Montreal Declaration; A contribution to Rio+20 by the 7th International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Symposium on ITCs, environment and climate change

MONTREAL, June 4, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - The International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) 7th Symposium on ICTs, environment and climate change was held last week, from May 29 to May 31, and was hosted by PROMPT. This symposium, the first such ITU event to be held in North America after six editions in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America, brought together 150 specialists from the public and the private sectors and from NGOs in many countries. The event, which was held at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) headquarters, also attracted many virtual participants. With the theme "Greening ICT, Greening through ICT," the symposium focused on the design and use of the ICTs as a solution that has a positive effect on the environment, climate change and the social and economic development of societies around the world.

On the last day of the symposium, a Montreal Declaration was produced and issued by the ITU, as a United Nations agency, with the primary goal of promoting ICTs as a key element in any climate change action plan. Quebec and all of Canada can take pride in this significant achievement. Through this declaration, the ITU is targeting the UN's sustainable development conference (Rio+20), which will take place in Brazil a few weeks from now. "We're very pleased with the results of the Montreal event, which brought together people from around the world. This symposium was an opportunity to again show Quebec's leadership in leveraging our renewable energy sources through green ICTs, a significant opportunity from both an environmental an economic viewpoint," said Charles Despins, president of PROMPT, which hosted the event.

« We firmly believe in the potential of green ICTs, and the Montreal Declaration confirms the strategic role of Quebec and Montreal in developing this sector," added Mr. Despins. "It's clear that green ICTs represent a sizeable opportunity, with a virtually untapped potential of $800 billion annually in energy efficiency, as well as the elimination of 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In Quebec for example, there's no doubt that smart transportation and home automation, among others, are solutions with considerable potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions," he stressed.

During the three days of discussions, deliberations and observations, globally recognized speakers put forth solutions for both mitigating and adapting to climate change through green ICTs. Green next-generation networks, smart grids, smart cities, e-waste management, disaster preparedness and emergency communications, methodologies for evaluating the environmental impact of the ITCs and challenges and opportunities in the transition to greener and more resource-efficient economy were some of the main questions tackled during the symposium. "Ever since the first ITU symposium on ICTs and climate change in Kyoto in 2008, where I had the opportunity to contribute to drafting the final declaration, we have seen a growing recognition of the socio-economic opportunities offered by green ICT. Concrete activities on several continents, such as the green ICT major project in Quebec, demonstrate a real desire to focus on green ICTs for both their economic and environmental potential," concluded Mr. Despins.

This world-class event could not have been presented in Montreal without the support of valuable partners, and the response from major corporations is an eloquent testimony to the opportunities associated with green ICTs. Prompt would like to thank its partners Fujitsu, Ericsson, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, IBM, Miranda, CGI, Microsoft, Bell, RIM and Teledyne DALSA. Support was also provided by Industry Canada, along with major support from the government of Quebec, through "Equation," Quebec's green ICT major project.

About Prompt

Prompt is a non-profit corporation that stimulates industry-university R&D partnerships to increase the competitiveness of the information and communications technologies (ICT) sector in Quebec. With financial assistance from the Quebec government and the private sector, Prompt finances R&D initiatives that add value to Quebec companies, optimize the benefits of public investments in research and support the provincial innovation system. The partnerships Prompt supports are funded by the private sector and the governments of Quebec and Canada. In addition, since these initiatives benefit from federal and provincial tax credits for scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED), the value of every dollar invested by a company can generate a return of more than a factor of five. For more information, please visit www.promptinc.org.

About ITU

ITU is the leading United Nations agency for information and communication technology issues, and the global focal point for governments and the private sector in developing networks and services. For 145 years, ITU has coordinated the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoted international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, worked to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world, established the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems and addressed the global challenges of our times, such as mitigating the impact of natural disasters and climate change and strengthening cybersecurity. For further details, please visit: www.itu.int.

Marc Poisson
Media Relations
514-616-7691
[email protected]