London, 13 February 2008 – Intellect, the trade association for the UK technology industry, has launched a report examining the role of technology in tackling climate change.
The report was published yesterday to coincide with the Intellect Energy & Environment conference attended by Intellect Environment Leadership Group member, Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd.
Sharp UK managing director, Paul Molyneux, took part in a conference panel session about the next steps for the technology sector and Sharp’s investment in low carbon technologies, such as photovoltaic (PV) solar power.
The report, entitled High Tech: Low Carbon is the first publicly available document to set out the issues relating to the energy demands of products and services together with a clear action plan for the sector to address them. In addition, it discusses the impact of technology on other sectors, stating that if the industry does not implement low-carbon technologies soon, it will cause irreparable harm to the environment.
Intelligent use of technology
The report identifies 26 different technologies that can be applied by other sectors of the economy to reduce their carbon emissions. These technologies are not simply ICT-related but encompass related fields such as engineering and biotechnology.
The report concludes that innovation and the intelligent use of technology will be key to reducing carbon emissions across the economy.
Paul Molyneux agrees that the technology sector can and should take a leading role in these two areas. He said: “Sharp has already reduced C02 emissions at its factories by integrating all the processes of manufacturing LCD TVs to significantly reduce impact on the environment. This includes parts procurement, panel manufacture, LCD TV assembly, inspection and shipment – all from one factory site.”
Sharp is the world’s largest producer of solar PV cells and has been investing in R&D for this technology since 1959. “Our environmentally advanced Kameyama factories in Japan combat C02 emissions by utilising non-CE technology innovations to both create and save energy,” Molyneux adds. “The power supply to Kameyama I and II is provided by three environmentally friendly systems including: transparent solar PV panels on the walls, which generate energy for the plant equivalent to powering 1,300 homes, a low air pollution fuel cell and an energy-saving cogeneration system.”
Sector emissions and carbon accounting
According to Intellect’s report, the energy use related to ICT (information communications technologies) currently accounts for about 2 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. If all else remained equal, a straight-line projection based on growth in both sectors would suggest that by 2050, we could see a five-fold increase in emissions related ICT and a six-fold increase in the emissions related to consumer electronics (CE).
However, according to Intellect the industry can exceed the target set by the CBI Climate Change Task Force for a 30 per cent improvement in the efficiency of electrical equipment by 2030.
The report also supports making carbon accountable will help drive demand for energy efficient products and services, iron out perverse incentives and create a level playing field for energy efficient manufacturers and will stimulate investment in low carbon technologies.
The time is now
The UK Government has set emission reductions targets for 2050. According to the report a disastrous build up of CO2 can only be avoided if new low carbon technologies are implemented well in advance of 2050. Rapid innovation cycles in the technology sector mean change can happen at the required pace, however, this will require active stimulation and support from government.
John Higgins, director general of Intellect said: “It is clear that there is considerable scope for improving the energy efficiency of ICT and CE products, irrespective of our sector size, our contribution to GDP or anything else. However, it should also be clear that the technology sector is embracing the challenge of energy efficiency and is producing better, faster, lighter devices that use less and less energy as the result of a continuous process of intensive research and development. But improving efficiency isn’t enough. We have to find ways to completely decouple economic growth from energy consumption. This is not an either/or scenario – we have to do both.”
