Digital Technology Industries - COP21 Statement

All the countries of the world gathering in Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015 for the 21st yearly session of the Conference of the Parties to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are expected to reach an agreement to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. DIGITALEUROPE supports the work of the 196 parties to the Convention to reach a legally binding and universal agreement at the end of this 21st session.

Digital technologies, especially ICTs, have revolutionised the way we live and work and contribute to a cleaner, greener planet; sensors and software manage water use and irrigation in real time; Control systems optimise factories’ production resources and reduce waste; smart grids allow renewables to be integrated into the energy supply systems and encourage consumers to use energy more efficiently. In these and many other ways digital technologies save natural resources and reduce waste.

DIGITALEUROPE’s members contribute to the climate change challenge in two ways. First, they are continually improving the carbon footprint of both their products and operations. Secondly, they deliver the innovations necessary to transition the world to a vibrant, sustainable, low-carbon economy. To maximise the impact of these efforts we need two things to happen; to encourage public and private sector collaboration to continue the sector’s reduction of its carbon footprint and digital must be put at the heart of the carbon footprint reduction plans of other sectors of the economy and society.

DIGITALEUROPE strongly supports the ambition of the 196 parties to COP21/CM11 and the European Commission to reach a robust and meaningful agreement to tackle dangerous climate change. Such an agreement is a pre-requisite for a sound and sustainable policy environment and large-scale investment in the innovation and technology that will be a very significant part of any solution.