Based on its belief in the importance of protecting and preserving the environment, and reassuring its firm commitment to the effective contributions in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in the UAE, which is considered as a valuable contribution within the framework of the efforts to achieve the objectives of mitigation of emissions at both the local and international levels, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced the launch of Public Consultation on the adoption of green ICT practices.

Commenting on the newly launched consultation, H.E. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General said: “In the past few years, the ICT industry has started to adopt environmentally-friendly strategies and many telecom operators have started to implement a green approach by deploying alternative energy solutions to reduce carbon emissions and decrease the negative impact on the environment.”

“It is estimated that the ICT industry contributes around 2.0 - 2.5% of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. Unless action is taken within the Industry, these percentages are likely to grow as ICT becomes more widely deployed. The TRA is seeking to play a vital role in leading the ICT sector in UAE to implement green policies and practices thereby reducing the percentage of GHG emissions from the ICT industry.  Further, the TRA wishes to study how ICT can help in reducing GHG emissions from other sectors.” He added.

As a start, the TRA would like to consult with stakeholders on the best approach, practices and rules that the TRA should adopt when it comes to green ICT within the UAE.

In keeping with its values of transparency and sector engagement, the TRA wishes to engage all potential stakeholders in this consultation on Green ICT Practices to enable the TRA to establish a clear policies, guidelines and initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in the UAE.

All concerned parties are requested to submit their initial responses not later than July 12th, 2011. Following this the initial responses will be published on 21st, July 2011. The closing date for comments on the initial responses will be the 4th of August 2011, and the publication of the consultation response document will take place on 11th August, 2011. The TRA will endeavor to keep all stakeholders informed of any material change to the above schedule.

Responses to this consultation should be made in writing and provided electronically in MS Word format and Adobe PDF format, on or before the response date stated on the front cover of this document.  Responses must be accompanied by the full contacts details (contact name, e-mail address and phone and fax numbers) of the respondent to: green.ict@tra.gov.ae

Respondents are advised that it will be the general intention of the TRA to publish in full the responses received to this consultation.  Additionally, the TRA may, at its discretion generate and publish a “Summary of Responses” document at the conclusion of this consultation.  Accordingly, the Summary of Responses may include references to and citations (in whole or in part) of comments which have been received.  The TRA recognizes that certain responses may include commercially sensitive and confidential information which the respondent may not wish to be published.  In the event that a response contains confidential information, it shall be the responsibility of the respondent to clearly mark any information which is considered to be of a confidential nature.