The document discusses how ICT can both contribute to and help mitigate climate change through more efficient production and use of technology, enabling remote work and services to reduce transportation needs, and providing tools to monitor climate data and support decision making for mitigation and adaptation strategies. ICT also faces risks from climate impacts but can help enhance resilience through applications that measure risks, inform networks, and support predictive and adaptive planning.

1. ICT and Climate Change: Quo Vadis?
Kathmandu
Bhanu Neupane
Program Manager
ICT & Sciences and Open Access to Scientific Research
UNESCO, Paris
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2. What have we already
learned?
Concept of Green Economy
Various Applications
A few tools for Green Economy
Role of Youth
Other?....
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3. Whose view matters most?
Experts
Yours
OURS or?
THEIRS?
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4. Marginalized people’s own view of poverty
Powerlessness - Lack of voice - Lack of independence
• The marginalized are subject to exploitation, humiliation
and corruption
• Powerlessness reinforces their inability to affect changes
to their situation
• Dependence on natural resource increases
Strategies must:
• Start with poor people‟s realities
• Build grassroots capacity to organize
• Work towards changing social norm
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• Support social movements, innovation and leadership

5. Is there a positive correlation between
poverty and environmental degradation
YES: Poverty increases environmental degradation.
Poverty raises the discount rate decreasing incentives to conserve with
reduced NPV of future benefits.
Examples of present value of $100 of future income:
Discount Year Year Year Year Year Year
rate: i 0 1 2 5 10 30
0 100 100 100 100 100
10 100 91 83 62 39 6
25 100 80 64 33 11 0.1 = 10¢
Poverty:
 increases risk aversion,
 leads to ill health,
 reduces capacity to invest ,
 raises demand for children, (Berkley group: 2010) 5

6. Environmental Degradation and
Poverty
• Environmental degradation reduces the stock of natural
capital and poor are disproportionately affected.
• Environmental degradation increases vulnerability (e.g.
soil erosion….decreased yields, deforestation…flooding).
• Pollution increases morbidity and mortality (e.g.
exposure to pesticides, contaminated water, indoor air
pollution)
• Deforestation and over-pumping increase the cost of
basic goods such as firewood and drinking water
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• Erik Ekholm (losing grounds)

7. Sara Scherr 2000
Although the relationship between poverty
and environment is highly variable, the
„downward spiral‟ is both avoidable and
reversible in many circumstances. Poor
people have an unrecognized potential for
adaptation and innovation.”
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8. Poverty need not be a source of
resource degradation
√ non-poor are the main source of degradation (big logging
companies, livestock operations, over-consumption).
√ Traditional technologies are conservation friendly (agro-
ecology, agroforestry).
√ Poor can adopt win-win technologies that raise incomes
and increase conservation: ecoagriculture, ecotourism.
√ Cooperation/collective action in the management of
Common Property Resources.
√ The poor can be environmental activists (Chipko
movement in India, Chico Mendes rubber tappers in Brazil).
√ Markets for environmental services induce conservation by
the poor
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9. Opinion
A debate is healthy
Blame-games are not!
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10. First message:
Humans are changing the global
environmental system in a globally-
significant way
without…..
adequate knowledge of the system and thus
its response to change

11. Global change drivers
Population growth, movement and age
structures
Geo-political changes and realignments
Trade and subsidies
U.S. Bureau of the Census
Technological changes
Climate change

12. 12

13. 13

14. 14

15. Global change impacts
• Global change is more than global climate variability/change
• It has natural PLUS human/social dimensions
• A constellation of changes, many global in domain
For example, we see large changes in:
Mackenzie et al (2002)
(1990)
Richards (1991), WRI
Reid & Miller (1989)
NOAA Vitousek (1994)

16. From: Steffen et al. 2004

17. Four noteworthy trends …
1. The (continued) rise of the humans
− Increases in people, wealth and intellectual resources
(brain power), leading to a ….
2. …. rise of demand
─ Increased demand for energy, food & natural resources
resulting in accelerated ….
3. … increasing climate change &
environmental impacts
4. … the rise of the machines (ICT).
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18. Rise of Machines
Within the context of climate change and
green econmy
 Are ICT Evil?
 Are ICT victim?
 Are ICT good?
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19. ICT as EVIL
Globally approx 2-3 % energy consumption is linked to
ICT usage
Energy demand for ICT is increasing at steady pace of
approx. 20%
Moore‟s law is also applicable for ICT-linked GHG
production
PCs & peripherals, Telecoms infrastructure
ICT use is increasing and so are GHG emissions from
ICT
 Other social and economic costs? 19

20. ICT as Victim
On an average 3 billion $ worth of ICT
linked infrastructures are damaged every
year due to climate-linked phenomena.
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21. ICT as solution
ICT provides mitigation opportunities
ICT help in abating carbon emission
ICT enhance efficiency & facilitate
conservation
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22. Mitigation opportunities
1. Reducing GHG emissions from all stages of the ICT life
cycle
• and especially during their production, use and disposal
2. Making greater using ICT to mitigate vegetation related
emissions
• through the greater use of ICT based earth observation and
management systems and networks
3. Encouraging the development and adoption of ICT
based enabling technologies
• to reduce GHG emissions.
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23. ICT to abate carbon emission
Reducing / substituting for travel
 In 2007, Telstra held 7‟500 video conferences saving 4‟200 tonnes of
CO2
Flexible work arrangements
 Each one million EU workers could save one million tonnes of CO2
annually by telecommuting
Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
 In-car systems to assist in “eco-driving” can reduce CO2 emissions by
up to 20 per cent
Dematerialization (replacing atoms with bits)
 Publications on-line save hundreds of tonnes of paper and significantly
reduces CO2 emissions annually compared with printing and distribution
of paper copies 2
3
Sources: Climate Risk report for Telstra, ETNO/WWF report, Toyota, ITU

24. ICT enhance efficiency &
facilitate conservation by :
Process efficiency
 Doing things fast
 Use less energy  emit less C
Connecting everything & everyone:
 Instrumenting objects and places around us:
 Empowering people to act
Measuring everything (& everyone!):
 The Internet of Things
 More info on energy use
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25. ICT enhance efficiency &
facilitate conservation by:
Controlling everything
 Smart controls
 Connect & control all motors & energy consumption
(embedded controls)
More options to reduce consumption: smart
motors, lighting, grid, buildings, logistics
/transport & cities
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26. ICT and Climate Change
Mitigation Strategy Adaptation
(Causes) (Effects)
Physical
e-Enabled: Application Areas / CC
Consumption -Carbon Markets Related Vulnerabilities
-Dematerialisation of -Decision-Making -Socio-Polítical
Goods/Services -Policy Networks -Livelihoods & Finance
Journey Substitution -Awareness/Capacity- -Health
Building -Habitat
Physical
-Technology Transfer -Food (Agriculture)
Production
-Shift to Knowledge -Water
Economy
Energy Generation
& Distribution ICT Adaptation Role
-Smart Power/Grid -Measuring
Monitoring -Informing & Networking
-Deciding:
Energy Use -CC Data Capture •Predicting (Risk, Early
Manufacture & Use: Warning)
-CC Data Processing
-ICT (Green vs. •Planning (inc. Local
-CC Data Presentation
Brown IT) and Dissemination
Mitigation)
-Smart •Coping (Short-Term/
Disaster)
Motors/Logistics
•Adapting (Long-Term)
-Smart Building -Transacting
Design -Producing
-Smart Transport -Mobility

27. ICT and Climate Change
Role of ICT ICT Intervention Focus
 Initial/Generic Awareness of Climate Change
Climate Change  Specific Awareness of Local Issues
AWARENESS
 Natural Resource-Oriented:
Climate Change -Forest Management
-Agriculture Management
MITIGATION -Land Evaluation and Use
 Capacity-Building Oriented
Climate Change  External Data
MONITORING  Local Data
 Hybrid Local-External Systems
 Vulnerability-Oriented:
Climate Change -Food + Water Security
ADAPTATION -Income Generation
-Health
-Infrastructure
-Political Participation
-Security
 Climatic Threat-Oriented
Ospina & Heeks (2012)

28. Let us look at some cool
innovations?
Digitization & The Internet of Things
dematerialization (IOT)
Microprocessors Sensor technology
Handhelds vs desk/lap Web 2.0 & 3.0
tops Social networking
Internet diffusion Improved & greener
Broadband batteries
Cloud computing GIS & visualization
Cyber physical systems technologies
Wireless & mobile device
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29. But can we be complacent?
Lets take an example!
Water
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30. Linking climate Change with
Water Resources - Impacts?
Intensification of hydrological cycle –
increased floods and droughts
Changes to global distribution of
precipitation – increased rainfall in high
latitudes, decreases in tropics
But:
 Global Climate Models are very poor at
representing hydrological systems
 Regional and local effects are highly uncertain
 Models provide grid-square average and don‟t
provide a comprehensive picture of the system30

31. Water resources
P
I Es Eo
E = I+T+Eo+Es
T
Stocks:
first separation point Qs
Q Ss (surface)
F
Qg Su (soil)
second separation point
C R Sw+g
(waterbodies+
groundwater)
P = rainfall R = percolation
I = interception C = capillary rise
Qs = overland flow Es = soil evaporation
F = infiltration Qg = seepage
T = transpiration Eo = open water evaporation

32. Lack of information and data
at a time when we need it more than ever to deal with
increasing complexity – where is ICT?
GRDC: Current stations in historical database indicated by time series end

33. Lack of finer-scale measurements of
water cycle components in the Third
Pole Environment
IPCC “… Working Group II contribution
to the underlying assessment refers to
poorly substantiated estimates of
rate of recession and date for the
disappearance of Himalayan
glaciers.” (IPCC statement on the melting of Himalayan
glaciers, 20 Jan. 2010).
 There is a critical lack of knowledge for this unique
environment, because, current estimates of the plateau water
balance rely at best on sparse and scarce observations
 In-situ observation data cannot provide the required accuracy,
spatial density and temporal frequency for quantification of impacts
and development of adaptation and mitigation measures.
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36. CURRENT
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FUTURE

37. So are we still at the square
ONE?
Quo Vadis ICT?
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38. Let us now take ICT’s impact
on poor people!
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39. Assumption:
ICT can help the marginalized
• to make informed decisions
• to better organise themselves
• to communicate their interests
• to break down their isolation and structures of
discrimination
• to support economic and social innovation that benefit
them
• ICT can improve the efficiency and responsiveness of
groups that work with the marginalized
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40. Engaging the marginalized:
obstacles to overcome
• Lack of access (infrastructure)
• High cost of access (when available)
• Lack of spare time and mobility
• Lack of IT literacy
• Lack of relevant content in vernacular languages
• Lack of inclusive access models focused on the
poor and marginalized
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41. Engaging the marginalized:
obstacles to overcome
• Lack of enabling policies and strategies
• Knowledge Infomediaries
• Content Appropriateness
• Multi-stakeholder Engagement
• New and Traditional Knowledge
• Focus on the Information Chain
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42. Again are we still at the
square ONE?
Quo Vadis ICT?
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43. UNESCO’s initiatives
• Putting ICT in the hands of the poor
• Develop innovative solutions for the marginalized, isolated and
disadvantaged
• Empower people living in poverty, especially women and youth
• Develop replicable models through mixing and matching traditional and
new media technologies
• Assess impact and readjust the methodologies through action research
• Use of Cyber physical systems
• Open Data
• Open Access to Scientific research
• Open source softwares
• Social networks (Possible future?)
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44. Take Home Messages
• Technology is only part of the solution.
• Relevant innovation is driven locally.
• Green economy doesn‟t mean to buy its way out of
environmental problems.
• Creating trust helps to secure the license to
operate.
• Anticipate risks that stem from outside the existing
system.
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45. In conclusion:
You are a mass of 1.06 billion strong!
You are most ICT educated and enabled
mass (75% have access to mobile)
Change will be possible ONLY when you are
mobilized.
My big boss Mr. Ban Ki Moon has thus said:
“You have the opportunity to change our world.
Seize it.”
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46. Thank you~
b.neupane@unesco.org
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