• Welcome:
  • Ing. Jorge Glas Espinel, representing the President of the Republic of Ecuador, Mr. Rafael Correa
  • Dra. Zoila Ramos, Director CITIC - Ecuador
    [ BIOGRAPHY ]
  • Mr, Manuel Bravo, Vice Minister of Environment
  • Mr, Clovis Baptista, Executive Secretary, CITEL – OAS
  • Amb. Montalvo, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the UN Offices at Geneva
  • Mr. Antonio Garcia, President, Conartel
• Keynote speeches:
  • Mr. Malcolm Johnson, Director ITU-TSB
    [ BIOGRAPHY | SPEECH ]
  • Eng. Jaime Guerrero Ruiz, President CONATEL - Ecuador
    [ BIOGRAPHY ]
• Opening remarks by the Symposium Chair
  • Chairman: Ing. Jorge Glas Espinel, President Fondo de Solidaridad del Ecuador

Global, regional and national policies play a key role in efforts to combat climate change. The world community expects to adopt a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol in Copenhagen in December 2009. At the national and regional level, ICT regulators, producers and telecommunication operators increasingly need to reduce GHG emissions and energy consumption.

This session will provide an overview of:

• National and regional policies on ICTs to address climate change.
• Key policy issues in Latin America.
• Status of UN negotiations on a new CC Agreement and the ITU’s contribution to this process
• Ongoing work in ITU on climate change

Moderator:

Dr. Mauro Flórez Calderón, President CITIC - Ecuador
[ BIOGRAPHY ]

Speakers:

• Ing. Jaime Guerrero Ruiz, President CONATEL - Ecuador - Ecuador - “ICT Policy Framework in Ecuador”
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION]
• Mr. Clovis Baptista, Executive Secretary CITEL - OAS - “ICT Policy Framework: OAS approach”
  [ PRESENTATION ]
• H.E. Amb. Mauricio Montalvo, Permanent Representative of Ecuador to the UN Offices at Geneva – “An approach of the Permanent Mission of Ecuador in Geneva on ICT, climate change and the ITU”
  [ BIOGRAPHY |  PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Silvia Guzmán Araña, Director of Environment, Telefónica S.A. - “General strategies of the ICT sector and Climate Change of Telefónica”
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]

The ITU is the specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for telecommunications/ICTs and its 3 Sectors and the General Secretariat are focusing on such key issues as technology, climate data collection and monitoring, adaptation and mitigation. The ITU-T Focus Group on ICT & Climate Change was specifically tasked to develop methodologies to measure the impact of ICTs on climate change.

This session will provide an overview of:

• National and regional policies on ICTs to address climate change.
• Key policy issues in Latin America.
• Status of UN negotiations on a new CC Agreement and the ITU’s contribution to this process
• Ongoing work in ITU on climate change

Moderator:

Dr. Mauro Flórez Calderón, President CITIC - Ecuador
[ BIOGRAPHY ]

Speakers:

• Mr. Augusto Espinosa Andrade, Undersecretary Información e Investigación de la Secretaría Nacional de Planificación y Desarrollo SENPLADES - "Políticas Nacionales vinculadas a TIC’s y Cambio Climático"
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Néstor Bercovich, Programa Sociedad de la Información, ECLAC – “ICT policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, regional consultation and environmental impact”
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Arthur Levin, Head, Policy Division, ITU-TSB - "Presentation of ITU Background Paper"
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Cristina Bueti, Policy Analyst, Corporate Strategy Division, ITU-SPM - "ITU and Climate Change"
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Solvey Janeth Perilla Burbano, Universidad Nacional de Colombia - “Diagnosis of Colombian policies to tackle climate change”
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]

Green house gas (GHG) emissions affect the climate and are increasing. The emissions of the ICT sector are estimated at 2.5- 3 per cent of total GHG emissions. As the deployment of ICT continues, the sector faces the challenge to limit and reduce its own emissions, which could be achieved by new technologies, such as New Generation Networks (NGN) and greater energy efficiency among others.

This session will provide an overview of:

• NGN to reduce carbon foot-print and mitigate climate change effects
• New radio technologies and greenhouse gases emissions.
• Future telecommunication networks.

Moderator:

Mr. Alexandre Vassiliev, Study Group Counsellor, ITU-BR

Speakers:

• Mr. Jacques McNeill, Green ICT Project Coordinator, Prompt – “Canadian initiatives in green ICT”
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Alexandre Vassiliev, Study Group Counsellor, ITU-BR - “Radio and Reduction of Greenhouse Gases Emissions”
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Eng. Francisco Calero, Director de Servicios de Telecomunicaciones, Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones del Ecuador – “Ecuador, ICTs and Climate Change”
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Daniela Torres, Head of Climate Change Office Telefónica - "Renewable Energy in fixed and mobile networks in Latin America, a sustainable solution for off-grid sites"
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Julio Palacio Niño, Universidad de Colombia - “Environmental analysis on the migration of analog to digital television in Colombia”
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]

It is estimated that ICTs can play a significant role in other sectors to limit and reduce GHG emissions, e.g. by promoting video conferences instead of travelling, replacing paper for bits, smart buildings and better supply chain management.

This session will provide an overview of:

• ICTs as a tool to reduce carbon-based emissions in other sectors.
• Measuring the impact of ICTs in other sectors.

Moderator:

Mr. Arthur Levin, Head, Policy Division, ITU-TSB
[ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]

Speakers:

• Mr. Richard Labelle, Director Aylmer Group, Canada – “ICTs for reducing C emissions: a development perspective”
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Luis Neves, Chairperson of GESI, the Global e-Sustainable Initiative. “Resource efficiency through ICT-applications - Smarter Networks: Collaborating to Reducing CO2 Emissions” (presented by A. Levin in his absence)
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Daniela Torres, Head of Climate Change Office, Telefónica - "Renewable Energy in fixed and mobile networks in Latin America, a sustainable solution for off-grid sites"
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Maria de Fatima Rosolem, CPqD, Brazil - "Potential Of Using Renewable Energy In Telecom Stations"
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]

Adaptation refers to measures to address changes already occurring as a result of global warming. These changes have a negative impact on ecosystems and on human habitat affecting access to natural resources such as drinking water and farming. Moreover, it is expected that the global effects of climate change, including deforestation, which affects many countries in Latin America, could increase the likelihood of floods and droughts caused by severe atmospheric and oceanic disturbances. The effects and the ability to deal with these issues vary from one country to another, in particular the most vulnerable developing countries often do not have the necessary technological, human, financial and governance resources to adapt to climate change. Developed countries using their satellite remote sensing equipment could help in providing data for monitoring deforestation. ICTs can contribute to avoid further tropical deforestation, thus reducing emissions for climate change prevention.

This session will provide an overview of:

• Reducing CO2 emissions caused by deforestation and forest degradation.
• Governmental initiatives addressing deforestation issues.
• ICTs to predict identify and measure the extent of the problem of climate change.
• Effective response strategies to mitigate negative effects of climate change.
• Technological paths to sustainability.
• Alternative Energies sources.

Moderator:

Mr. Clovis Baptista, Executive Secretary CITEL - OEA

Speakers:

• Mr. Richard Labelle, Director Aylmer Group Canada - "ICTs for e-Environment: adapting to climate change and resource depletion"
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Roque García Zanabria, Escuela Politécnica Superior de Chimborazo –ESPOCH - “Training program for farmers, work experience and awareness of its participants on climate change and the use of ICTs”
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Carolina Zambrano, Director Climate Change, Ministry of Environment (Ecuador) - “Forests and climate change: the role of ICTs in adaptation and mitigation”
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION  ]
• Ing. Daniel Chies Forest Manager, Madem SA, Brazil - " Forest products and ICT equipment: Impact on climate change"
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]

ICTs are essential in the detection of disasters, early warning of general public and mitigating the negative consequences of disasters around the world. Telecommunication networks are used for early warning, damage assessment and planning relief operations including the vital relief assistance such as food aid convoys, aircraft and medical teams to reach those who need them the most. To improve the effectiveness and speed at which critical communications networks are established in the aftermath of a crisis, ITU efforts focus on the development and standardization of ICT solutions used in these situations.

This session will provide an overview of:

• ICTs as a tool for early warning and providing assistance during emergencies.
• Setting up telecommunications during emergencies – ITU practical assistance.
• Improving effectiveness of ICTs in situations of crisis.
• Effective Strategies to establish critical telecommunications.
• Approaching strategies in emergency situations.

Moderator:

Mr. Paolo Rosa , Head of Workshops and Promotion Division, ITU-TSB
[ BIOGRAPHY ]

Speakers:

• Mr. Hugo Yepes, Instituto Geofísico, Ecuador - "ICTs as tools to detect natural disasters"
  [ PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Alexandre Vassiliev, Study Group Counsellor, ITU-BR - "ITU Activities on Emergency Telecommunications (including disaster detection, early warning and relief)
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Oswaldo Salazar, Secretaría, Técnica de Gestión de Riesgo
  [ BIOGRAPHY  | PRESENTATION ]

A key element in addressing global warming and the impact of natural disasters is the effort to improve global climate monitoring. The use of accurate climate change indicators increases the possibilities of mitigating climate change and helping countries to adapt to extreme weather events. ICTs are a key to monitoring systems for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and predicting, detecting and mitigating the effects of natural disasters. Adapting to extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, is a critical issue in Latin America.

This session will provide an overview of:

• Use of ICTs to monitor climate change and predict climate change related natural disasters.
• ICTs and detection and mitigation of natural disaster
• Data Collection and Simulation Modelling

Moderator:

Mr. Alexandre Vassiliev, Study Group Counsellor, ITU-BR
[ BIOGRAPHY ]

Speakers:

• Mr. Jean Pla, CNES, France - “Monitoring of climate change and microwave satellite remote sensing”
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Commander Ronnie Nader, EXA: Agencia Espacial Civil Ecuatoriana - "The HIPERION Reactive Alert Network: A cost effective space and ground based UV monitoring and alert system"
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Juan José Nieto López, Representative of CIFEN Telefónica (Convenio de Cooperación Telefónica Ecuador) - "Monitoring climate conditions in Ecuador, Early Warning System"
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Lilian Chamorro Rojas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia - “Tools to support the Municipal Environmental Management System in Colombia”
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]

The use of ICTs to mitigate GHG emissions in other sectors of the economy will heighten the need for broadband deployment and improved access to affordable ICTs. This issue is of direct concern to Latin America, which has approximately half the penetration rate of the global average. However, the rollout of broadband presents opportunities to introduce new “clean” technologies such as mobile broadband connection in remote areas.

This session will provide an overview of:

• The role of broadband in mitigation of GHG emissions.
• Current level of broadband deployment in Latin America.
• Challenges in deploying Broadband in the Latin America Region.
• Impact of broadband in other economic sectors.

Moderator:

Ing. Jaime Guerrero, President CONATEL – Ecuador
[ BIOGRAPHY ]

Speakers:

• Mr. Sergio Scarabino, Head ITU Office Chile - "Effective New Technologies and Climate Change"
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION]
• Dra. Zoila Ramos, Director CITIC - Ecuador - "Impact of Regulatory Matters on Climate Change"
  [ BIOGRAPHY ]
• Mr. Johny Laureano, Latin American Federation of Internet Users (FLUI) – “ICTs and Climate Change: Proposals”
  [ PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Valeria Betancourt, Coordinator, Latin American ICT Policy Programme, Association for Progressive Communications, APC - "Challenges for access to broadband in the Andean region"
  [ PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Eduardo Cadena Torres, Consultant, Corporación Nacional de Telecomunicaciones
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Roderick Sanatan, University of the West Indies, Jamaica – “Climate Change: some Caribbean challenges”
  [ PRESENTATION ]

As the deployment of ICT continues, the amount of waste from the sector increases. The ICT sector faces the challenge to manage e-waste, e.g. the disposal of mobile phones. Planning and action in such areas as collection system, e-disposal, life-cycle analysis, and recycling is needed.

This session will provide an overview of:

• Eco-friendly Technology materials
• Sustainable Development and ICT E-waste management
• Technologies and Life-Cycle analysis

Moderator:

Mr. Richard Labelle, Director Aylmer Group, Canada

Speakers:

• Ms. Irma Suarez, Ministry of the Environment, Ecuador - "Management of e-waste"
  [ PRESENTATION ]
• Ms. Margarita Romero, Mega Proyecto: El renacimiento de la Orinoquía alta, Colombia - "Actions to be taken to face Climate Change – A case study in the private sector"
  [ PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Julio Cesar Fonseca, Anatel, Brazil - "Evaluation of environmental aspects of sustainability" (presented by Ms. Maria Fatima Rosolen in his absence)
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Luis Carlos Ariza Gordillo, Universidad Nacional de Colombia - “Technological Waste Produced by the Implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television in Colombia"
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]

Obtaining adequate financing and investment is a key part of national strategies to address climate change, and this is a critical issue in the current global negotiations. The Kyoto Protocol contains mechanisms for carbon trading by which projects in developing countries can be used to offset emissions. This include projects relating to adaptation; technology transfer and capacity building; energy, transport, industry, agriculture, and forestry and waste management.

This session provide an overview of:

• Financial requirements of developing countries and economies in transition to prevent and mitigate climate change effects.
• Financial Mechanism and funds for developing countries.
• Setting government priorities

Moderator:

Mr. Sergio Scarabino , Head ITU Area Office, Chile
[ BIOGRAPHY ]

Speakers:

• Ing. Fabián Saenz Enderica, Director General, FODETEL: Fondo para el Desarrollo de las Telecomunicaciones - "Financing solutions to climate change"
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Dr. Mauro Flórez, President, CITIC Ecuador - "Financing solutions"
  [ PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Pedro Montalvo, National Secretary, SENACYT: Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia y tecnología del Ecuador - "Financing solutions to climate change"
  [ PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Ruben Díaz, Adviser Fondo de Solidaridad, Yasuní Project - "Cancelling the Digital Divide against the Enviromental Divide"
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]
• Mr. Carlos Andrés Echeverry Restrepo, Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira, Colombia - “Climatic effects of the global economic recession”
  [ BIOGRAPHY | PRESENTATION ]

Symposium Chairman:

Ing. Jorge Glas Espinel, President Fondo de Solidaridad del Ecuador

Summaries by session moderators

Conclusions of the Symposium

Closing Remarks

• Dra. Zoila Ramos, Director CITIC - Ecuador
  BIOGRAPHY ]
• Mr. Malcolm Johnson, Director ITU-TSB
  [ BIOGRAPHY ]
• Symposium Chairman: Ing. Jorge Glas Espinel