The Secretariat of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), together with the South-South Global Assets and Technology Exchange (SS-GATE) and the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation in the UN Development Programme (UNDP) made a presentation to announce the offset initiative at the conference.
"Climate change is a shared responsibility. We all have to take stock, and then look for ways to do our part, to walk the talk. Offsetting, using quality credits, is an important part of the secretariat's efforts to reduce its emissions," said Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary.
The Executive Secretary expressed appreciation to the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation in UNDP for having established SS-GATE, the platform that enabled the offsetting donation.
"This effort, which has brought together public sector agencies, a private sector partner and an emission reduction project incentivized by the Kyoto ProtocolÂ's clean development mechanism, is an example of the kind of cooperation and imagination needed to tackle climate change," said Richard Kinley, Deputy Executive Secretary of UNFCCC. He also acknowledged the valuable role of South-South cooperation in this offset initiative.
The event included a presentation of the innovative collaboration between SS-GATE and the UNFCCC Secretariat to offset the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the travel of the Secretariat and supported delegates to COP 17. Through its transaction platform, SS-GATE secured a donor, Guangzhou Shengzhou Investment Limited Corporation, to purchase certified emission reduction (CER) units originating from the Corobrik Lawley Fuel Switch Project in Johannesburg, South Africa, to offset the 1844 tonnes of GHG emissions resulting from the 398 secretariat staff and 369 supported delegates travel to and from COP 17. Read the full report here.
Source: Northumberland View.ca, Durban.
