EC says ICT must be 20 per cent more energy efficient by 2015

ICT sector needs to increase energy efficiency by a fifth by 2015

The European Commission (EC) is calling on the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector to lead the transition to an energy-efficient economy by reducing energy consumption by 20 per cent by 2015.

The Commission wants Europe's ICT sector to "agree on common methodologies for measuring energy consumption and carbon emissions by 2010". These could then be used as a platform for the more practical initiatives that would follow.

"The sector should aim to overtake the EU's 2020 targets by 2015," said the Commission.

ICT equipment and services currently account for eight per cent of power used in the EU, and two per cent of carbon emissions.

Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for information society and media, said: " Making better use of innovative ICT, will help us make Europe a low-carbon economy."

Reding added: "New measures should open up significant potential for ecological business opportunities within the ICT sector."

As an example of the ecological potential of IT, the Commission said that " replacing 20 per cent of European business trips by videoconferencing could save more than 22 million tons of CO2 per year".

Similarly, the Commission stated that a broadband network rollout facilitating increased use of online public services and applications could save two per cent of total energy use worldwide by 2020.