AT&T Offers to Help EPA Find Ways to Cut GHGs

• 

  Your Email: *

  Your Name: *

  Send To: *

  Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.

  You are going to email the following: AT&T Offers to Help EPA Find Ways to Cut GHGs

  Message Subject: (Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from GreenBiz.com®

  Message Body: (Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from GreenBiz.com®.

  Your Personal Message: *
  
• 
• 
• 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- AT&T offered last week to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by tapping the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

The telecommunications giant sent a comment letter to the agency to establish itself as a stakeholder as the EPA considers whether to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The agency issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) in July seeking public comment on potential climate regulations; the public comment period ended Friday.

A range of business and public interests submitted comments to the EPA, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Fourteen attorneys general urged the agency on Monday to use its authority to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while the governor of Texas warned that greenhouse gas regulations would cause irreparable harm to his state's economy.

AT&T cautioned EPA regulators against creating rules that produce a chilling effect on innovation or investment. Though the ICT sector emissions will continue growing, the products and services it can provide will produce net emissions reductions. For example, AT&T cited studies suggesting that every kilowatt-hours of energy used by the ICT sector in 2006 produced savings of between 6-14 kWh. AT&T also recommended that the adoption of ICT "should be an opportunity to generate allowances in carbon trading or similar mechanism," it wrote.

"Recent findings from the SMART 2020 study clearly illustrate the potential of ICT," Paul Dickinson, co-founder and CEO of the Carbon Disclosure Project, said in a statement. "In the U.S., ICT-enabled solutions could cut annual emissions by as much as 22 percent by 2020, which translates to energy savings of up to $240 billion. Not only that, but ICT can also be a strong catalyst for economic growth not just in the United States but across the globe."

AT&T shared with the agency its own plans for reducing its environmental footprint, such as making its fleet and data centers more efficient, collaborating with other groups to advance energy efficient ICT, and investing in renewable energy. It also advocated for recognition of early action to reduce emissions and pushed for regulators to be mindful of unintended consequences of future regulation on sectors not considered carbon intensive.

Share: LinkedIn   StumbleUpon   Digg