ITU Sympoium on.doc

ITU Symposium on
ICTs and Climate Change
Hosted by CITIC
Quito, Ecuador, 8-10 July 2009
ITU background report
1. INTRODUCTION
Over the past few years, the issue of climate change has e a main item on the global agenda. The UN Secretary-General, in his visit to the International munication Union (ITU), observed that “Climate change is the moral challenge of our generation” and that “ITU is one of the most important stakeholders in terms of climate change.”
Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré, the ITU Secretary-General, has stated that “Climate Change is a global challenge that the world cannot lose” and that “ITU mitted to achieving climate neutrality and to working with our membership to promote the use of ICTs as an effective tool bat climate change.”
The impact of ICTs on the environment has been a longstanding concern at the ITU, dating back to the International Radio Conference of Atlantic City, 1947, where ITU Member States included Meteorological Aids Service (MetAids) in Radio Regulations and allocated radio frequency spectrum for MetAids applications employed for environment and climate monitoring.
At the Plenipotentiary Conference 1994 in Kyoto (Japan), ITU Member States adopted Resolution 35 “munication support for the protection of the environment” that resolves “that the Union shall give every possible encouragement to an increasing role being played by munication and information technologies in promoting environmental protection and sustainable development […].” ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, Kyoto, Japan, 1994. Resolution 35: “munication support for the protection of the environment.” utitu/basic-texts/resolutions/.
The World munication Development Conferences, in 1998 (Resolution 8, Valletta World munication Development Conference, Valletta, Malta, 1998. Resolution 8: “munication support for the protection of the environment.”-D/conferences/wtdc/1998/.
), in 2002 (mendation 7, Istanbul World munication Development Conference, Istanbu