CONTACTS: John Reid/Karen Gaither
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February 19, 2008   

Chamber Produces Web Spot Highlighting U.N. Hypocrisy
 
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. Chamber of Commerce produced a web video in anticipation of the February 20-22 U.N. Environment Programme's 10th Special Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Monaco. The video is intended to raise awareness about carbon emissions generated by the numerous U.N. meetings on climate change.

"The U.N. has consistently said it supports reducing carbon emissions, and yet has held hundreds of meetings on climate change in places all over the world." said William Kovacs, vice president for Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs at the Chamber. "Rather than reducing carbon emissions, the U.N. is increasing them."
       
The video, which features planes spewing emissions as they fly over a map, lists a selection of the 230-plus exotic locales in which the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its ancillary organizations have held events followed by a description of the costs and the shocking stats on just how significant these emissions are.  Sending a single person to each of these meetings releases as much carbon as the emissions of heating 40 to 50 homes for a year."
      
"Some of these meetings are in such remote places, like islands in the South Pacific, that the only way to get there is by chartered plane," said Kovacs. "It seems an unreasonable waste of time, money, and emissions to fly all over the world for these meetings."

     

To arrive at these figures, Chamber staff used the carbon emissions calculator of atmosfair, a German-based independent non-profit, as well as various budget travel website to find the dollar cost of round-trip flights from New York City to each meeting using best available coach rates on commercial airliners.
      
The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation, representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region. 
      
For more information on the Chamber's recommendations or to see the video, please visit: 

 

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08-22