Climate change has been dominating the news for a long time now and it has to stay on the agenda for longer as an Allianz-commissioned WWF report illustrates: The report analyses the progress made by G8 countries in combating climate change and reducing CO2 emissions. The conclusion is quite sobering: some G8 countries are seriously lagging behind and even the best could be doing more.

The country-level conclusions of the report are quite interesting. The United Kingdom has a strong carbon markets approach while Germany focuses on renewable energy where the UK definitely could do more. Italy is performing well regarding energy efficiency but lacks the establishment of measures.

The report shows that all countries are performing well in certain areas but less well in other ones. The conclusion: none of the G8 countries meet required emission reductions. What a fact!

Climate change constitutes an immense challenge to all of us and we can only take the challenge if we work hand in hand. Governments should work with other governments and at the same time governments and the private sector can easily cooperate to fight climate change.

This summer we published a white paper Low Carbon IT Solutions which outlines how HP solutions can help to reduce CO2 emissions. The paper builds upon the report "The potential global CO2 reductions from ICT use: Identifying and assessing the opportunities to reduce the first billion tonnes of CO2" (click here for an Executive Summary) which was developed by Dennis Pamlin, global policy adviser at WWF Sweden. This report sheds light onto the strategic opportunities for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions that can help accelerate the reduction of CO2 emissions across different areas of the economy and goes beyond just looking at reducing the carbon footprint of IT. It provides an overview what can be done and stresses the importance of collaboration.

Despite the rather sobering results of the Allianz-WWF report, I am an optimist and I am confident that if all sectors work together, we can make a difference in the climate change race. It is a long race and there is still enough room for development and sprints. And like the relay shows us: Teamwork is really essential!

Jeannette Weisschuh, Head of Corporate Affairs, HP EMEA