Sustainability at the 2018 Bangkok Climate Change Conference

UN Climate Change/ Y. Sidki

Welcome to the official webpage on measures being taken to ensure the sustainable organization of the resumed forty-eighth sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 48-2) and Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 48-2) as well as the sixth part of the first session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA 1-6), held at the United Nations Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand, from 4 to 9 September 2018.

As part of the overall sustainability strategy of the UN Climate Change Secretariat and related efforts to organize sustainable conferences, a number of actions are being undertaken to reduce the carbon and overall environmental footprint of the conference and offset unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions related to it. Your cooperation and support in this important endeavour are highly appreciated.

In the present context, unless stated differently, sustainability refers to the environmental dimension of sustainable development as defined by the Brundtland Commission and the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). More concretely, the UN Sustainable Events Guide defines a sustainable event as “designed, organized and implemented in a way that minimizes potential negative impacts and leaves a beneficial legacy for the host community and all involved”.

Hotels

Participants are invited to review this 2011 booklet on green accommodation by the Tourism Authority of Thailand which lists a number of eco-friendly and eco-certified hotels.
In addition, this webpage features recommended hotels and their distance to the UN Conference Centre (UNCC), the official venue of the session. Many of the hotels are within walking distance, thereby reducing the need for motorized transportation.

Catering

Special sustainable and vegan menus with a low CO2 footprint will be available at the UNCC. Any applicable eco certification will be displayed on site.

Drinking water

Free water dispensers are available throughout the UNCC.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own reusable bottles where possible. Reusable water bottles and mugs may be purchased at the UN gift shop.

Waste avoidance/ reduction

Waste separation

Recycling bins for glass, plastic, paper and metal/ cans are available in the central conference area. These waste categories will be recycled.
Participants are invited to accurately dispose of their waste to smoothen the recycling process.

Food

Reduced food portions, which help to reduce leftovers and food waste, are available.
Information on the amount of unavoidable food waste at the main cafeteria is displayed on a daily basis.
Reusable containers are on sale at the food outlets and the UN gift shop.

Drinks

The UNCC is in the process of rolling out a scheme where hot drinks are sold exclusively in reusable cups through a deposit scheme. During the transition phase disposable paper cups may have to be used.
To minimize the amount of waste, participants are encouraged to bring their own reusable cups/ mugs.
Participants who bring their own mug when they buy coffee may request a stamp collection card at catering outlets and earn points which can be redeemed for free hot drinks.
While drinking water for the podium and meetings is provided in glass bottles, to complement the free drinking water available throughout the UNCC there will be some water on sale in plastic bottles (including via vending machines).

Paper

In line with the objectives of the paper-reduction initiative, participants are requested to rely on digital versions of official documents, which can be downloaded from the UNFCCC website, to the extent possible. Hardcopies will be available on demand.
All paper used for unavoidable printing and photocopying is 100 per cent recycled.
Participants are requested to refrain from distributing any printed material, such as publications and information related to other meetings or future conferences; instead the secretariat strongly encourages the electronic dissemination of information.

UNFCCC lanyards

Participants are encouraged to keep their lanyards for use at their next UNFCCC meeting.

Accessibility

Information on the UNCC Accessibility Centre and support available for persons with disabilities is available here.

Offsetting the unavoidable CO2 footprint

To offset the unavoidable CO2 footprint associated with the conference (including emissions related to travel of participants), it is planned to purchase Certified Emission Reductions from a Clean Development Mechanism project based in Thailand via UNFCCC’s Climate Neutral Now platform.