Internet Innovation Key to Combatting Climate Change

Former Vice President Al Gore and Cisco CEO John Chambers say that one of the best ways to fight climate change is to stay at home or in your office or home. The two were on opposite sides of the country (California and Tennessee) and were joined by folks in London and Florida  for a "telepresence" meeting this morning that discussed how internet technologies can help to reduce greenhouse gases.

Cisco held the meeting to showcase its telepresence technology for holding virtual face to face meetings that eliminate the expense and carbon emissions of traveling.

Cisco's Sue Bostrom claimed that her company has saved $100 million in travel expenses and avoided creating 15 million cubic tons of carbon emissions by meeting virtually. "If it can be connected it can be green.

Business leaders must change their corporate culture to support reducing travel and to collaborate online, Bostrom says. This can benefit the networking companies like Cisco who will sell the services and equipment for the virtual meetings.

Chambers echoed that position, admitting that the revenue potential for his company's collaboration technology that also reduces emissions has enabled climate change to become one of the top three priorities for Cisco.

Gore touted online collaborating as a technology that can bring international government world and business leaders together to address climate change. "We must use technology to enhance negotiations in climate change talks," he said.(Gore has taken heat over the contradiction of flying via private jet to talk about climate change. Perhaps he'll have more virtual meetings now.)Gore said the political will to address climate change in the U.S. is still insufficient, and he encouraged business leaders to be more vocal in asking for support from government. He called for a tax credit for research and development spending for emissions reduction technologies.

Gore also called for reducing business and personal taxes and replacing the revenue with CO2 taxes. Adding the cost of CO2 to any business decision would "unleash innovation for technologies such as teleconferencin,." he said. 

When asked about China and India's economic growth and concerns about increasing greenhouse gas emissions, Gore said that the countries would be willing to institute sustainable policies -- but only if the United States leads by example. "We have been dragging our feet, and it lets every other nation off the hook," he said.

While the meeting did sound like a Cisco commercial at times, it pointed out an important point in the climate change battle that folks at the airlines and hotel industry don't want to hear -- business travel has an environmental cost, and technology can be a more energy efficient alternative.