Only last year IPU Members adopted a resolution recommending action on global warming and drawing attention to the need to re-think the national budget from an environmental (green) perspective. Although green budgets can help countries factor in the true environmental costs associated with economic activity, they are still vastly underutilized as a policy tool. And they remain virtually ignored by the majority of organizations and private-sector entities where they could also make a huge difference.
Against this backdrop, the IPU set out early in the year to find ways of making its own budget "green", with a particular focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions - the main culprit of climate change. The result is a budget for 2008 that quantifies IPU greenhouse gas emissions, sets targets for reductions, and proposes appropriate mitigating measures, including the purchase of carbon offset credits. The budget starts by estimating both direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions related to our work.
Using 2000 as the base year, direct emissions (from sources the IPU owns or leases to operate its headquarters) are estimated to have grown from 43 tonnes to 75 tonnes. Indirect or scope 2 emissions (from sources the IPU does not control, associated with purchased electricity, heat or steam) actually went down from 1,231 tonnes to 985 tonnes during the same period.
The bulk of IPU’s gas emissions comes of course from the travel of staff and delegates, and is estimated at 18,000 tonnes (unchanged since 2000). These are considered scope 3 indirect emissions under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol of the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Their disclosure, while recommended, is not mandatory.
The 2008 IPU budget proposes, therefore, to offset the environmental impact of its operations, with an initial equivalent of approximately 1,150 tonnes of emissions. Voluntary funds will be used to offset the emissions from project activities. These steps have not yet made the IPU a carbon-neutral organization, but they do go a long way in setting us on the right course. They are also consistent with the global parliamentary campaign on climate change that the IPU launched over the summer to build momentum and political support for United Nations-led initiatives to combat climate change.
