Initiativet blev offentliggjort på et pressemøde i New York tirsdag eftermiddag dansk tid. Her er pressemeddelelsen fra FN’s Klimasekretariat:
New York, 22 September: The United Nations (UN) is today calling on businesses and individuals to reduce their climate footprints with the launch of a new initiative, Climate Neutral Now.
The world is currently on track to exceed the two degree average warming limit needed to avoid catastrophic climate change.
As well as action by governments, voluntary action by business and individuals is needed to ensure we get on track to avoid the worst of climate change and transition to climate neutrality by the second-half of the 21st century.
The Climate Neutral Now initiative urges individuals, companies and governments to:
Measure their climate footprint
- Reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible
- Offset what they cannot reduce using UN-certified emissions reductions
- Climate Neutral Now provides a simple UN certified method for acting, as well as ways to support that action through an online portal.
Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said:
“Climate neutrality is a long term vision of the world we want this century and backed by science. The new universal agreement to be inked in Paris this December at COP21 needs to be a springboard to that future”.
“It is going to require action today and tomorrow and everyone needs to get on board– from governments and corporations to cities, regions and individuals”.
“I've already pledged to personally become Climate Neutral Now and invite you to join me in measuring, reducing and offsetting your emissions. Over time the need for offsets is going to decline as energy systems become ever more low carbon, healthy ecosystems like forests expand and we arrive at a climate neutral world in the second half of the century”.
“Climate change will affect everyone, yet everyone can effect positive change starting today and beginning now,” she added.
The initiative includes a new online platform that anyone can use which makes it easy to quickly select from a range of UN verified emissions reductions for offsetting.
It also links to organisations that can provide businesses with climate footprint measurement and reduction advice and support. All of the projects providing offsets through the new online platform contribute to sustainable development in the developing world as well as reducing global emissions.
Actor and Climate Neutral Now supporter Edward Norton said:
“We all need to take personal responsibility to combat the threat of climate change. Join me in the Climate Neutral Now initiative to reduce the impact of climate change and offset carbon emissions. Help protect the ecosystems that sustain biodiversity and save the livelihoods of billions of people around the world”.
Læs resten af nyheden på UNFCCC’s hjemmeside:
http://newsroom.unfccc.int/unfccc-newsroom/go-climate-neutral-now/
