[governance] Workshop Proposal - Towards a zero carbon Internet

[William Drake]

Hi Ian,

Could I ask you to clarify something.  Last year when there were  
proposals to make climate change a main theme, some of us argued  
against it, both on the list and in the consultations (where Nitin  
agreed).  Our concerns then were two-fold:

First, while there are obviously links between Internet/ICT usage and  
CC, it wasn't clear what links were being postulated between IG per se  
and CC.  Was the contention that existing mechanisms---say, the  
regulation of registries and registrars, IPV6, or WIPO/WTO regimes---- 
have some discreet, identifiable impact that could be ameliorated?  Or  
was it that a new mechanism, say a global regulatory agreement on the  
operation of server farms, should be established?  There was some good  
research done but ultimately the linkages remained a bit undefined as  
a basis upon which to proceed.

Second, some of us were concerned that the IGF shouldn't go off  
chasing UN hot topics (no pun intended) when so many questions about  
the actual institutional frameworks and conduct of IG per se had yet  
to be explored, or at least explored in any meaningful depth.  IGF has  
generally looked more at "issues" than "institutions," and in many  
arenas---standards, cybercrime, IPR, e-commerce, etc etc---there's not  
been much focused discussion of whether the rule systems and decision  
making procedures in place are optimal, how they distribute benefits  
across stakeholder groupings, etc.  Sticking with the original mission  
rather than diluting the focus has been a leitmotif of caucus and  
caucus member interventions over the years, for good reason.

If we're going to reverse positions, what has changed since then to  
make this the best use of an IGC proposal slot (we can't have too  
many), especially when some IOs will probably make similar proposals  
again?  Do you want to argue for a governance arrangement on energy  
usage? Or would the steps taken by various actors in their, uh,  
respective roles, to reduce emissions comprise something more like  
best practices etc?

Thanks,

Bill


On Apr 13, 2009, at 1:20 AM, Ian Peter wrote:

> Let me know what you think of IGC endorsement of a proposal along  
> these lines, or any suggested changes. I appreciate this is a  
> particular interest of mine and a way away from the normal business  
> of IGC, but would be happy to see IGC involved if people feel that  
> way.
>
>
> Title Towards a zero carbon Internet
>
> Concise description
>
> This workshop is to specifically explore the steps which can be  
> taken by Internet users, but specifically by large private sector  
> and governmental users, to substantially reduce greenhouse gas  
> emissions associated with current internet usage patterns and  
> architectures.
>
> Much investigation in this area has been undertaken and there are  
> some fine private sector examples we can look at. There are also  
> known actions which can be easily adopted which will be outlined  
> during the workshop.
>
> Please note that this workshop should not be combined with workshops  
> looking at measurement of IT greenhouse gas emissions to meet carbon  
> trading scheme requirements. Important as those measures are, they  
> result in an entirely different discussion involving a different set  
> of stakeholders. This workshop is about what can be done immediately  
> and work going on in the field at this time.
>
>
> Relates to theme –
>
> Critical Internet Resources
>
>
> If so, who would you approach as co-organizers ? If not, who do you  
> think should organize it?
>
>
> We would seek to have involved represntatives of  Google and  
> VMWare,  a representative of the Internet Architecture Board, a  
> representative of CANARIE (Canada) who have a significant program in  
> this area, IISD, APC and others.
> Ian Peter
>
> PO Box 429
>
> Bangalow NSW 2479
>
> Australia
>
> Tel (+614) 1966 7772 or (+612) 6687 0773
>
> www.ianpeter.com
>
>
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>     governance at lists.cpsr.org
> To be removed from the list, send any message to:
>     governance-unsubscribe at lists.cpsr.org
>
> For all list information and functions, see:
>     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance

***********************************************************
William J. Drake
Senior Associate
Centre for International Governance
Graduate Institute of International and
   Development Studies
Geneva, Switzerland
william.drake at graduateinstitute.ch
New book: Governing Global Electronic Networks,
http://tinyurl.com/5mh9jj
***********************************************************

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/governance/attachments/20090415/c743ce21/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
____________________________________________________________
You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
     governance at lists.cpsr.org
To be removed from the list, send any message to:
     governance-unsubscribe at lists.cpsr.org

For all list information and functions, see:
     http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance