UNITAR’s commitment to reduce the carbon emissions per unit of training delivered by 50% by 2012 was cited as an example of climate-friendly action within the United Nations system in a report entitled;” Moving towards a climate neutral UN: the UN system’s footprint and efforts to reduce it.”

 

The report which also indicates 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide as the greenhouse gas footprint of the UN system was coordinated and compiled by the UN Environment Management Group (EMG) and launched during the UN Climate Change Convention meeting held in Copenhagen on the 15 December 2009, in response to the determination of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to make the UN system climate neutral.

 

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Chair of the EMG, said “it’s incumbent on every country and every organization including the UN to first measure, and then measure down, its environmental impact.”

 

In December 2008, UNITAR promulgated its first generation 2008-2009 Climate Neutral Policy and Strategy and Carlos Lopes, Executive Director of the Institute, emphasized that “enhancing the use of technology-supported learning, such as e-learning and video-conferencing, is an important dimension of our strategy to become carbon neutral and can be an effective complement to traditional learning approaches, such as face-to-face training”

 

Click here to view the full Report