Nairobi,
5 June 2009 - Three countries have pledged
to promote low-carbon, green growth by joining
the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net) - an
initiative led by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) to promote global action
to de-carbonize our economies and societies.
Ethiopia, Pakistan and
Portugal are the latest nations to join
the CN Net initiative, bringing the total
number of countries that are going low-carbon
or even climate neutral to ten. These ten
countries have a combined population of
over 266 million and cover the land area
roughly the size of Argentina or two percent
of the world's terrestrial surface.
The announcement was
made on World Environment Day (WED) which
this year is held under the theme "Your
Planet Needs You! Unite to Combat Climate
Change".
While the main WED activities
are taking place in this year's host country,
Mexico, celebrations are being organized
worldwide - from remote villages to sprawling
capitals - making it a truly global event
Welcoming the new CN Net
participants, UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner
said: "From setting world tree planting
records to taking full advantage of the
abundant sun, waves and winds to promoting
carbon finance investments, the three new
countries joining the Climate Neutral Network
are offering diverse and innovative strategies
to combat climate change and benefit from
low-carbon, green development and growth."
"However, these
strategies will only succeed in the long-term
if the international community sends the
right policy and market signals for climate-friendly
development. This year's World Environment
Day comes just over 180 days before the
UN climate convention meeting in Denmark
where governments need to agree on a new,
forward-looking climate treaty. By Sealing
the Deal on a new climate agreement in Copenhagen,
world leaders will be delivering perhaps
the most transformational and far-reaching
stimulus package of them all, now and for
the coming decades," Mr. Steiner added.
Innovative national
strategies
Ethiopia is the first
African country to join the Climate Neutral
Network. While the nation is not a net contributor
to global greenhouse gas emissions, it has
expressed its commitment to mitigating climate
change.
Ethiopia is an active
supporter of UNEP's Billion Tree Campaign,
contributing more trees than any other nation
- over one billion - towards the global
target of planting seven billion trees by
the crucial UN climate change conference
in December 2009.
Furthermore, through
Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, the
Government is distributing 5.4 million compact
fluorescent lamps (CFLs) - commonly known
as "energy savers" - country-wide
to help consumers save money on electricity
bills and reduce their carbon footprint.
Pakistan is coming on
board the CN Net with a vision of making
the country a destination of choice for
international carbon finance investments
and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.
Already, CDM projects ranging from biogas
co-generation to energy and fuel efficiency
are being implemented nation-wide.
The Government of Pakistan
has also set the 10% target for renewable
energy by 2015 and established the Alternate
Energy Development Board to spearhead this
effort.
Portugal is the first
EU member state to join the Climate Neutral
Network. The country expects to generate
31% of all its energy from clean sources
by 2020, including 60% of electricity; and
its renewable energy plans include the world's
largest wind, wave and solar energy facilities.
National policies to
promote renewable energies include investment
subsidies, tax breaks and fixed feed-in
tariffs for photovoltaic, wave energy, small
hydro, wind power, forest biomass, urban
waste and biogas.
Cities, companies join
CN Net
The Mexican city of
Aguascalientes, the Portuguese municipality
of Cascais and the Brazilian city of Niterói
have also come on board the Network.
Taking its name from
the abundant hot thermal springs found in
the area, Aguascalientes has embarked on
an ambitious strategy to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, which includes upgrading
cycling lanes and suburban trains, switching
public lighting to solar power and capturing
methane from landfills to produce biogas.
Cascais, a small municipality
outside Lisbon, has committed to making
itself carbon neutral. As part of this effort,
twenty-five municipal buildings are subject
to real-time monitoring of energy flows.
Cascais will also be the focus of a rigorous
scientific study to examine how climate
change may affect water resources, coastal
zones, fisheries, agriculture, human health
and impacts on tourism, energy, forestry
and biodiversity.
The Brazilian municipality
of Niterói is the first city in South
America to join the CN Net. Located just
across the Guanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro,
the city has a population of 500,000. The
municipality is taking the issue of climate
change as a priority and has set targets
in the areas of transport, energy and waste.
In addition, two high-tech
giants - Dell and Cable & Wireless -
are among the new private sector companies
joining the CN Net with plans to green the
ICT sector, which accounts for roughly two
percent of the global greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions and has a significant potential
to use ICT solutions to reduce GHG emissions
from other sectors.
Notes to Editors
About World Environment
Day 2009
World Environment Day,
commemorated each year on 5 June, is one
of the principal vehicles through which
the United Nations stimulates worldwide
awareness of the environment and enhances
political attention and action. The theme
for WED 2009 is "Your Planet Needs
You-UNite to Combat Climate Change".
It reflects the urgency for nations to agree
on a new deal at the crucial climate convention
meeting in Copenhagen some 190 days later
in the year, and the links with overcoming
poverty and improved management of forests.
About Climate Neutral
Network
Launched in February
2008, the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net)
is a high-profile outreach initiative led
by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) to catalyze global transition to
low-carbon economies and societies. Today,
the CN Net counts close to 150 participants,
including ten countries, 12 cities, major
international companies, UN agencies and
leading NGOs who have set the most ambitious
greenhouse gas reduction targets in the
world. Based on a free of charge, interactive
website, the CN Net gives participants a
platform to present their strategies in
climate neutrality to the world, providing
visibility and inspiration to others. It
functions as a network for information exchange
and sharing of practical experiences, making
the best available knowledge on climate
neutrality widely available to all. CN Net
participants are already achieving significant
cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. As the
Network grows and expands, so will its contribution
to global efforts to combat climate change.
http://www.unep.org/climateneutral
For more information contact:
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson and Head
of Media
