18 July 2010: The UN Development Programme (UNDP) Country Office in Nigeria has started a series of programmes to raise awareness about the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to explore reduction options.

In a first effort to move toward climate neutrality, the office has concluded the calculation of the carbon footprint of its operational activities in 2009 and will disseminate and replicate the results using the UN GHG calculators in Nigeria. This will feed into the global UNDP initiative to develop a GHG Emission Inventory for the entire organization. The carbon emission profile of the Nigerian country office revealed that official air travel, on site fuel combustion, purchased electricity, and on-ground transportation accounted for the major elements responsible for carbon emission.

The UN House in Nigeria, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Ministry of Environment are also expected to follow the initiative. [UNDP Press Release]