MOVING TOWARDS A CLIMATE NEUTRAL UN Preface
Combating climate change and catalyzing the transition to a low carbon, more resource efficient global Green Economy is everyone’s responsibil- ity – international, regional and national organizations and the individu- als that work for them, regional and municipal authorities and compa- nies and civil society.
The UN system is responding to the Secretary-General’s call to make its in-house practices alongside its field operations more climate-friendly and environmentally sustainable. This publication presents the first green- house gas inventory for the UN system and an over- view of the initial steps that have been taken to man- age these emissions.
This first-ever footprint of the UN system includes data from UN headquarters, major centres and field office operations. It covers the full range of institutions that make up the UN system, from the Secretariat and its re- gional economic commissions, to the specialized agen- cies, funds and programmes.
It is an excellent example of coordination within the UN system, where a collection of diverse institutions has come together despite differences in mandate, con- stituents and priorities to adopt a common approach and single methodology. This is in large part due to the network of climate neutral focal points across the UN system and countless others who have contributed in sharing their knowledge, expertise and experience.
In 2008, the organizations that make up the UN sys- tem are collectively responsible for three-quarters of a million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents – around
1.5% of the amount emitted by New York City in that year. UN peacekeeping operations emitted an addi- tional one million tones of carbon dioxide equivalents.
While the UN system’s worldwide footprint is small when compared with the global total, we hope to send out a collective signal to the world that combating climate change begins at home and that we take ac- countability and credibility seriously.
This is in many ways just the beginning and major chal- lenges lie ahead. Over the coming year, the UN will make its greenhouse gas inventory methodology more user-friendly. Collective efforts are needed to improve data quality and fill current data gaps, particularly on travel and field offices in order to bring the inventory numbers up to a standard against which we can mean- ingfully measure the effects of our emission-reduction measures. Above all we need to make the transition from a collection of success stories to emission reduc- tion plans with targets for each UN organization.
I am sure that these efforts towards a lower-carbon UN will contribute to lowering the organization’s en- vironmental impacts while reducing operating costs, promoting credibility and hopefully inspiring others to take a climate-friendly, resource efficient path.
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Achim Steiner Under-Secretary General Executive Director of UNEP Chair of the UN Environment Management Group
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