On April 21, 2021, on the initiative of Switzerland, the Permanent Missions to the UN of seven countries founded the "633 Third Avenue Green Mission Alliance". This alliance brings together countries whose representations in New York are located in the same building at 633 Third Avenue and who are committed to engage in environmentally responsible behaviors.
It is a way for these countries committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to turn words into actions by respecting a Charter, which formulates a number of behaviors that would help preserve the environment.
Symbolically, the representatives of these seven countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burkina Faso, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Suriname, Uruguay), together with Austria, which will have the status of observer until it moves in the building in 2022, marked the event by meeting on the High Line, an urban park created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan.
The small ceremony, led by Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl, allowed representatives of the 633 Third Avenue Green Mission Alliance to symbolically adopt one of the gray birch trees that adorn the High Line. A guided tour closed the event, which took place on the eve of Earth Day (celebrated each year on April 22).
Relive the launch ceremony of the Green Mission Alliance here.
Read more about Switzerland's green commitment worldwide: "Sustainable Swiss embassies"
