10 November 2010
APEC ICT Ministers Adopt Okinawa Declaration
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The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministers responsible for the telecommunications and information industry (ICT) gathered in Okinawa, Japan, from 30-31 October 2010, under the theme “ICT as an Engine for New Socio-economic Growth,” and discussed the role of ICT in environmental management, energy efficiency and climate change mitigation.

1 November 2010: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministers responsible for the telecommunications and information industry (ICT) gathered in Okinawa, Japan, from 30-31 October 2010, under the theme “ICT as an Engine for New Socioeconomic Growth,” and discussed the role of ICT in environmental management, among other issues.

According to the resulting Okinawa Declaration, APEC ministers: recall the 2007 Leaders’ declaration on global environmental issues; recognize the ability of ICT to address global problems such as energy and resource constraints and environmental degradation; and welcome the 2009 Leaders’ Declaration that encouraged ongoing efforts toward using ICT to address socioeconomic challenges.

APEC ministers welcome the proposed “Smart ICT Application Initiative” aimed at delivering positive socioeconomic outcomes in various areas, including the environment, emergency response, medicine, education, energy efficiency and administrative services; and generally recognize ICT capacity to improve energy efficiency. They encourage the Telecommunications and Information Working Group (TEL) to: share lessons learnt on the use of ICT for environmental benefits derived from the energy efficiency of ICT devices and networks, such as data centers, as well as from other ICT applications that can reduce energy usage and decrease the carbon footprint from various economic and social activities; and cooperate with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on the development of methodologies to evaluate ICT contribution to mitigating environmental loads, and to promote technologies such as Intelligent Transport Systems. [Okinawa Declaration]

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