The potential of the ICT sector to assist in achieving CO2 emissions reductions throughout the economy must be fully exploited

BRUSSELS – ETNO welcomes the newly adopted Commission roadmap to achieve the ambitious targets of reducing domestic green house gas emissions by 80% by 2050. ETNO, who represents Europe’s leading e-communications operators and main investors in tomorrow’s services and networks, calls however on the European Commission to better exploit the potential of broadband-enabled innovative applications for all the sectors of the economy to limit their carbon footprint.
“Thanks to their efforts to optimise their own energy consumption, ETNO member companies managed to continuously reduce their own CO2 emissions despite an increase in consumer demand for broadband and mobile services. Furthermore, ETNO members actively develop solutions that allow other sectors of the economy to reduce their emissions”, says Danilo Riva, Chair of ETNO Corporate Responsibility Working Group.
As recognised in the Digital Agenda for Europe, broadband-enabled services can facilitate energy efficiency in various sectors of the economy and accelerate the transition towards a low carbon economy. A wider usage of broadband-enabled services and applications by private and public sectors and by citizens is required to reach this goal.
ETNO calls on member states to develop additional policies to encourage businesses and households to opt for low carbon solutions, including through tax incentives.
ETNO is committed to collaborate with major emitting sectors of the economy to promote a wider usage of ICT-enabled solutions. The association looks forward to working closely with the European Commission’s Climate Action and Information Society DGs to ensure that the role of the ICT sector in achieving CO2 emissions reductions is fully recognised.

For more information, please contact: Thierry Dieu, ETNO Communications Manager
Tel: (32-2) 219 32 42 Fax: (32-2) 219 64 12 E-mail: dieu@etno.be