New UN global warming centre approved

San Francisco's Hunter's Point Shipyard is considered on of the most polluted areas in North America. The former naval shipyard is filled with radiation and industrial toxins, the place is so dangerous that many people, including some government officials, deemed the site unsuitable for development. However, San Francisco has just announced plans to clean the shipyard of its toxins and construct the UN Global Compact Center.

The center will be the headquarters for a world class climate change think tank and green technology incubator. Due for completion in 2012, the new development will compromise over two million square feet of LEED-certified space.

The proposed center would be part of the United Nations "Global Compact" and would be focused on promoting sustainable and clean technologies. A UN Global Compact Center would likely include a clean tech business incubator, offices of the UN Global Compact, and a conference center to facilitate the exchange of sustainability best practices and other innovations related to combating global warming.

Sanfrancisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said of the development, "once completed, the UN center can serve as an anchor for other sustainable businesses at the ship yard in much the same way that the University of California and the Stem Cell Institute have anchored Mission Bay's burgeoning bio-tech and life sciences cluster."

The city hope that construction will begin in 2011 and when completed, it is hoped that the $20 million, 80,000 square foot center will lead to a fresh crop of sustainability-focused businesses in the surrounding area.

There are still some hurdles to get over before the center can be built. For example, the toxins in the area are not expected to be fully cleared until the middle of 2012, meaning the city face a tough challenge to get it finished in the same year. Nonetheless, the U.N. Global Compact Center will serve as an example of how toxic Superfund sites can be transformed into centers of innovation and inspiration.

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