European Union to Promote Energy Efficiency Through ICT

The European Commission has made a commitment to support the use of energy-efficient Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to improve buildings, lighting and power distribution.

The executive arm of the European Union has announced it will promote using ICT throughout the E.U. to reduce energy use and cut emissions. The Commission will support research, development and deployment of ICT components and systems. It will also craft voluntary agreements covering issues such as procurement of green technologies.

The Commission will focus on three areas first: the power grid, lighting and buildings. Denmark has almost halved its carbon dioxide emissions between 1990 and 2005 by generating half of its energy through decentralized grids and receiving 20 percent of its power from wind energy. In Finland, adoption of smart metering, which allows building managers to track energy used by different components, has increased energy efficiency by seven percent.

"Research and rapid take-up of innovative energy efficient ICT solutions will be crucial to lowering emissions across the whole economy," said Viviane Reding, commissioner for the E.U.'s Information Society and Media. "There is a win-win situation in which ICT will promote the competitiveness of E.U. industry while leading the fight against climate change."

The Commission will also encourage the ICT industry to cut its own emissions and create products and services that can benefit the E.U.'s environmental footprint.

Without widespread action, the E.U.'s energy use is expected to rise 25 percent by 2012, further increasing the E.U.'s emissions. The E.U. plans to cut greenhouse gases by 20 percent compared to 1990 levels and use 20 percent renewable energy by 2020. The Commission believes that ICT can improve the efficiency of all sectors of the economy while assisting the E.U.'s productivity growth, competitiveness and jobs.

Source: climate Biz