Copenhagen becomes the 100th participant of the UNEP Climate Neutral Network

Tuesday, 24 February 2009 14:19

CN Net Centurions Honoured at the 25th session of the UNEP Governing Council

The City of Copenhagen in February became the 100th participant of the Climate Neutral Network (CN Net), an initiative led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote global action towards low-carbon economies and societies.

Launched a year ago with an initial four countries, four cities and five companies, the CN Net today brings together a wide range of participants, including countries big and small, some of the world’s best-known cities, major international companies, UN agencies and leading NGOs.

UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said: “The Climate Neutral Network was born in response to the growing need to federate the many bold and inspiring initiatives being taken the world over to address the global climate change challenge and embrace the opportunity to ‘de-carbonize’ our economies and societies.”

“One year on, the unfolding financial and environmental crises make the CN Net more relevant than ever before as a showcase of both the promise and viability of the low-carbon development model which goes hand-in-hand with the emerging Green Economy initiatives around the globe. I salute the first 100 participants – the CN Net Centurion – on their commitment and hope that CN Net numbers will continue to grow to form many more centurions, or indeed legions, in the years to come.”


“Climate Capital of the World” joins the CN Net

The City of Copenhagen, which will host the crucial UN Climate Change Conference in less than 300 days, is world-renowned for its green politics and eco-friendly life style.

Under the vision of becoming a “climate capital of the world”, Copenhagen has already cut its CO2 emissions by one-fifth since 1990 and has pledged another 20 per cent cut by 2015. The city also plans to take a “giant leap forward” as part of its Climate Action Plan expected to be endorsed in summer 2009.

Klaus Bondam, Copenhagen’s Mayor for Technics and the Environment, said: “As the mayor of a city that has our common struggle against climate change at heart, I am pleased to see that so many cities around the world have committed themselves to strong CO2 reduction goals and joined the Climate Neutral Network. Fifty per cent of the world’s population live in cities, and cities worldwide are responsible for 75 per cent of the global CO2 emissions. Hence, if nations truly want to combat climate change, cities and urban populations are their most important allies in the struggle.”

Copenhagen will also play host to a 100 percent carbon-neutral music and arts festival in September. CO2PENHAGEN Festival will be run entirely on renewable energy, including two gym bike teams pedalling away to generate power for DJ extravaganza and “piezoelectricity” from dancing crowds stomping their feet on plateaus connected to LED-lighting around the dance floor. The more they dance, the brighter the lights shine.
“The dance floor visualizes the human energy and proves that you can generate energy while having fun,” explain the Festival organizers.

Daejeon, South Korea’s fifth largest city, is another CN Net Centurion. The city will host a children and youth climate meeting this August ahead of the Copenhagen conference organized by UNEP.

Under the overall vision of a “Low Carbon, Green City”, Daejeon’s climate change response plan focuses on the ten priority tasks, including producing energy from waste and promoting renewables and energy conservation. In the area of transport, the city is promoting cycling, public transport and low-carbon vehicles. The city has also pioneered a “carbon points” scheme, whereby businesses and organizations that reduce emissions get carbon credits from the city authorities.