U.N. leader gives up office for renovation

NEW YORK, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The United Nations secretary general's staff says he doesn't mind moving his New York office into a warehouse in the name of energy-efficient renovations.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's staff said Ban will be moving his office before the end of the month from the 37th floor of the U.N. headquarters on New York;'s east side to vacate the building for $2 billion in renovations scheduled to end in 2014, the Christian Science Monitor reported Friday.

The renovations are aimed at cutting the complex's energy consumption by nearly half. The temporary office will be housed in a windowless warehouse erected on the U.N. headquarters campus.

"I don't think he minds taking a temporary office," a member of Ban's staff said, "especially when the whole purpose is to give the U.N. a more efficient building."