Welcome to the Climate Neutral Network

Welcome to the climate neutral network— an initiative that will assist in catalyzing a global response to the most pressing challenge of our time: namely global warming.

In response to the emerging effort to combat climate change, and following the proposal made by Roberto Dobles the Minister of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications of Costa Rica and President of UNEP's Governing Council, UNEP is launching a climate neutral network in order to empower action and catalyze this wave of interest and enthusiasm.

The science and the likely impacts of climate change have become ever clearer. So as to have the abundant social, environmental and economic opportunities possible if a transition to low, even zero emission societies can be made.

It is against this backdrop that a small but growing group of countries, companies, cities and also many individuals are laying out strategies and plans to become climate neutral over the coming months, years and decades.

The United Nations (UN) is also part of this transformation. In October 2007, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary-General, launched a ‘greening of the UN’ initiative which also includes moving the UN system towards climate neutrality—an ambitious project supported by UNEP through the Environmental Management Group (EMG).

The aims are simple but also bold: The key objective is to facilitate information exchange and networking on achieving a transition to a low and eventually climate neutral society. In doing so, the network can make its contribution to the formal response to climate change under the UN Framework Convention or UNFCCC.

The network will build on the success of the Billion Tree Campaign which succeeded in catalyzing the planting of 1.5 billion trees in 12 months after being launched at the climate convention meeting in Nairobi in 2006.

The ethos of the network is inclusive and welcomes pledges that may fall short of full climate neutrality at the outset but nevertheless contain a clear and explicit commitment to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The network will not be prescriptive or policed in the sense that it does not lay down how participants will meet their climate neutral aims nor will UNEP verify claims.

However, we do expect participants to enter and strive to realize their pledges in a responsible fashion and look forward to regular updates for posting on the website alongside proof of attainment.

The network itself is also designed to evolve from the pilot phase and will, in due course, acquire ever greater interactivity and participation including more intergovernmental bodies; community groups; NGOs; climate neutral events and eventually perhaps even individual households and citizens.

We are excited about the climate neutral network and hope you are too. Join us in this transition towards a climate neutral world at www.unep.org/climateneutral

Achim Steiner UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director UNEP