ITU together with the Ministry for Economic Development of Italy is organizing the 8th Symposium on ICTs, the Environment and Climate Change, hosted by Telecom Italia. The Symposium will be held on 6-7 May 2013 at Telecom Italia’s innovation laboratories in Turin, Italy. This is the eighth Symposium on climate change following successful events held between 2008 and 2012 in Kyoto, London, Quito, Seoul, Cairo, Accra and Montreal.

This years’ edition of the symposium will be dedicated to the theme of Smart Sustainable Cities and it will focus on the issue of information and communication technologies (ICTs), the environment and climate change and the needs for smart green ICT technologies. Topics to be discussed will include, inter alia, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, e-waste, disaster preparedness, cost-effective ICT technologies, methodologies for the environmental impact assessment of ICTs, ICT technologies for smart cities and smart societies, as well as challenges and opportunities in the transition to a green and resource efficient economy.

The Symposium will bring together leading specialists in the field, from top policy-makers to engineers, designers, planners, government officials, regulators, standards experts and others. Register now for free http://bit.ly/8thITUsymp.

The event will be held in conjunction with the first meeting of the ITU-T Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities (to be held on 8 May 2013 at the same venue) and the Workshop on Human Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields (to be held on 9 May 2013 at the same venue). Find out additional information about these events at http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/climatechange/Pages/events-201305.aspx

DRAFT PROGRAMME OF THE SYMPOSIUM:

MONDAY, 6 MAY 2013

Session 1 – Energy efficiency, clean power and the smart grid as engine for urban sustainable growth

• Efficient energy is the engine of sustainable growth and development. Providing access to clean energy supplies is a top priority for smart sustainable cities and is essential in achieving the goals of sustainability, low energy consumption and a reduced carbon footprint in urban areas. ICTs can help energy-hungry urban centers to become low-carbon smart sustainable cities. This session will address the need to integrate the strategies in reducing energy use, increasing distributed renewable energy generation, and increasing the intelligence of the grid, including the smart grid. The session will also address how integrated ICT solutions can help play a role in developing a more sustainable, energy-efficient future.

​Session 2 -   Assessing the environmental impact in cities

• City mayors, other urban leaders, businesses and civil society all recognize the need to act to reduce the impacts of climate change on cities. While measurement should not delay action, a critical requirement to support policy and access to finances is the establishment of an open, global and harmonized protocol for quantifying the GHG emissions attributable to cities and local regions. This session will discuss the role of standardized methodologies for the ICT sector in order to provide an accurate, reliable tool for assessing its environmental impact in cities and the gains in social and economic welfare that green ICTs can achieve in cities.

​Session 3 – Integrated ICT solutions for smart sustainable cities and empowered citizens

• A smart city is one that uses technology to transform its basic infrastructure and optimize energy and resource usage. A holistic smart city development strategy should rest on three interlinked components: leadership, integrated urban ICT solutions and behavioral change. ICTs can support the holistic development of smart sustainable cities by providing solutions to many of environmental challenges faced by cities; such as management of urban water, energy supply, solid waste, public transport, traffic, urban planning, buildings and infrastructure. This session will present some global initiatives and examples of how ICT based solutions can drive green and sustainable growth of cities.

TUESDAY, 7 MAY 2013

Session 4 – Tackling e-waste and solid waste issues in cities

• There have been alarming reports of e-waste mismanagement in many countries, particularly in less developed nations and countries with economies in transition. E-waste is a significant contributor to the ICT industry’s impact on the environment, and urgent global action to address this issue is essential if the industry is to fulfill its commitment to a sustainable future. This session will provide a platform to discuss possible next steps on e-waste.

​Session 5 –Climate change adaptation and emergency telecommunications in urban areas

• As threats of natural disasters have increased due to environmental degradation and climate change impacts, ICTs have become the key source to prevent, detect and mitigate natural events, making public safety a priority in all countries. This session will provide an overview on the use of ICTs for climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and disaster management; policy, legal and regulatory frameworks; early warning systems; international cooperation for disaster management in urban contexts.

​Session 6 – ICTs to monitor the climate

• ICTs are a key to monitoring systems for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and predicting, detecting and mitigating the effects of natural disasters. Adapting to extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, is a critical issue.

​Session 7 – Smart sustainable cities

• This session will give an overview of how the strategic application of ICT goods networks and services can help cities to be smart and sustainable, meeting their challenges in providing services to citizens and managing their infrastructure in a sustainable manner that secures economic viability for the present and future, as well as reduces their impact on the environment.

About ITU

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the UN specialized agency responsible for ICTs. Its membership, comprising 193 governments, some 700 private companies and about 50 universities, has called for ITU to take the lead in engaging the global community in addressing climate change through the use of ICTs. ITU is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with 12 field offices around the world. Further information about ITU´s climate change activities is available at www.itu.int/climate.