Ever been negatively effected by a low cellphone battery and an inability to use a friend’s charger because of compatibility issues? You’ll be excited to learn that the International Telecommunication Union (a segment of the United Nations) has finally agreed upon and approved the universal phone charger that they started working on back in February.

Not only will the new universal micro-USB charger mean convenience for users (who will no longer be limited to their specific phone model charger), the environmental benefits are seriously impressive. The Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) estimates that 51,000 metric tons of chargers find their way to landfills annually, primarily when users upgrade to new phones and have no use for their old chargers. Better yet, the ITU has also made the universal phone charger more energy efficient (particularly in standby mode), which could mean a 13.6 million metric ton reduction in annual greenhouse gas emissions with widespread use.

Many major cellphone manufacturers—including LG, AT&T, Samsung and Nokia—have already expressed interest in the universal phone charger, which will not be enforced. Sony Ericsson is leading the way with universal chargers expected to be packaged alongside their phones in early 2010. Even Apple, a company initially resistant to the universal charger because of their success with their unique docking system, has come on board, but they’ll likely be adding an additional micro-USB charging port instead of replacing their current charging method.

Situations like the one at Apple, where a universal charger will be an additional product packaged with already existing materials, highlight some of the issues with the universal charger. If cellphone manufacturers make the universal phone charger an additional item with their cellphones any benefit (aside from more energy efficient charging options) is nullified. Likewise, if cellphone companies continue to package each new cellphone with a new charger, the benefits of having a universal charger you can reuse through each phone will be pointless (although potential financial gains may convince cellphone companies to offer chargers only as a separate sale).

Perhaps the biggest disappointment about the universal phone charger news, however, is that there’s no word on exactly when we’ll see universal phone chargers available here in the United States—initial roll out plans have only been for Europe.

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