WHY?
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has recognized climate change as “the defining challenge of our age”. The challenge is immense, and the UN agencies, funds and programs have a responsibility to lead by example in reducing emissions.
WHAT?
Climate neutrality means an organization has zero net greenhouse gas emissions. This is achieved by introducing sustainable administrative policies to reduce workplace greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible, followed by purchasing carbon offsets (that is, investing in projects that reduce emissions elsewhere) to neutralize those emissions that cannot be avoided.
The 2007 decision of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) commits the UN agencies, funds and programmes to:
- Compile an annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory starting from 2009;
- Reduce GHG emissions as much as possible; and
- Analyze the cost implications and budgetary modalities of purchasing offsets to become climate neutral.
WHO?
Moving the UN system towards climate neutrality requires collective action. It is a prime opportunity for the UN system to act as one. Shared ideas, tools and experiences will cut investment costs and payback times, and make emissions reduction easier for each participating organization.
Climate Neutral Focal Points have been appointed in nearly 50 organizations across the UN.
HOW?
Calculating an organization’s GHG footprint is the first crucial step towards reduced emissions and climate neutrality. A UN Greenhouse Gas Calculator has been developed to help UN organizations produce comparable greenhouse gas inventories, arising from facilities operations and travel, by type of gas and by source. To estimate emissions from official air travel, a complementary UN Interface to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAOAO) Carbon Emissions Calculator has also been developed.
Once compiled, the inventories will serve to develop internal strategies for reducing emissions, for running the organization in a smarter and more efficient way; spending money wisely and choosing the best environmental solutions.
Each organization’s inventory will need to be updated annually to track performance over time. Common use of methodology and data collection and management tools will ensure consistent, transparent and comparable inventory data and progress reports that are compatible with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
WHEN?
The UN system will report its 2008 GHG footprint and climate neutral performance to the by 1 September 2009. The collective 2008 results will be presented at the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties in Copenhagen in December 2009.
WHERE DOES YOUR OFFICE FIT IN?
Each office needs to nominate a user of the UN Greenhouse Gas Calculator. The user will be asked to record emissions from UN facility operations and official road or rail travel. Typical emission sources are:
- Purchased energy used in buildings for lighting, heating or cooling, hot water, cooking, and so on; generally the largest energy source.
- Emissions from UN-owned or leased equipment, such as power generators or official vehicles.
- Fugitive emissions, such as leakage of greenhouse gases from refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment.
- Emissions from road or rail transport paid for by the organization.
The user need only enter basic data by answering a set of simple questions in the UN Greenhouse Gas Calculator. Once the activity data is entered, the tool will automatically estimate the GHG footprint.
NOTE: The UN Greenhouse Gas Calculator does not include emissions from air travel. Those emissions are to be calculated using the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Carbon Calculator which must also be completed. A data-mining tool will then enable the Climate Neutral Focal points to merge and report results from both calculators.
QUICK START IN TEN STEPS
- Download the Greenhouse Gas Calculator by clicking on the icon on top of this page.
- Identify your organization and yourself in the Intro&Tracking tab.
- Describe the buildings to be included in your report in the facility tab.
- Identify your emission sources in the Intro&Tracking tab.
- Enter your data in the individual activity tabs. For each emission source, a corresponding activity tab will be displayed automatically.
- State where you found your activity data in the relevant activity tab.
- State any assumptions made in the relevant activity tab.
- Record any data gaps in the Intro&Tracking tab.
- Validate the tool by clicking on the validation button in the Intro&Tracking tab.
- Send the validated Greenhouse Gas Calculator to your Climate Neutral Focal Point.
NEED HELP?
- See your Climate Neutral Focal Point
- See the UN Greenhouse Gas Calculator user manual, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Travel Aviation Carbon Emissions Calculator tool and the data-mining tool.