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UN Opens New-Energy Offices in Kenya

A new energy-efficient United Nations office complex was officially opened by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Mr. Ban considered the new complex as a good model for environmentally sustainable architecture in Africa and beyond.

"This building is beautiful, comfortable and efficient. But more than any of that, this building is a living model of our sustainable future."- Mr. Ban

The new complex houses the new offices of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

According to UNEP, buildings are responsible for more than one third of global energy use and are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in most countries. The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that emissions from buildings will rise to 11.1 billion tons by 2020.

The manufacture of building materials contributes a further 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, a figure that is increasing with the continuing rise in construction globally, most of it in developing countries.

Source: United Nations