Australians
Embrace Climate Neutrality on National Day
- Nairobi, 23 January 2009 - Traditionally
celebrated by having a family barbeque or
going to the beach, this year's Australia
Day - marked nationwide on 26 January -
is all about going carbon neutral for some
of the country's best-known cities, companies
and community initiatives.
From the country's best-recognized
cities to one of its most successful public
campaigns, these Australian brands have
embraced the vision of low-carbon economies
and societies by joining the Climate Neutral
Network (CN Net), an initiative led by the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
to promote global action and involvement
in climate neutrality at all levels.
The cities of Sydney
and Brisbane are among the new Australian
CN Net members announced today, alongside
the Greenfest music festival, the Clean
Up the World initiative and the carbon management
company BalanceCarbon.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director, said: "Combating
climate change is the challenge of this
generation. But it is also perhaps one of
the greatest opportunities for transforming
economies, triggering innovation, sparking
human creativity and generating jobs now
and in the future."
"These new Australian
members of the CN Net are therefore signalling
their commitment to a Green Economy so urgently
needed in the 21st century-one able to deal
with the multiple crises of today and the
ones to come. In doing so they are also
supporting Australia's renewed leadership
on global warming in advance of the crucial
UN climate convention meeting in Copenhagen
now less than 317 days away," he added.
With its world-famous
Opera House, the "Coathanger"
Bridge and the Harbour as its backdrop,
Sydney is one of the world's most spectacular
cities. In 2007, the City of Sydney became
Australia's first carbon neutral local government.
The City is implementing a wide range of
initiatives to avoid carbon emissions and
respond to climate change - from installing
energy-efficient street lighting to creating
a network of cycling paths to investigating
alternative waste treatment options.
Lord Mayor of Sydney
Clover Moore said: "The City of Sydney
is proud to be the first carbon neutral
government in Australia. Though the emissions
from the City of Sydney alone are small
in terms of state, national and global emissions,
we believe that our leadership can influence
other governments by demonstrating that
change is possible. The UNEP Climate Neutral
Network is a significant opportunity to
provide information and share experiences
with a wide audience".
Brisbane is Australia's
third largest city which aims to become
carbon neutral by 2026. Through the Green
Heart CitySmart programme, Brisbane City
Council promotes the use of solar hot water
systems after having estimated that traditional
hot water systems chew up 28% of household
energy consumption. In the area of transport,
the city has recently pioneered Australia's
first public bicycle hire scheme and introduced
the "superbus", a 14.5-metre low-emissions
bus capable of carrying up to 98 passengers.
The city is also spearheading the two million
trees planting project, including 150,000
native seedlings to be planted to celebrate
Brisbane's 150th anniversary.
Another CN Net participant
from Brisbane is Greenfest - a three-day
long grassroots, free-to-the-public music
festival which will kick off on World Environment
Day, 5 June. This year's focus of the event
is sharing the passion for a cooler planet
and creating awareness about the importance
of the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen
in December 2009.
A further new member
is Clean Up the World. The brainchild of
Australian solo-yachtsman and builder Ian
Kiernan, Clean Up the World campaign grew
from the highly successful Clean Up Australia
Day first held almost twenty years ago.
Today it mobilises an estimated 35 million
volunteers from120 countries annually, making
it one of the largest community-based environmental
campaigns in the world.
"Climate change
is an indisputable fact, backed up by science.
But rather than simply despairing we need
to work together to find creative and sustainable
solutions that allow us to reduce human
impact and learn to live in harmony with
our planet. Adopting carbon neutrality as
accepted business practice is more than
just possible, it's an imperative. Clean
Up the World is proud to be part of a network
that encourages innovative thinking, shares
experiences and rewards the achievement
of practical carbon reduction strategies,"
said Mr Kiernan.
Based in Adelaide, BalanceCarbon
is the first carbon management company formed
in Australia by specialist environmental
professionals. The company has been carbon
neutral since its inception through the
combination of greenhouse gas emission reductions
and offsets, and aims to reduce its absolute
emissions at a rate of 5% per year.
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson and Head
of Media
Xenya Cherny Scanlon, Information Officer,
Climate Neutral Network
