As we move into the new year, the discussions and negotiations made during the course of the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 15) remain top of mind with government officials, NGOs and industry organizations converging on ways to address the physical and economic impacts of climate change.
Dell attended COP15 to present IT as part of a solution to this challenge. I want to spend a few moments outlining the key priorities we as an industry should be focusing on to do our part. It's clear that as our environment becomes stressed, we need to be more efficient with limited resources to support our growing global economy. This can be done if all industries work together in making two things happen:
1. Electrify the entire economy: Many discussions at COP15 focused on the need for a 21st-century electric grid. Imagine a future where we charge our electric vehicles overnight with energy stored from distributed power arrays which can be tapped by the grid during the day to even out peak demands. The creation of an IT enabled next generation electric grid will speed the adoption of distributed renewable power while creating a platform for efficiency innovation.
2. Decarbonize the power sector: A shift away from our dependence on fossil fuel-based power is essential to achieving a low carbon economy. The move to de-carbonize our electricity supply starts with energy pricing that includes the costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increased renewable power purchases and investment to create green power capacity.
I'm proud to say that Dell's goal is to strive to source all its energy renewably. Today, more than 26 percent of the electricity we use in our global operations comes from green power sources - and we account for the rest by investing to create additional renewable energy capacity.
What does this mean for our customers? Dell has shown how IT solutions like virtualization and power management can dramatically help our customers lower their costs while at the same time increasing their productivity. Our industry must work together to build on these ideas by finding integrated solutions which ultimately do more than just reduce electricity costs and associated emissions, but also help the most environmentally impactful industry sectors operate more efficiently to reduce their direct impacts.
Overall, I was encouraged by Dell's industry peers and key stakeholders at COP15 who are working toward the same goals as our own organization to promote IT as a solution. My hope is that 2010 will be the year where we accelerate our progress toward a low carbon future: where national and international policies converge to set a realistic price on carbon and create incentives for efficiency. Dell's goal is to expand our global green power use, with renewable power in our APJ operations as we've done in the Americas and in EMEA.
Climate change is real - and while some disagree about how or if we can make a difference, it's clear that if we all work to become more efficient we'll save money, preserve resources and be more productive.