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OECD Information Technology Outlook 2010

image of OECD Information Technology Outlook 2010

Information technology (IT) and the Internet are major drivers of research, innovation, growth and social change. The 2010 edition of the OECD Information Technology Outlook analyses the economic crisis and recovery, and suggests that the outlook for IT goods and services industries is good after weathering a turbulent economic period better than during the crisis at the beginning of the 2000s. The industry continues to restructure, with non-OECD economies, particularly China and India, major suppliers of information and communications technology-related goods and services.

The role of information and communications technologies (ICTs) in tackling environmental problems and climate change is analysed extensively, with emphasis on the role of ICTs in enabling more widespread improvements in environmental performance across the economy and in underpinning systemic changes in behaviour.

Recent trends in OECD ICT policies are analysed to see if they are rising to new challenges in the recovery. Priorities are now on getting the economy moving, focusing on ICT skills and employment, broadband diffusion, ICT R&D and venture finance, and a major new emphasis on using ICTs to tackle environmental problems and climate change.

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Smart Sensor Networks for Green Growth

Sensor and sensor network applications can contribute significantly to more efficient use of resources, tackle environmental challenges and reduce the impacts of climate change. In smart buildings, minimum standards of energy efficiency coupled with the use of sensor technology can be a major factor in reducing electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions. However, rebound effects have to be taken into account, particularly in transport. Increased efficiency due to the use of sensor technology should be accompanied by demand-side management to internalise environmental costs, for example by raising CO2 – intensive energy and fuel prices, and encouraging systemic change in consumer and user behaviour. Government policies and initiatives are crucial for fostering the positive environmental effects of the use of sensors and sensor networks. Government programmes that demonstrate and promote the use of sensor technology beyond pilot projects and offer support for the development of open standards can contribute to tapping the potential of sensor technology.

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