In 2007, IYPF has expanded its memberships to include both the Zero
Emissions Network (http://zeroemissionnetwork.org.au) and the
Australian Youth Climate Coalition (www.youthclimatecoalition.org).
These memberships reflect the importance of global warming and the
need for everyone - including organisations - to work out what they
need to be doing to tackle the immense challenge of avoiding
catastrophic climate change over the next 4 or 5 decades.

So what can the IYPF do as an organisation to reduce its contribution
to greenhouse gas emissions? What are the `big emitter activities´ of
organisations? How do we get our net emissions to zero or beyond by
2020?

We want to hear your ideas and thoughts to help us develop a
comprehensive IYPF strategy for address the climate challenge. Send
your contributions to climate@iypf.org. We will publish ideas in
future newsletters.

Some initial thoughts on an IYPF climate strategy:

o We don´t have an office that uses energy, involves people using
transport to get too and from work, paper printing, etc. so this is a
good thing

o Given the `virtual´ nature of our organisation, where our volunteer
Directors and staff use their own or work computers, energy, etc., do
we need to include measures of these things in to our emissions? How
would we do that?

o Perhaps our biggest `emission´ activity would be flights related to
the organisations´ activities, especially people flying to attend our
International Young Professionals Summits (we had one in 2001, one in
2004, and will have another in 2008) - how do we justify this? Buying
carbon credits to offset the flights is an easy enough proposition -
you just have to pay - but this is really `less bad´ and not `good´.

o With the 2004 IYPS, we were very focused on convening a
`sustainable summit´ and will be doing so again for the 2008 event -
looking at food and drink sourcing, waste, energy, water, etc. IYPF
should develop a clear set of guidelines for events that it organises
or supports in terms of minimising environmental impact - perhaps
even going further to raise money and invest in activities that mean
our events have a net positive carbon and environmental impact