ZHUL-QI’DA 24, 1429 A.H.
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2008
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UNEP, Qatar , pioneer environmentally friendly, paperless conferences
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the government of Qatar are pioneering an initiative for paper-free or near paperless conferences at the ongoing international conference on the protection of the ozone layer in Doha .
A statement issued by UNEP in Abuja yesterday said the initiative was also expected to save greenhouse gas emissions linked with the shipment of conference documents and publications to and from meetings.
The statement said that delegates attending the conference were being issued with laptops and given lessons on how to minimise paper in terms of documents, reports and publications.
``Special software is being utilised which will allow delegates to share and amend papers during the six-day meeting.
``The pilot comes as delegates from over 150 countries are meeting under the Montreal Protocol and Vienna Convention on substances that deplete the ozone layer,’’ the statement said.
According to the statement, participants will discuss such issues as destruction of ozone damaging substances held in items such as refridgerators, fire-fighting equipment and foams, among others
They would also discuss the sixth replenishment of the Multilateral Fund, which has so far spent over $2 billion on assisting developing countries to phase out ozone-killing chemicals and switch to less harmful ones.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, was quoted in the statement as saying: "The Montreal Protocol and the Vienna Convention are among the outstanding examples of international cooperation on the environment.
``They have led to a dramatic reduction in the production and consumption of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer -- that thin layer of high flying gas that protects all life on earth from deadly levels of ultra violet rays.
"This week in Doha , governments need to keep that momentum, including the necessary levels of funding needed to complete this important work; including the challenge but also the opportunity presented for both ozone and climate from the accelerated freeze and phase-out of HCFCs," he said.
Steiner said the paperless conference concept would be another welcome and practical outcome of the meeting.
"Tens of millions of tonnes of Co2, the principle greenhouse gas, are released as a result of the manufacture, printing and shipping of paper in the form of documents, publications and books. The UN and its numerous meetings are no exception.
"I would like to thank the government of Qatar for backing this inspiring idea and look forward to taking the concept forward. If we are successful, it could become a blue print across the UN and who knows, perhaps one day we could witness a near paperless or paper-free General Assembly in New York ," Steiner added.
According to Waleed Al-Emadi, a senior ozone expert at the Qatar ministry of the environment, it has been estimated that a 10 per cent reduction in the use of paper in offices could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1.6 billion tonnes.
"Less printing also means less ink, less use of heavy metals such as cadmium and less use of electricity. Imagine the environmental improvements around the world if paperless or near paperless meetings and conferences can be part of daily life?" he said.
The Qatar ministry of the environment, the statement said, was planning to donate a large quantity of laptops, complete with the special software.
They would also dispatch IT experts to make UNEP's Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum -- in Nairobi next February -- as paper-free as possible.
