Session
Organizer 1: Yee Man Ko , DotAsia
Speaker 1: Yee Man Ko , Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 2: TOSHIAKI TATEISHI, Private Sector, Asia-Pacific Group
Speaker 3: Jennifer Chung, Private Sector, Asia-Pacific Group
Yee Man Ko , Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Yee Man Ko , Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Phyo Thiri Lwin, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
Roundtable
Duration (minutes): 60
Format description: Roundtable to increase interaction between speakers, then with participants in the later stage. 60 mins is sufficient on in-depth discussion and to keep people engaging by optimizing attention time span
How do policy recommendations to achieve an EcoInternet go hand in hand with achieving a sustainable and resilient Internet?
What are the key factors and challenges to effective collaboration between government and industry in policymaking and implementation to monitor and reduce the environmental impact caused by booming digitalisation?
What are the main reasons for the Asia Pacific region lagging behind in “greening” the Internet or other green initiatives, and what lessons can other regions share in their progress towards a greener Internet?
What will participants gain from attending this session? Advanced knowledge on identifying and measuring carbon footprint of internet infrastructure and user behavior, new knowledge from other regions
Resources and tools available for further learning and collaborative opportunities
Collaborative approaches for multi-stakeholder advocacy and follow up action plan
Description:
Internet carbon can only be increasing, thus cannot be ignored.
Building on 3 years efforts of initiating and developing EcoInternet Index, the research on how various factors (i.e. Energy, Efficiency and Economy) affects the Internet-environment relationship continues and the new phase of this project has been extended to 15 jurisdictions and more across Asia Pacific including some least developed countries. Based on the studies and discussions with subject-matter experts, the approach to evaluate the environmental impact related to the digital explosion is more complicated than simply identifying the carbon footprint of the Internet or a specific online activity for direct comparisons among jurisdictions, which can be misleading and controversial in many ways. Measuring the definitive amount of the Internet’s carbon footprint, as it naturally increases along with increasing usage, may not depict the real situation of its eco-friendliness. Instead, looking at how the accelerating growth of the Internet significantly replaces some traditional activities or industries which are way more carbon-heavy, can provide meaningful outcomes for policy directives and decisions.
That said, it is foreseeable that the Internet usage will continue to surge, and therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the sustainability of the Internet network and infrastructure are included and prioritized in the consideration and decision of any climate agenda and action plan.
A concrete and practical framework for government and the industry to collaboratively tackle the environmental impact in relation to digital technologies, suggestions for effective policies and action plans to enhance the sustainability of the Internet infrastructure, as well as possible solutions to overcome any obstacles, are the expected outcomes from the session.
The speakers may exchange their views on the methodology of the EcoInternet Index, the advantages and shortcomings of such an approach, what we can learn from the results and how it can be further improved and developed.
Policy recommendations from the discussions and comments to our study will be input to the research report of our project EcoInternet Index 2024-25.
Hybrid Format: A well-balanced speaking time given to onsite and online speakers, and equal opportunities for onsite and remote participants to raise questions and comments are key to the hybrid model. Our onsite and online moderators of the session have experience in facilitating a hybrid session. They will coordinate smoothly to manage the questions raised by the on-site audience and online attendees from the chat room. The rapporteur will also engage in the conversations in the chat room for a livelier interaction. We would prepare to set up an audio and video connection test with the remote speakers before the sessions if possible.