Effect of IT industry on Carbon Emission

Information and communications technologies will become a major source of greenhouse gas emissions but can abate far more of them.

Greenhouse gas emissions associated with making and powering the world’s computers and telecom networks are growing fast. Despite efforts by technology manufacturers and users to make these tools more energy efficient, rapid growth in demand for computing and Communications—particularly in developing nations—is creating a big carbon footprint.
The good news is that information and communications technologies can reduce far more emissions than they generate.

In the manufacturing sector, smart controls can make motor systems in factories more efficient. The use of information and communications technologies to optimize the energy efficiency of motors in China’s plants, for example, could cut emissions by 200 metric megatons a year, as much as the Netherlands produces today. The annual energy savings would amount to €8 billion, to say nothing of an additional €4 billion in the value of the emissions (at a carbon rate of €20 per metric ton). The value at stake globally in using these technologies to optimize the energy efficiency of such motors would be about €68 billion (€53.7 billion in energy savings and €14 billion in carbon savings). By 2020, seizing this opportunity could reduce emissions by 0.68 metric gigatons annually.

In buildings, more sophisticated technology can monitor lighting, heating, and
Ventilation systems. For the United States alone, that could cut the
Commercial-building sector’s energy bill by nearly 30 percent a year. Globally, smart buildings could cut emissions by 1.68 metric gigatons a year.
Also there is possibility of reducing emissions by “dematerializing” physical goods and processes through telecommuting, video conferencing, Internet shopping, and downloading content rather than using paper, CDs, DVDs, and so on to covey it. These kinds of substitutions cut emissions significantly—by 0.5 metric gigatons a year—but far less than the 7.3 metric gigatons in annual emission reductions from improved energy efficiency in factories, buildings, electricity grids, and truck fleets.
Users and vendors of information and communications technologies alike will need to innovate. If governments introduce a price on carbon emissions or if energy prices rise further (or both), the increased costs of production could be passed on to buyers. This would challenge IT managers and companies that purchase IT and telecom equipment in large quantities to rethink the way they manage the demand for and supply of IT services, as well as their use of IT applications. At the same time, companies that make everything from control devices to computer components, software to networking gear, will have a big incentive to invest in energy-saving products and services and thus help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing demand for information and communications technologies that promote abatement will create attractive growth opportunities for those companies



Source: mckinseyquarterly.com