SMART Portugal 2020: Reducing Emissions and Increasing Energy Efficiency through ICT

The SMART 2020 report, released in 2008 by (GeSI), marks a pivotal moment in the global fight against climate change, specifically in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector. This second installment of the SMART Series highlights the potential of ICT to not only reduce its own carbon footprint, but also to enable an emissions reduction across multiple sectors, from energy grids to transportation. The report’s findings underscore the transformative power of ICT, estimating a 15% reduction in global CO2 emissions by 2020—five times the size of the ICT sector’s own footprint. SMART 2020 serves as a call to action, encouraging the ICT industry and other stakeholders to leverage digital solutions for a more sustainable, low-carbon economy.

The report builds on the foundation laid by the Kyoto Protocol and acknowledges the critical role the ICT industry must play in addressing global emissions. According to GeSI’s research, while the ICT sector is responsible for about 2.7% of global emissions, its potential to enable emissions reduction across sectors is monumental, offering a path to cut CO2 emissions by up to 15% globally by 2020.

This reduction is largely achievable through ICT-driven improvements in key areas such as transportation, buildings, logistics, and power management. For example, in Portugal, the SMART Portugal 2020 initiative localized the findings of the global report, identifying a potential reduction of up to 12.6 million tons of CO2 emissions by 2020. The report outlines actionable ICT-based solutions, from urban mobility systems to advanced building management technologies, which, if implemented, could meet and even surpass Portugal’s climate targets. This second installment of the SMART Series is not just a roadmap for reducing emissions, but a call for cross-sector collaboration to drive meaningful, sustainable change.

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