ICT can reduce 10% of India's GHG emissions
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COMMENTS 
A substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in India could come from using ICT in the construction, road transport and power sectors, says a new report
Information, communication and technology (ICT) solutions have the potential to reduce 10% of the country’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, leading to energy cost savings of around Rs 137,000 crore per annum, says a report released in New Delhi on December 14, 2010.
The report, ‘ICT Contribution to India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change’, finds that the maximum potential of saving carbon dioxide emissions is from the construction (42%), road transport (30%) and power (16%) sectors.
The report, by the Digital Energy Solutions Consortium India (DESC) and CII-ICT Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, explores potential GHG reduction opportunities via ICT solutions in three mitigation-related missions of the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) -- the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE), National Mission on Sustainable Habitat (NMSH), and National Solar Mission (NSM).
The carbon emissions reduction target for NMEE by 2015 is 100 million tonnes. By adopting ICT in buildings, transport and the nine sectors under the PAT (perform, achieve and trade) scheme, approximately 30% of the 2015 target (about 31 million tonnes) can be met, says the report (the perform, achieve and trade scheme is a market-based mechanism to enhance energy efficiency among designated energy-intensive industries and facilities like cement, fertiliser and steel plants).
This is the first report in India to quantify the specific savings possible using ICT solutions, according to DESC Chairman Rahul Bedi. Its value lies in allowing industries to now quantify their potential energy as well as monetary savings, by adopting ICT-based solutions.
The report lists high technology costs, inadequate energy benchmarks, weak regulatory norms on carbon emissions standards and poor research and development support as barriers to ICT adoption.
To overcome these hurdles, the report recommends actions like creating a platform for green jobs, undertaking steps to develop ICT adoption, rationalisation of direct and indirect taxes, and encouraging research and development.
Some of the report’s highlights:
- The electricity saved by ICT implementation in the power sector in 2030 can aid in the rural electrification of more than 14,000 villages with an average population of 2,000-3,000 people.
- Over 1.1 billion litres of diesel-equivalent can be saved annually by implementation of ICT measures in the railways in 2030. Since diesel is subsidised, the reduction in consumption will reduce the subsidy burden of the government to Rs 198 crore annually in 2030; the railways will save Rs 3,850 crore annually in the year 2030.
- The energy saved by implementation of ICT measures with moderate penetration in the cement sector in 2030 can provide energy to produce an additional 4.5 million tonnes of cement.
- Savings achieved through video-conferencing and telecommuting with moderate ICT penetration in 2030 can offset GHG emissions more than 70 times the current GHG emissions due to the annual air traffic between Delhi and Mumbai.
- Implementation of ICT-enabled mobility management systems in 2030 can offset emissions created by 12 million cars travelling an average of 18,000 km every year. This is equivalent to 16,500 million litres of diesel or 17,200 million litres of petrol saved.
Source: igovernment, December 14, 2010: http://igovernment.in/
The Indian Express, December 14, 2010
‘ICT Contribution to India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change’ report: http://115.113.225.49/webcms/Upload/, December 2010