by AF 1215 g3 — December 18, 2009—Of all the G20 countries—those nations with the world’s largest GDP—Japan has come the farthest in putting green IT to work in reducing its carbon footprint. That is the finding of a new ICT Sustainability Index released this week by research group IDC. The report looked at G20 nations’ use of technology in 17 areas to score their progress toward a low-carbon economy.
Of the G20 Industrial Nations, which are responsible for over 75 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions, Japan was far in the lead, scoring 16 points in IDC’s ranking. The United States came in second in the list, with a score of 20, followed by a four-way tie for third between France, Germany, Brazil and the United Kingdom, all scoring 21 points.
The lowest-ranked countries in the list were South Africa and Indonesia, each with a score of 41, while Russia and Argentina tied for next-to-last with 38 points.
Japan’s energy efficiency policies, combined with its extensive adoption of IT, were the elements that put the country at the top of the list, making it the only Tier 1 nation in the rankings. The announcement charts what the biggest opportunities for emissions reductions in each of the five tiers that IDC identified.
For a full list of country rankings in IDC’s Sustainability Index, and for more details about this Index and IDC’s overall green IT research, visit the Web.
