Ericsson CEO and President Hans Vestberg says the Guadalajara Declaration – recommendations from some of the biggest names in the ICT sector – is the key to reaching global carbon reduction targets. The declaration resulted from public-private dialogue under the leadership of the Mexican Government. It was presented to government ministers on December 8 in Cancún, Mexico, as part of COP16, the world's largest annual climate change meeting.

Vestberg says there is a simple message behind the Guadalajara Declaration, which is supported by the ICT industry group GeSI, the Global e-Sustainability Initiative and the Broadband Commission for Digital Development.

"We know that ICT can have a huge impact on sustainability," he says. "We want politicians to see that and to take that into account when they take decisions about our future."

In summary: what is the declaration? The Guadalajara Declaration focuses on transformative low-carbon solutions from the ICT industry and how governments can use them to reach their emission targets.

Signatories to the declaration include more than 40 ICT companies and organizations in 20 countries representing a turnover of more than USD 1 trillion.

The declaration highlights the need for transformative rather than incremental solutions – and how governments can use transformative solutions from the ICT industry to reach their emission targets.

In a practical demonstration of some of the simplest ways that ICT can directly help reduce emissions, Vestberg participated in the presentation direct from Ericsson's Stockholm headquarters via Telepresence.

"I think it is a good proof point that I can actually still participate and not have to travel all the way to Mexico," he says. "We can still make Ericsson's voice heard and still be part of the debate, which is so important."

From the industry press release: Hans Vestberg "In order to leverage the broadband infrastructure which is deployed around the world, we need to have a supporting policy framework. ICT solutions are unique because they can be used by all countries. This is good for the environment as well as for the economy."

Vestberg says broadband and mobility can enable high-quality alternatives to the ways we are used to working.

"Just think about video presence and how much carbon you can save by having video presence, where you still meet your counterpart in a great way but there is no need to travel on an aircraft."

He says areas such as transportation, health, utilities and communications can also benefit.

The Guadalajara Declaration was developed in public-private dialogue under the leadership of the Mexican government. It urges the climate negotiators in Cancún to take six major areas into account:

Recognize and make full use of solution sectors (such as ICT), that through their products and services can help provide solutions which can significantly reduce emissions in order to avoid further climate change and support adaptation.
Support the creation of a work stream with focus on transformative low-carbon solutions from solution sectors (such as the ICT).
Support a global low-carbon ICT and broadband workshop to be organized under the auspices of the Global e-Sustainability Initiative and the Broadband Commission for Digital Development and supported by regional workshops.
Recognize solutions with transformative potential in the negotiating text, for example, in the areas related to mitigation, the technology mechanism, technology development/transfer and adaptation.
Support the development and adoption of an agreed methodology for calculation and reporting of the positive impacts of solutions that companies provide (including transformative ICT and, increasingly, broadband solutions).
Include ICT solutions in National Mitigation/Adaptation Plans and share best practice.

About COP

The event is the annual gathering of leading United Nations officials, politicians, environmentalists, industrialists, NGOs and other interested parties, held since 1995 following the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 1994. The COP was founded to assess progress on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which emerged from the groundbreaking 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, otherwise known as the Earth Summit.