The IT Industry Needs New Technologies

An international collaboration of researchers has just concluded an extensive survey of the IT industry, which shows that it will no longer be able to contribute to global economic growth beyond 2020 unless new energy-efficient technologies are employed.

The investigation shows that the limitations which will be imposed on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will place a huge strain on this vital sector, potentially reducing its impact on the global economy.

Analysts at Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy, in Houston and the Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID), in Singapore, conducted the work over 18 months.

“In the face of growing global concerns over greenhouse carbon emission, the key for the industry is finding new technologies that deliver more performance for each kilogram of CO2 emitted,” explains scientist Krishna Palem.

The expert is the director of the ISAID, and a Rice computer scientist. The Institute is the result of a collaboration between the American university and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), ion Singapore.

“Fortunately, there are viable technological options on the table and the information and communication industries have a strong track record of embracing new technologies,” Palem adds.

One of the most intriguing conclusions in the new report was that IT businesses tended to show a rise in the amount of GHG they emitted that was double than their contribution to the gross domestic product of their countries of origin.

The situation is bound to become even bleaker in the coming decade, researchers add, as emissions associated with PCs, laptops and smartphones will grow by 400 percent.

“In the US in 2009, the economic output of the IT industry per kilogram of CO2 emitted was about $2.83, and in a business-as-usual scenario, that output will fall to about $1.06 per kilogram of CO2 by 2020,” explains Chris Bronk.

“Based on those numbers, the industry is headed for a brick wall if limits are placed on CO2 emissions,” adds the expert, who is also a coauthor of the new investigation.

“In a carbon-constrained economy, green innovation will be absolutely essential for ICT profitability,” concludes Bronk, who is also a lecturer of computer science at Rice, and a fellow in technology, society and public policy at the Baker Institute.