Earth Today | Report shows progress on sustainable management in UN system
Published:Thursday | December 28, 2023 | 12:09 AM
FINDINGS FROM the 2023 Greening the Blue Report suggests that the United Nations system is making inroads on what to do to avoid negative work-related environmental impacts – from attention to greenhouse gas emissions to waste reduction and improved air quality, among other things.
“Between 2021 and 2022, the total UN system-wide GHG emissions footprint increased by 12 per cent, from 1.2 to 1.4 million tonnes CO2eq. Nevertheless, the emission levels remain below pre-pandemic levels, which were ~2 million tonnes CO2eq in 2019. The biggest impact of COVID-19 operational restrictions and their subsequent removal can be seen on air travel,” reads a section of the report, which provides insight into the UN systems environmental footprint and efforts to reduce it.
The 2023 edition covers 2022 data and focuses on the more than 308,000 personnel in 57 entities across Headquarters, field offices and operations on the ground.
“Between 2022 and 2021, emissions from air travel in the UN system increased by 48 per cent to 530,000 tonnes CO2eq from 357,220 tonnes CO2eq. Still, 2022 air travel emissions levels are not back to those of the pre-pandemic years of 2019 and 2018,” it revealed.
“For some entities this is due to continued COVID-19 operational restrictions in the first quarter of 2022 that prevented events from taking place. While for others, this suggests that there has been a shift in operational modalities to other travel methods and/or that travel has been somewhat replaced with other meeting formats such as virtual and hybrid meetings,” the report explained.
While many entities returned to their offices during the year, the report said there has not been a resulting increase in facility-related emissions.
“Emissions related to UN facilities have decreased steadily over the last five years, suggesting that this trend is disconnected to COVID-19 operational restrictions.”
Still, it said, 2022 was a “time of transition”.
“There are limitations to drawing any definite causation for the observed changes as some restrictions remained in effect and some varied by location. The observed changes have demonstrated, however, that the UN system has a variety of ways to work and collaborate that can help reduce negative work-related environmental impacts,” the report concluded.
“It is critical that the UN system reflects upon the valuable lessons learned during COVID-19 operational restrictions. Only a continued and unfaltering determination to integrate the beneficial lessons learned into policies and operational procedures will help enhance environmental performance and keep on target for the 2030 environmental sustainability commitments,” it added.
GHG emission reductions are pivotal to global efforts to counter climate change to which Caribbean and other small island states are most vulnerable. GHGs, including carbon dioxide from the use of coal, fuel global warming, which in turn triggers a variety of climate risks and threats. These include sea level rise and increased sea surface temperatures, coastal erosion and extreme hurricane and drought events, the likes of which have devastated Caribbean islands over recent years. There are also the associated risks and threats related to impaired water and food security as well as undermined public health.
Given these realities, the UN system, as a leader in sustainability management, has been seeking to do its part by attending to its own consumption and internal operations.
In addition to emissions reduction, it has also committed to ensuring that no solid waste from its facilities, operations or activities “causes pollution or other harm to the environment and local populations by avoiding the release of toxic substances into the air, soil and water bodies and preventing adverse impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems”.
It has also committed to ensuring that UN premises and fleet “do not contribute to or exacerbate local air quality issues in both urban and remote community settings”.