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by Dan Shepard, Information Officer, UN DPI
It's not enough just to talk about climate change. The UN, which has been at the forefront of pushing the issue at the international level, announced that it was going green in Bali. The Secretary-General said, "We will lead by example, by moving towards carbon neutrality throughout the UN System."
Some 20 UN agencies, funds and programmes joined together -- something that UNEP head Achim Steiner noted is difficult to begin with -- to offset the emissions caused by their travel to Bali, including the emissions caused by the travel of this writer. The carbon offsets will be accomplished by buying certified emission credits from the newly operational Adaptation Fund. The greening effort will go beyond Bali, and the UN system is working on a number of ways to make its operations climate-neutral and Norway is providing $820,000 for that effort.
Some countries are already on the road to becoming climate neutral, with Norway aiming for 2050, Costa Rica planning to be climate neutral by 2021, its 200th anniversary of independence, and New Zealand shooting for a 2025 goal of generating 90 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources.