The IT industry must implement low-carbon technologies soon or "cause irreparable harm to the environment", a new report warns.

Intellect, the trade association for the UK technology industry said that energy use related to IT currently contributes causes around two per cent of global carbon dioxide emission and that this figure could increase five-fold by 2050.

However, it said that there had already been massive improvements in energy efficiency in the sector.

Intellect added that it believes the industry can exceed the target set by the Confederation of British Industry Climate Change Task Force for a 30 per cent improvement in the efficiency of electrical equipment by 2030.

The report, High Tech: Low Carbon, also outlines measures the IT industry could take to help other areas reduce their emissions.

In January Michael Webb of the Green Consultancy said that SMEs could save money by adopting environmentally friendly measures which reduced energy usage.

More than half of small businesses (53%) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support, London based Connect conducted the research in 2007.