L.Cities_Adaptation - how ICTs can help cities to adapt to the effects of climate change  Draft Recommendation ITU-T L.Infrastructure_Adaptation - best practices for the adaptation of the ICT infrastructure to the impacts of climate change  Draft Supplement to ITU-T L.1500 series on effects and possible impact of climate change Contributions are needed!

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Highlights on deliverables  New Recommendation ITU-T L Framework for information and communication technologies (ICTs) and adaptation to the effects of climate change (consented)  Recommendation ITU-T L on how countries can utilize ICTs to adapt to the effects of climate change (consented)  Recommendation ITU-T L.Infrastructure_Adaptation - on adapting the ICT infrastructure to the effects of climate change (under development)  Recommendation ITU-T L.Cities_Adaptation - on how ICTs can help cities to adapt to the effects of climate change (under development)

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Highlights on deliverables The role of ICTs in adaptation to climate change  ICT can provide the basic access to information, capital and resources which can improve economic development and reduce vulnerabilities  ICTs can be used for each of the following steps:  Observation (combining existing data in new ways)  Analysis and planning  Implementation and management  Capacity building  Networking  Monitoring and evaluation Recommendation ITU-T L.1501 Best practices on how countries can utilize ICTs to adapt to the effects of climate change

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Highlights on deliverables - continued Framework for ICTs and climate change adaptation  ITU-T L.1501 provides the multi-level framework for ICTs integration in Climate Change adaptation for countries to integrate ICTs into their national climate change adaptation strategies Recommendation ITU-T L.1501 Best practices on how countries can utilize ICTs to adapt to the effects of climate change  Three main components of the framework:  Content: policy development  Structure: institutional arrangements  Design and implementation of coherent Process

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Highlights on deliverables - continued Checklist of Indicators  To assist countries ensure that they meet the necessary requirements for the adoption and the implementation of the framework for ICTs and climate change adaptation  To assist countries ensure that they keep a record of the possible trends linked to climate change Recommendation ITU-T L.1501 Best practices on how countries can utilize ICTs to adapt to the effects of climate change

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world ITU-T Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities  Explores how ICTs and its infrastructure can support cities’ adaptation to climate change;  Suggests ICT-based policies and strategies that could be used by mayors in cities to adapt to climate change and build resilient cities;  Encourages all cities stakeholders to integrate ICTs in their climate change adaptation strategies and policies, by providing:  Framework,  Checklist. TR2/WG2 Technical report on ICTs for climate change adaptation in cities

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Resilient Pathways: The Adaptation of the ICT Sector to Climate Change Objective of the report:  To explore the impacts of climate change on the ICT sector and the potential for adaptation, while emphasizing the need for resilient pathways of action, enabling environments and new standards. Authors: Ospina, A.V., Faulkner, D., Dickerson, K., Bueti, C.

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Resilience: A relevant concept  Ability of the ICT sector to withstand, recover, adapt, and potentially transform in the face of climate change impacts. Ospina and Heeks (2010) Resilient Pathways: The Adaptation of the ICT Sector to Climate Change An innovative approach  A changing climate will lead to a changing business environment.  Recognizing the problem, identifying the risks, and responding with adaptation measures can help businesses minimize their risks and build resilience [to projected and unanticipated change]. Partnership for Resilience and Environmental Preparedness (PREP)

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Resilience Pathways Framework Resilient Pathways: The Adaptation of the ICT Sector to Climate Change CLIMATE CHANGE Extreme events (short term) + Chronic trends (long term) ICT Sector Adaptation Resilience Attributes: Robustness, self-organization, learning, scale, rapidity, redundancy, flexibility and diversity IMPACTS ADAPTIVE ACTIONS Levels: International National Sectoral Local

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Conclusions:  Adaptive practices: part of the “new normal” for business operations  Adaptive approaches: assessment of the potential risks and vulnerabilities, direct and indirect impacts of climate change, as well as mechanisms to tackle new business opportunities and new standards.  Adoption of resilient pathways: by going beyond generic contingency and risk management measures. Resilient Pathways: The Adaptation of the ICT Sector to Climate Change Integrating the attributes of resilience can help strengthen the sector’s approach to climate change adaptation by improving its ability to cope, adjust and potentially transform, and by enabling sector-wide strategies in the face of short-term shocks and long-term trends.

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week The way forward  Participation and political commitment: recognize ICTs as main enabling tool for climate change adaptation and strengthen multi-stakeholder cooperation to maximize the power of ICTs for disaster and environmental management.  Standardization: development and implementation of international standards to foster the integration of ICTs in climate change adaptation strategies at international, national and local levels.  Awareness and discussion: encourage sharing of best practices to improve countries’ resilience strategies to climate change.

International Telecommunication Union Committed to connecting the world 4 th ITU Green Standards Week Thank you  ITU-T/SG5 “Environment & Climate Change” itu.int/go/tsg5 itu.int/go/tsg5  ITU-T/Activities on ICTs, Environment and Climate Change