The UN has launched a major new initiative designed to bring together businesses, cities and countries that have committed to achieving carbon neutrality and allow them to share best practices for reducing and offsetting their carbon emissions.

The new Climate Neutral Network was launched last week and unites four countries, four cities and five corporations in their attempts to cut their carbon emissions. The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), which is managing the web-based network, said that it would now extend an invitation to join the group to other businesses, intergovernmental bodies, civil society groups and eventually individuals.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said that the group would help support the UN's negotiations to agree a successor to the Kyoto agreement by demonstrating what can be achieved through the development of a low carbon economy at both a national and a local level.

He also praised Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Norway for joining the group, adding that the diverse range of challenges they each face would ensure that they each provide important leadership for other countries looking to reduce their emissions.

"For Norway [the main challenge] is emissions from oil and gas that dominate whereas for New Zealand, agriculture represents 50 per cent of its current greenhouse gases,” explained Steiner. "[Meanwhile,] Iceland’s central challenge is perhaps transport and industry including fishing and fish processing."

He added that Costa Rica's involvement in the initiative was particularly critical as it "demonstrates that the economic benefits of reducing dependency on fossil fuels and action on deforestation and degradation are of central interest to developing and developed countries alike".

The four countries are joined in their commitment to cut carbon emissions by the cities of Arendal in Norway, Rizhao in China, Vancouver in Canada, and Växjö in Sweden.

They are also joined by five firms from a variety of sectors and countries: UK-based Co-Operative Financial Services, US commercial interiors firm Interface Inc, Brazilian cosmetics giant Natura, South African bank Nedbank and Singapore-based energy giant Senoko Power.

Eduardo Luppi, vice president for Innovation at Natura, said the initiative would allow firms and governments to share and promote green best practices. " Initiatives like the Climate Neutral Network are essential to stimulate the exchange of ideas in a way that countries and companies commit themselves more and more to the neutralisation and, mainly, the reduction of greenhouse gases," he said.