South Korea is poised to become a world leader in green IT and
other countries should follow its example, according to a new
research note.
The
Information
Technology and Innovation Foundation said South Korea, Japan
and Denmark are aggressively pursuing green technology. It added
that countries like the UK and US should learn from its
example.
South Korea has a wide range of green government policies,
strong executive leadership and substantial public funding, the
research note said.
South Korea's president Lee Myung-bak says the country will
follow a "low carbon, green growth" strategy. In July this year,
the South Korean Committee on Green Growth announced a five-year
plan to invest $87.7bn in its Green New Deal programme.
The money is set to be spent on various aspects of IT, including
faster broadband networks and green technologies such as solar
panels and hybrid cars.
The IT industry needs to play an important part in creating a
green economy. It directly contributes to roughly 2% of greenhouse
gas emissions, and could help non-IT related sources gain enhanced
energy efficiency and productivity.
Green IT is not just about creating and using energy-efficient
equipment, but also about the application of IT to create more
efficient processes.
Many nations have begun to develop green IT strategies, seeking
energy savings and increased economic output. The US especially,
home to major players such as IMB, Google, Amazon and Microsoft, is
currently in a position in which it could benefit from green
computing.