Chapter 09 · Sustainability & AISustainability & AI

ITU-T L.1470

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Definition

The International Telecommunication Union standard setting greenhouse-gas emission trajectories for the ICT sector compatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C under the Paris Agreement.

References

ITU-TL.1470 — GHG emission trajectories for the ICT sector compatible with the Paris Agreement (2020)

This source provides part of the technical or institutional basis for the definition.

Joule 2018Belkhir & Elmeligi — Assessing ICT global emissions footprint

This source supports the explanation of how the term is applied, measured or governed in practice.

Overview

What it means

Published in 2020 and developed with sector stakeholders, L. 1470 translates climate science into sector-level emission pathways for ICT goods, networks and services — giving operators, manufacturers and service providers a common reference for science-based target setting alongside ITU's L. 14xx environmental methodology family.

How it is used

ICT companies use L. 1470 trajectories when setting and validating emission targets; industry initiatives and the Science Based Targets initiative's ICT guidance reference it. It also frames sector reporting on alignment with Paris goals.

Why it matters

Without a sector trajectory, every ICT company defines its own 'aligned with 1. 5°C'. L. 1470 supplies the shared benchmark — and thereby the test — for the sector that AI infrastructure belongs to.