Desirable directions for Korea's Green ICT
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) says S. Korea's green Information and Communication Technology (ICT) should take the forms of all of the following: Green of ICT, Green by ICT and the technological convergence of broadcasting and communications.
First, Green of ICT means vastly cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions in the broadcasting and communications sector.
As the average annual growth in energy consumption hovers around an alarming 9 percent, Korea should take a giant step in the right direction by ratcheting up its efforts to make a dent in greenhouse gas emissions.
To achieve that, KCC formed the "Green Broadcasting Council", a public-private cooperative body, in order to discover and bring to light the best possible practices in energy conservation. In addition, the KCC and the Presidential Committee on Green Growth partook in setting up "the Egg Hall", a permanent PR hall aimed at promoting low-carbon, green growth.
Also, KCC has been revving up its efforts in and out of Korea to push for green broadcasting and communications. For example, it held the world's first video teleconference in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an agency of the United Nations (UN). On top of that, the KCC has enforced the "Low-Carbon, Green Growth Act" since 2010 to whittle away main corporate emitters of greenhouse gases.
Second, Green by ICT is about slashing greenhouse gas emissions by scaling up energy efficiency with the help of broadcasting and communications technologies. It is also about searching for green-themed services such as online administration for civil applications, remote medical services, and remote education systems.
Third, there are increasing expectations for a strong growth in the sector of technological convergence of broadcasting and communications. Giga Internet (which is almost ten times faster than the existing Internet) and the commercialization of next-generation broadcasting and communications networks are projected to give impetus to state-of-the-art technologies such as 3D TV and cloud computing.
Responsibilities of South Korea as a Green ICT Leader
Today, the world is defenselessly exposed to extreme weather conditions and frequent natural disasters, brought on by global warming. As a global green ICT leader, the Korean government is obliged to push for creating green infrastructures - such as intergovernmental green ICT services and products. Plus, the Korean government should take the lead in executing green technology projects that the developed world has been engaged in to boost energy efficiency and to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.
