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KICK THE HABIT
THE CYCLE
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The key to success for an effective emissions reduction programme is to
have a well-organized, performing structure and a clear process in place.
The first step is to
decide
to go climate-neutral: that obviously comes first.
Then we need to
count
the GHG emissions for which we are directly respon-
sible and
analyse
where are those emissions coming from? Then comes the
need to find out what we must do to lower or stop them, what options we
have, and to
act
on that knowledge. The last steps are to
evaluate
what we
have done, identify flaws and then
start all over again
, hopefully taking into
account the lessons learnt in the first round.
Get a firm commitment
Before any of this is going to happen, of course, someone has to take a clear
decision to work to become climate neutral. It will certainly be an individu-
al’s decision, but for more complex set-ups, it will be wider than that. For it
to get very far, it will need
positive political leadership
at the highest level
and wide popular agreement that the effort is worth making. The Intergov-
ernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol under the convention represent
global leaders’ commitment to confront the problem. The degree to which
they succeed will show the depth of that commitment. The British environ-
Norway is one of five countries to have publicly declared their intention to work
towards climate neutrality (the others are Costa Rica, Iceland, Monaco and New
Zealand). Norway aims to reach its goal by 2030. The decision was taken by the
government under the leadership of the Prime Minister – but, crucially, it enlist-
ed the agreement of the opposition parties as well. The Finance Minister, Kristin
Halvorsen, said: “The purpose of the government parties’ invitation to the op-
position was to create a broad-based, long-term majority platform on which a
proactive Norwegian climate policy could be based.” A lot of money is going into
efforts to promote renewable energy, strengthen public transport and implement
measures aimed at reducing emissions from transport.
The UN is not simply telling other people how to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions, it aims to do so itself. The Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, says the
organization is moving toward making its New York headquarters climate neutral
and environmentally sustainable. The initiative should ultimately include the other
UN headquarters and offices around the globe. To help make sure the “greening”
effort extends across the entire UN system, the Secretary-General has asked the
heads of all UN agencies, funds and programmes to join the effort through an
initiative supported by the Environment Management Group (EMG).