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Countries today outlined their climate neutrality strategies in Bali and in a move of support, members of the UN attending the crucial climate convention meeting in Bali today announced that they are offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions linked with travel to and from the event.
The entire UN system has also pledged to work towards climate neutrality under the leadership of Ban Ki-moon across all its offices and operations globally.
Norway’s Minister of the Environment and International Development, Erik Solheim, after announcing its backing of the UN system-wide proposal said: "We believe it is important that the UN take the lead and facilitate a common understanding of what climate neutrality is and how to achieve it. We are very happy to witness the strong system-wide response across the UN these past months, coordinated by the UN Environmental Management Group, the EMG, and we are proud to be a key financial supporter."
Norway, along with Costa Rica and New Zealand began fleshing out some of the pioneering plans and strategies they are developing in order to achieve climate neutrality in their own countries.
New Zealand’s Minister Responsible for Climate Change, David Parker, said of its plan, "Our plan to become climate neutral involves a goal of generating 90 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025, and halving our per capita transport emissions by 2040 by introducing electric cars and a requirement to use bio fuels. To incentivise climate-friendly behaviour we're introducing an emissions trading scheme, which includes all sectors and all gases," he added.
Costa Rica has placed climate change at the very top of its agenda arguing that a climate neutral economy is also a competitive one. Its aim is to achieve the neutrality goal by 2021 to coincide with the country's 200th anniversary of independence. The country has a series of loans and grants in place, providing financial support that pays landowners who manage forests for their carbon sequestration and storage alongside management for water production, biodiversity and scenic beauty. In 2007 Costa Rica planted more than five million trees or 1.25 per person making it the highest per capita planting in the world.
Other elements of the strategy include increasing the percentage of renewable energy generation to well over 90 per cent and action on energy efficiency including energy saving appliances.
Norway has committed to become ‘climate neutral’ by 2050 and to over-fulfill its Kyoto obligations during the first commitment period. The country will pursue vigorous energy savings and efficiency measure at home to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to fully utilise and contribute to the evolution of the carbon markets established under the UNFCCC's Kyoto Protocol.
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