The United States (US) has committed to supporting the United Nations (UN) in transitioning from using fossil fuels to more renewable energy resources in its peacekeeping missions.
Representative of the United States to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, speaking at the side event on “Improving Environmental Management in Peacekeeping” at the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Accra, yesterday said the move will help reduce one of the biggest risks to peacekeepers in the high-threat missions which is delivering fuel along dangerous routes.
“By adopting new practices to switch to clean energy, peacekeepers can reduce strain on the fragile countries in which they operate and strengthen relationships with local communities.
“And improving environmental management can even help deliver peace dividends to those very communities, by leaving behind infrastructure to support a greener future. In other words, cleaner and greener missions can help protect peacekeepers and can help promote peace around the world,” she said.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield indicated that currently peacekeeping is responsible for 92 per cent of the United Nations’ carbon footprint, adding that by continuing down this path, peacekeepers risk exacerbating the conflicts that they hope to contain.
She, thus, noted that the United States is supporting green energy transition in various ways including through a trilateral solar power project with Nepal and the United Nations, which will replace traditional diesel generations with cleaner alternatives.
She also highlighted the need for new partnerships and to strengthen existing ones to prioritise clean energy, better manage waste and wastewater, or build greener infrastructure.
“Friends, conflict and environmental exploitation are inextricably linked. But if there’s hope, it’s that the opposite is also true: that peacekeeping and preservation are mutually reinforcing. Together, we can create both a peace and a planet that are sustainable in the same sense of the word,” she stated.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield earlier met with Minister of National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah.
They discussed a range of bilateral and regional issues, including the security situation and democratic backsliding in the Sahel, as well as the shared commitment to a democratic transition in Niger, consistent with the efforts of ECOWAS.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield also thanked Ghana for its strong partnership on the United Nations Security Council as its term comes to a close.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri