UNEP to Catalyze a Transition
to a Low Carbon World

Are you going neutral on global warming?—13 countries, cities and companies say yes!

Four countries, four cities and five corporations have become the pioneering founders of a bold new initiative to address climate change and the urgent need to de-carbonize the global economy. The participants are the first to join the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net), launched on the 21st of February 2008  by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the UN’s Environmental Management Group as one inspiring solution to the challenge of rising greenhouse gases.

The Network, a web-based project, is seeking to federate the small but growing wave of nations, local authorities and companies who are pledging to significantly reduce emissions en route to zero emission economies, communities and businesses. Over the coming months, intergovernmental bodies, organizations, civil society groups and eventually individuals will be invited to take part. The aim is a truly global information exchange network open to all sectors of society from Presidents, Prime Ministers and Princes to people from Pittsburg and Sao Paulo to Poznan and Apia.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said today: “Climate neutrality is an idea whose time has come, driven by the urgent need to address climate change but also the abundant economic opportunities emerging for those willing to embrace a transition to a Green Economy. This new initiative supports the formal negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Here governments need to navigate the Bali Road Map to a successful conclusion in Copenhagen in 2009.

The CN Net can assist in building confidence through demonstrable action at the national and local level on the art of the possible. The CN Net is also in for the long haul and equally aimed at mobilizing a broad-based response demonstrating that a transition to a low, even zero carbon future, can be a reality if inspiring and practical actions can be federated around the world.”

The first four countries to partner are Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Norway. They, along with the initial cities and companies, represent a diversity of challenges and opportunities which have the potential to be replicated by others in whole or in part. “For Norway it is emissions from oil and gas that dominate whereas for New Zealand, agriculture represents 50 percent of its current greenhouse gases,” said Mr. Steiner. “Iceland’s central challenge is perhaps transport and industry including fishing and fish processing. I am especially delighted that Costa Rica is at the forefront of the initiative. Its commitment demonstrates that the economic benefits of reducing dependency on fossil fuels and action on deforestation and degradation are of central interest to developing and developed countries alike,” he said.

Costa Rica aims to be climate neutral by 2021 when it celebrates 200 years of independence. The strategy will build on Costa Rica’s decision to tax fossil fuels in 1996 with 3.5 percent of the money raised allocated to the National Forestry Financing Fund. These are part of a ‘payment for environmental services’ programme that pays landowners who manage forests for their carbon sequestration and storage alongside management for water production, biodiversity and scenic beauty.

In 2007 Costa Rica planted more than five million trees or 1.25 per person making it the highest per capita planting in the world. Various industries are supporting the initiative including a C-neutral plan by Costa Rica’s banana sector. Other elements of the strategy include increasing the percentage of renewable energy generation to well over 90 percent and action on energy efficiency including energy saving appliances.

Iceland has drawn up a plan to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75 percent by 2050. The country’s electricity production is already among the greenest on the globe. Currently 99 percent of electricity generation and 75 percent of total energy production is coming from geothermal and hydro-power. Iceland’s biggest challenge comes from transport including vehicles and its fishing fleet whose emissions have risen since 1990.

The country is planning to extend discount fees to people buying environmentally-friendly vehicles such as ones powered by methane, hydrogen, electricity or hybrid technology. Iceland is also looking to equip the country’s fishing fleet with eco-friendly fuel systems including fuel cells. Progress is also under way to substitute ammonia for HCFCs – an ozone damaging and greenhouse gas – in the fleet’s refrigeration equipment.

Tapping methane from landfills and better management and restoration of soils, wetlands and forests in order to ‘sequestrate’ carbon from the air and minimize releases from the land are also part of Iceland’s strategy.

New Zealand is aspiring to climate neutrality through a wide range of domestic initiatives including a trading scheme covering all sectors of the economy and all six greenhouse gases regulated under the Kyoto Protocol. The country has set itself the target of generating 90 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025, and halving per capita transport emissions by 2040 by introducing electric cars and a requirement to use bio fuels. Meanwhile six government agencies will be aiming to achieve full neutrality by 2012. Where emissions cannot be cut they will be offset through forest regeneration projects on tribal lands.

New Zealand, which will host World Environment Day 2008 under the theme ‘Kick the C02 Habit”, is paying particular attention to emissions from agriculture. Some 40,000 farms account for 50 percent of the country’s greenhouse gases versus around 12 percent from agriculture in most developed countries.

Norway aims to become climate neutral by 2030, advancing by around 20 years a previously announced deadline. The country has embarked on a vigorous energy efficiency and energy savings policy and is perfecting carbon capture and storage at its offshore oil fields.

Norway recently joined the European Emissions Trading Scheme and has approved over $730 million to invest in offsets via the Kyoto Protocol’s Joint Implementation and Clean Development Mechanism. It has announced plans to invest $2.7 billion in Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation—global greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation are estimated to be around 20 percent of the total from all sources. During the period 2008-2012, Norway estimates that it will over-fulfill its Kyoto Protocol commitments by five million tonnes.

Sourced from CN Net website

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