ITU, ISO, IEC, and partners speed up climate action with digital tech
Huawei has joined hands with more than 40 leading tech companies and organizations to push for Green Digital Action (GDA) at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change Agreement (COP28), hosted by the UAE.
Huawei is a founding member of the initiative and, together with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), co-leads the action plan and launch of a peer-learning working group to strengthen industry and international collaboration on environmental sustainability standards.
The plan seeks to “create a roadmap that will guide future work and call on experts to contribute post-COP28 and to share best practices that are not yet standardized.”
The working group will meet throughout the year 2024 until COP29 to accelerate the implementation of identified standards, share best practices, and address existing gaps. Huawei pilots the GDA pillar on green standards, which represents an effort to bring sustainability to the forefront of digital practices.
In an outcome document published toward the end of COP28, the ITU said: “Driven by collaboration and consensus decisions, international standardization is a key avenue to make meaningful progress toward the future we want.”
Key outcomes also include a joint statement by ITU, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) on the importance of sustainability being built into technical standards development.
“The digital technology sector is giving us reason for hope with their clear commitments on climate action,” said Tomas Lamanauskas, ITU Deputy Secretary-General and convener of GDA. He added that the ITU “will work with our tech partners to ensure follow-through on these commitments with the aim of expanding and strengthening them in the future.”
GDA took place Dec 2-9 at COP28. Huawei was involved in five separate GDA events that showcased tech industry commitments and accelerate action.
The nearly year-long effort behind GDA involved over 40 partners, ranging from industry associations, UN agencies, to governments and the private sector.
