Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 6th Dec. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeoing operations Atul Khare on Tuesday said that the transition to renewable energy at UN peacekeeping missions helps to ensure the safety and security of uniformed personnel serving in the field.
Atul Khare was speaking at the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial conference opened in Accra.
The delegates from over 85 countries are attending the 2 day meeting, to focused on environmental management at peacekeeping operations and deploying more women to serve under the UN flag.
Mr. Khare said the shift to green energy in the field “is not just about environmental footprint” as it helps to protect peacekeepers by reducing the need to transport fuel on dangerous roads.
The operational resilience to withstand fuel shortages is also increased, meaning that missions can run core infrastructure even in times of crisis when fuel supplies cannot be delivered.
Mr. Khare heads the Department of Operational Support over the past six years has been supporting UN missions in implementing a strategy on environmental management.
He reported on progress has included “a major jump” in the proportion of waste treated through recycling, composting and incineration, which has risen from 19 per cent to 65 per cent.
The fuel use per capita per day in electricity generation has decreased from 4.1 litres to 3.7 litres.
He said “This may sound modest as a per capita figure, but in real terms this represents a reduction of 15 million litres of diesel per year, or around 40,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.”
Mr. Khare thanked those countries contributing troops and police officers to serve at UN missions, which have been supportive of the environmental management strategy.
Bangladesh was the first to deploy a solar photovoltaic system in the field, while Pakistan recently deployed a renewable energy system at the UN mission in the Central African Republic.
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