Press Release

Press Release » Tackling climate change through standards

Date Posted: 12th November, 2009 Source:

Tackling climate change through standards – 40th World Standards Day
14 October 2009 

World Standards Day is celebrated each year on 14 October to pay tribute to the efforts of thousands of experts worldwide who collaborate within IEC, ISO and ITU to develop voluntary International Standards that facilitate trade, spread knowledge and disseminate technological advances.

In its groundbreaking report published in 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) cited technical standards, like those published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as a means of mitigating climate change now, while offering the potential to reduce its effects in the future as new technologies are developed and mature.

This message is also at the core of this year’s theme for World Standards Day on 14 October: “Tackling climate change through standards”.

Increasing human activity, increasing greenhouse gas emissions are raising the earth\'s average temperature and consequences have an impact on climate change. Experts and scientists agree to say that a dramatic climate change would have enormous developmental, economic, social and environmental stresses on our planet.

The World Standards Day message is signed by the leaders of the three principal international standardization organizations: Mr. Jacques Régis, President of the IEC, Dr. Alan Morrison, President of ISO, and Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of ITU.

A portfolio of adaptation and mitigation actions is required to reduce the risks of climate change. International standards are tools to address this challenge.

The three leaders point out: "The three global organizations are coordinating their work to ensure that government, business and society are provided with the necessary tools to help combat global climate change and to support the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy efficiency, while facilitating sustainable development."

All sectors of the economy, each consumer, every politician, everybody is concerned by acting with big or small actions to fight climate change. The leaders of IEC, ISO and ITU expose in their message how International Standards support them: "The IEC, ISO and ITU offer a system of standardization whose output includes standards for the following aspects of the fight against climate change:

• Monitoring and measurement of greenhouse gas emissions 
• Measuring the carbon footprint of networks and products
• Designing and building energy efficient homes and workplaces 
• Benchmarking for good practices including environmental and energy efficiency labeling 
• Promoting good practice for environmental management and design, and for energy management 
• Disseminating innovative technologies that promise to help reduce the effects of climate change 
• Fostering the introduction of new energy-efficient technologies and services."

   

The three leaders conclude their message: "Standards from the IEC, ISO and ITU offer the world\'s governments and industry the best possible benchmarks to be referenced in any policy making decisions or future climate treaties. The three organizations are working together with other international organizations to ensure that participants at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference on 7-18 December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, will be fully aware of the solutions offered by existing and future International Standards."