Q. “Momentum for Change: Climate Neutral Now” is an initiative launched by

  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  • The UNEP Secretariat
  • The UNFCCC Secretariat
  • The World Meterological Organisation

Answer: (c) The UNFCCC Secretariat

Notes:

United Nations Environment Programme
  • The UNEP is a leading global environmental authority established on 5th June 1972.
  • Functions: It sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for global environment protection.
  • Major Reports: Emission Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook, Frontiers, Invest into Healthy Planet.
  • Major Campaigns: Beat Pollution, UN75, World Environment Day, Wild for Life.
  • Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.
UNFCCC
  • UNFCCC was signed in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development also known as the Earth Summit, the Rio Summit or the Rio Conference.
    • India is among the select few countries to have hosted the COP of all three Rio conventions on climate change (UNFCCC), biodiversity (CBD) and land (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification).
  • The UNFCCC entered into force in 1994 and has been ratified by 197 countries.
  • It is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement. It is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
  • The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. It is located in Bonn, Germany.
  • Its objective is to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous repercussions within a time frame so as to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally and enable sustainable development.
  • The UNFCCC secretariat launched its Climate Neutral Now initiative in 2015.
  • It is an initiative launched to urge individuals, companies, and governments to measure their climate footprint, reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible.
  • The secretariat in 2016 launched a new pillar under its Momentum for Change initiative focused on Climate Neutral Now, as part of larger efforts to showcase successful climate action around the world.
  • Climate neutrality is a three-step process, which requires individuals, companies, and governments to:
    • Measure their climate footprint;
    • Reduce their emissions as much as possible;
    • Offset what they cannot reduce with UN certified emission reductions.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  • It is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change.
  • It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
  • IPCC assessments provide a scientific basis for governments at all levels to develop climate related policies, and they underlie negotiations at the UN Climate Conference – the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).