Information technology has long been hailed as one of many tools in our arsenal in the fight against climate change because of its potential to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than it produces. Over the course of the next two weeks, this arsenal will find itself under the spotlight as world leaders converge in Copenhagen to negotiate a climate change treaty that will succeed the Kyoto Protocol.

One of many players in the sector driving this trend is Microsoft, whose Windows 7 includes the "most effective energy conservation features we've ever put into Windows," Rob Bernard, the company's chief environmental strategist, writes in this week's featured story.

Bernard is part of a delegation sent to Copenhagen to spread the gospel on the role IT can play in a low carbon future. The software giant is heavily investing in telepresence products to trim its own carbon footprint, in addition to its legion of customers, according to Bernard.  Similarly, Cisco's use of its TelePresence technology has helped the company cut air travel-related greenhouse gas emissions by 39 percent since 2006.

These technologies, however, don't just save carbon emissions, they save money in a business case with which few can argue.

Stay tuned for additional IT-related Copenhagen coverage from GreenBiz.com and GreenerComputing.com. For all coverage, click here.

This research on the long term trends in the electrical efficiency of computation implies that mobile devices will rapidly become much more power-efficient and ubiquitous. The energy efficiency of computation has doubled about every 1.6 years since 1945 with remarkable constancy – a trend that has important implications for mobile computing technologies.
 

Mark your calendars for two 2010 State of Green Business Forums, in San Francisco and Chicago. These one-day information-packed events coincide with the release of GreenBiz.com’s “State of Green Business 2010,” the acclaimed annual status report on corporate environmental trends and progress.