Environmental sustainablity and energy consumption of information and communication technologies
Large scale computer and communication systems (ICT), such as mobile networks, data centres, or the Internet of things, are major consumers of electricity with a substantial environmental impact. Indeed, ICT represents close to 10% of electricity consumption in developed countries and roughly 5-7% of electricity consumption across the world. On the other hand, the use of ICT can be used to substantially reduce the energy consumption of critical socio-economic systems such as the built environment and transportation, by exploiting dynamically acquired (as well as historical) data to affect a smart dynamic management of our energy resources. This conference will address the fundamental scientific trade-offs between, on the one hand an energy intensive usage of information technology and the benefits that may arise in the improvement of sustainability of critical socio-economic systems, and the reduction of non-renewable energy resources, on the one hand, and on the other hand the resulting increase in energy consumption by ICT itself.