Industry Body Calls on UN to Lead by Example and Offset Its
Carbon Footprint
SINGAPORE, Feb. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/—Clean
energy industry body the Project Developer Forum (PD Forum), whose
members include Singapore-based Sindicatum Sustainable Resources,
is calling on the United Nations to show its commitment to tackling
climate change and to saving its own carbon market, the Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM), by offsetting its greenhouse gas
emissions with Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).
The PD Forum – whose members include some of the biggest players
in the global emissions reduction industry and account for over 20%
of investment in the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism – has started
a petition urging the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to lead by
example and offset the UN’s carbon footprint by buying CERs (the
carbon offsets that serve as the CDM’s
internal currency) where it can’t be reduced through other
methods.
While the UN and its 38 Partners on Climate Change are
implementing measures to increase resource efficiency and reduce
their carbon footprint, they do not currently offset their global
emissions. According to the UN’s third annual report, titled
“Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN”, the UN’s total GHG emissions for 2010 (for 54 entities in hundreds of
locations and over 200,000 employees) were 1.8 million tonnes of
CO2 equivalent. The PD Forum hopes its
petition will raise public awareness of this issue and persuade the
UN to practice what it preaches by going carbon neutral.
Gareth Phillips, Chairman on the PD Forum, commented, “The UN
has been very quick to encourage the industrialised world to offset
its emissions by investing in the CDM, yet it
has failed to take its own medicine. It’s time for Ban Ki-moon to
lead by example and offset the UN’s carbon footprint every year by
buying and retiring CERs. Not only would this cast a valuable vote
of confidence in the CDM – the UN’s own
mechanism – but it would also create much-needed demand for CERs,
helping to secure the future of clean energy investment. If you
agree, please go to
http://www.change.org/petitions/ban-ki-moon-red… to let Ban
Ki-moon know.”
The PD Forum voluntarily offset the estimated carbon emissions
of 10,000 attendees at the COP18 climate
change conference in Doha last November by cancelling a total of
25,000 CERs. This gesture was recently completed and the majority
of these offsets are visible today in the CDM
Registry (see link below).
The CDM is a UN-guided market mechanism,
intended to stimulate investment in clean energy projects across
the developing world while giving industrialised countries
flexibility in how they meet their emission reduction targets. To
date, the CDM has channelled over
USD 215 billion of investment into renewable
energy and energy efficiency projects, such as hydropower and wind
power. However, due to the plummeting value of CERs, the future of
the scheme now hangs in the balance.
To sign the PD Forum’s petition, go to
http://www.change.org/petitions/ban-ki-moon-off….
Notes to Editors
About the PD Forum
The Project Developer Forum is a collective voice to represent the
interests of companies developing and investing in greenhouse gas
(GHG) emission reduction and mitigation projects in international
markets under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Joint
Implementation (JI) and other carbon emission reduction schemes and
programs. The PD Forum represents the sector of industry that has
invested significant financial and intellectual capacity in the
development of the CDM, JI and capacity
building in developing countries. We also represent a significant
part of the future of GHG mitigation in both
developed and developing countries. Without the involvement of
companies such as those represented by the PDF, the future of the CDM, new
market mechanisms, project based mitigation activities and the
inclusion of many Non-Annex 1 countries in the carbon market will
be jeopardized.
About Sindicatum
Headquartered in Singapore, Sindicatum Sustainable Resources is a
developer, owner and operator of clean energy projects worldwide
and a producer of sustainable products from natural resources and
waste. Sindicatum is leading the way in the sustainable utilization
of the world’s natural capital.
More on PD Forum’s cancellation of CERs to offset COP18
As of 2nd February 2013, 7050 cancelled CERs are visible in the
CDM Registry at http://cdm.unfccc.int/Registry/vc_attest/index…..
A further 10150 are in the process of being cancelled and recorded
by the CDM Registry Administrator and will be
visible in due course. 7,800 CERs have been cancelled in the Swiss
Registry. The Swiss Registry does not have a public interface and
cancellation confirmation may be seen here:
http://www.sindicatum.com/wp-content/uploads/20…
Please see below for the full breakdown of CER cancellations by PD Forum members:
http://www.sindicatum.com/wp-content/uploads/20…
For more information on the PDF and its
members, visit www.pd-forum.net.
Source: Project Developer Forum