Agri-tech and other types of environmentally-focused technologies are some of the top areas of investment in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa, which is great considering that South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are ranked as the three most popular investment destinations on the continent.
Technology and sustainable living can go hand in hand
Following a recent article published by the New York Times regarding how people use technology to be more environmentally-friendly, countries around the world are taking note of various innovations that can not only help induce more environmental consciousness but also make it easier to live a green life. From investing in clean, green tech to utilising smart applications in everyday life that monitor our environmental impact, there are actually more than a few ways that technology and sustainable living go hand in hand.
Monitoring Your Carbon Footprint with Green Apps
Applications such as Haze Today make it easy to track the air pollution levels all around the world, not just in Nigeria. While it’s important to know the levels of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, ground-level ozone and particle pollution within your own community, it can be pretty sobering to take a look at the air quality in places such as China and India to really understand how each of our own carbon footprints impacts the global well-being. As startups around the world continue to invest in these types of technologies and make them more accessible to everybody, they will continue to raise awareness of the importance of taking care of our environment while also giving people the power to monitor it in real-time themselves.
Regarding environmental issues such as climate change and the sustainability of a product or company, many people have reported that what they truly lack is a certain level of trust that the production of what they are purchasing was really done in a “green” and sustainable manner. Seeing as blockchain makes data essentially tamper-proof, tech companies are beginning to look towards the technology in order to create supply chain receipts in order to let customers know exactly where their products are coming from. This is exactly the type of transparency and trust that many consumers are looking for in their everyday purchases. Blockchain technologies could serve to revolutionise the way that companies are required to do business, thus enhancing the overall sustainability throughout many supply chains.
Transforming Agriculture Through Technology
The environment is a precious resource, especially to African countries, as it accounts for more than 50% of the source of sustenance. The environment provides a source of livelihood, income and food to Nigeria and other African countries through agriculture, animal husbandry, fishing, hunting, and more natural industries, making it one of the largest areas that African tech startups are looking to invest in. By bolstering up the type of technology available to farmers and people working within the agriculture industry, startups can help create an industry that is thriving enough to support small Nigerian farmers.
Consumers all around the world are looking for ways to ensure they are engaging in sustainable transactions and purchasing products that help reduce their carbon footprint. As investors and innovators continue to dedicate time and resources to agri-tech and other green technologies within Nigeria and beyond, there will be only positive outcomes and benefits for the Earth and the people living on it.
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) on Monday, November 12, 2018 decried the high rate of vandalism on its pipeline network at its oilfields in Bayelsa State resulting to oil leaks and pollution of the environment.
Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company
Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, the Media Relations Manager at SPDC, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the oil firm expressed regrets at the incessant spills and was committed to maintaining environmentally sustainable operations.
He said that although the May 17 oil spill on the Trans Ramos Pipeline was traced to equipment failure, many other leaks were predominantly caused by sabotage.
“The rate of spills on the Trans Ramos Pipeline is very worrisome, for instance between April and May 26, spill incidents were reported on that line and out of these, 18 of them were caused by sabotage, eight were operational,” he said.
Odugbesan said that SPDC had recovered more than 95 per cent of spilled oil from the spill incidents on the Trans Ramos Pipeline (TRP) which runs across Bayelsa and Delta states.
He said that the oil recoveries were made on sections of the TRP in Aghoro community, Bayelsa and Odimodi community, Delta.
He said that the pipeline, which remained shut-in since the incidents, supplied crude to the SPDC’s Forcados Oil Export Terminal in Niger Delta.
“In line with the standard operating procedures of SPDC, the TRP was shut down immediately the incidents were reported, and the Oil Spill Response and the Emergency Response teams were activated.
“The team was able to contain as well as manage the incidents and prevent further spillage.
“As soon as clean-up and site assessment are completed, we are committed to starting the immediate remediation of the impacted areas in Aghoro and Odimodi communities,’’ Odugbesan said.
China has postponed the lifting of a ban on the trade of rhino horn and tiger parts for medicine and other uses, the government said on Monday, November 12, 2018.
Police officers display tiger-skin recovered from smugglers in Sangli, India. Photo credit: PTI
The government said this after a storm of protest from conservation groups over a plan to water down the decades-old prohibition.
In October, the State Council issued a circular replacing a 1993 ban on the trade of tiger bones and rhinoceros’ horn, opening up exceptions under “special circumstances”, including medical “research”.
Environmental groups said lifting of the ban would be disastrous for endangered rhinoceros and tiger populations, even if the animal parts were only sourced from those bred in captivity.
Rhinos and tigers are already under critical pressure from a black market supplying the traditional medicine trade.
The “detailed regulations for implementation” of the October change had been “postponed after study”, the official media reported, citing State Council Executive Deputy Secretary-General Ding Xuedong.
Under the October plan, exceptions to the ban could be made for parts from those animals, bred in captivity, being used for medical and scientific research, education and “cultural exchanges”.
Ding did not give a reason for postponing the change, or indicate if it would be permanent, but said the old ban remained in force.
“The ‘three strict bans’ will continue to be enforced: strictly ban the import and export of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts.
“Strictly banned are the sale, purchase, transport, carrying and mailing of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts.
“The use of rhino horns and tiger bones in medicine are strictly banned,” Ding said.
China would continue to “organise special crackdown campaigns” with a focus on “addressing the illegal trade of rhinos, tigers and their byproducts”.
“Illegal acts will be dealt with severely,” Ding said.
Conservation groups argue that easing the ban would be devastating for efforts to protect tigers and
rhinos.
Such lifting would confuse consumers and authorities as to which products were legal and which not and expand markets for them.
China banned trade in tiger bones and rhino horns 25 years ago as part of global efforts to save the animals.
Commercial tiger farms are legal in China, and although using tiger bones in medicine was banned, tiger parts from farms often end up in tonics or other medicines, animal rights groups say.
The air pollution level in India’s capital city New Delhi on Monday, November 12, 2018 continued to be in the severe category, officials said.
New Delhi is ranked as among the most polluted cities in the world
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the overall air quality index (AQI) remained in very poor category at 381.
“The AQI in Delhi at 9 a.m. (local time) today was recorded at 381, the air quality is severe and prominent pollutants are PM 2.5 and PM 10,’’ data released by CPCB said.
Health officials said very poor air quality would causes respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.
On Sunday, the air quality remained in the severe category at 405.
The air quality plunged into “severe-plus emergency” category on Thursday, night after Hindu festival of Diwali.
A thick blanket of smoke engulfed the city and outskirts Thursday and people complained of difficulty in breathing and itching in the eyes.
The air quality worsened because of the rampant bursting of toxic fireworks despite Supreme Court ban.
Authorities, to contain the pollution levels, have banned entry of trucks in the city and already ordered a halt on all construction activities involving excavation with its limits.
Meanwhile, the government official in neighbouring Haryana state on Sunday said it was unfair to blame its farmers for Delhi’s poor air quality.
“In 2017, farm waste was burnt on just 2% of the total sown area of paddy, and the figure further fell to 1 per cent this year.
“However, it is being projected as if our farmers are burning farm waste in each and every field,’’ an official release quoted Haryana Chief Secretary D S Dhesi as saying at an event in Hisar.
Report says air pollution continues to worsen in New Delhi especially during winter months.
The Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation is set to promote climate-smart agriculture as a strategy to boost food security in the country.
Nigerian Ambassador to Belgium, Ahmed Inusa
Mr Amara Nwankpa, Director, Public Policy Initiative of the Foundation, disclosed this to the Europe Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday, November 12, 2018 in Brussels.
Nwankpa spoke to NAN on the sideline of the screening of the film “Swallow”, held at the EU Secretariat and the Nigerian Embassy in Brussels.
He said the nation was faced with major food security challenges, owing to climate change – a situation that would get worse if not addressed – as the nation’s population is estimated to hit 400 million by 2050.
“People knew of the signs but couldn’t associate delayed and unpredictable rains, drought and ocean acidification to climate change.
“A lot of these changes are irreversible as the soil will not renew itself as it used to, a 100 years ago.
“The rains will not return to how it used to be, and these changes are permanent.
“So, the message now is adaptability and coping strategies.
“We have to start thinking of innovative strategies on how to cope with the loss of the savannah region and erosion in the south-east,’’ Nwankpa said.
To address the challenges, he said that the Yar’Adua Foundation would support young farmers through advocacy on how to manage scarce land for agriculture and grazing of cattle.
“We will also educate fish farmers on how to adopt new fishing methods owing to lack of fresh water sources and effect of ocean acidification.’’
Similarly, the Nigerian Ambassador to Belgium, Ahmed Inusa, said that the film showcased the effect of climate change in Nigeria and served as a call for action to address the challenges.
Inusa noted the various investment opportunities arising from wastages of produce due to inadequate infrastructure and agricultural practices.
He, however, commended the government’s continuous effort in promoting agriculture in the country.
NAN reports that the film “Swallow” featured inspiring stories and explored opportunities and solutions to the nation’s food security challenge.
The event was attended by members of the African diplomatic core in Belgium, EU officials, the Nigerian Diaspora Organisation and experts on food security.
Agri-food actors across the supply chain urgently need to put protective measures in place, whilst making use of trade opportunities and innovative adaptation technologies. That was the key conclusion of a recent Adaptation Committee workshop in Geneva co-hosted by UN Climate Change and the International Trade Centre (ITC).
Participants of the meeting in Geneva
“Food security is at the core of sustainable development and adaptation action. And yet, the latest available science is indicating that food security is at serious risk from climate change,” said Julio Cordano, UNFCCC Adaptation Committee member, at the launch of the event on October 29, 2018.
The workshop convened entrepreneurs, government representatives, farmers, scientists, researchers, business owners, as well as representatives of civil society and banks. Talks focused on ways to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adapt to climate change.
“Climate change is a threat to SMEs and those working in their supply chains, especially in developing countries,” said Dorothy Tembo, ITC Deputy Executive Director.
She added: “There is another side to the coin, which is that there are market opportunities for goods and services associated with climate adaptation and mitigation. By realising these opportunities, companies can turn climate-related risks into new business and income.”
Innovating to adapt
Experts stressed data gaps as a key barrier to building climate resilience of the agri-food sector.
The challenge is particularly acute for SMEs and smallholder farmers who lack the financial and technological resources of larger firms.
But clever innovations can help overcome these obstacles. For example, the company Ignitia is tackling the data challenge by bringing local tropical weather forecasts to West African farmers via SMS that are low-cost and twice as accurate as global weather forecasts.
This information helps farmers optimise their planning and resource use, decrease their losses and increase their income, thereby bolstering their capacity to adapt to the changing climate.
While the workshop focused on the risks of climate change impacts on the agri-food sector, it also covered the benefits that adaptation can bring.
The Brazilian MAIS project, which recently received the UNFCCC Momentum for Change award, demonstrated how it cultivates these opportunities by working with farmers, financial institutions, technical experts and companies to build resilience through climate-smart, regenerative agricultural practices.
The project restores degraded land, boosts the productivity of the food system, increases farmers’ incomes, and can yield $7 in social and economic output for every $1 invested.
Building resilience through trade
Discussions and case studies featured during the workshop highlighted the role of trade in bolstering the resilience of the agri-food sector.
Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, Director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Geneva, said: “In the short term, trade can help to address production shortfalls due to extreme weather events and support adaptation efforts by stabilising markets and reallocating food from surplus to deficit regions.”
She emphasised that trade can yield additional long-term benefits: ‘It can help to adjust agricultural production in an efficient manner across countries. This will not only enhance the resilience of the private sector, but of the international food system as a whole.”
ITC is working with SMEs, international buyers, and trade and investment support institutions, to strengthen climate resilience through global value chains. The ITC project Strengthening Competitiveness through Climate Resilience in International Value Chains deploys technical assistance, including online and face-to-face training, to improve climate risk management across value chains.
Implementing national adaptation plans
The national adaptation plans under the UNFCCC, which are being developed by over 80 developing countries, also offer governments and the private sector an opportunity to shape an enabling environment for adaptation for the next five to 10 years. Investment plans are created through public-private partnerships and enable easier access to finance for farmers and SMEs.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has identified Transboundary Animal Diseases (TADs) and Zoonosis as one of the major challenges constraining the country’s agricultural sector.
Suffyan Koroma, FAO Representative in Nigeria
Zoonosis is animal diseases transferable to man.
Mr Suffyan Koroma, the FAO Country Representative made this known in Abuja on Monday at a three-day training on Good Emergency Management Practices (GEMP).
Koroma, who was represented by Mr Columba Vakuru, an Officer in FAO, said that in Nigeria, even though most of the population was rural dwellers who engage in animal herding and subsistence farming, livestock contributed only about one-third to the agriculture sector.
“Apart from the income the country derives from oil production, the full potential of its livestock resources remains under exploited.
“This is because there are many challenges presently constraining the sector which include the occurrence of TADs and Zoonosis such as Foot and Mouth Diseases (FMD),” he said.
He identified other challenges to include an under resourced veterinary services, limited technical expertise, lack of appropriate policy and regulation frameworks.
Others are poorly organised livestock value chains and low capacities for effective animal diseases surveillance, detection, preparedness and response to outbreaks.
“Since 2015, several outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and H5N8 in many states have underlined the ever-present threat of emergence and re-emergence of TADs and Zoonosis.
H5N8 is a sub type of Influenza A virus considered one of the less pathogenic sub types for humans.
“Therefore, an animal disease emergency such as an outbreak of a transboundary animal disease has always serious socio-economic consequences if there are no proper emergency planning and response team.
“Emergency management planning principles are essential to effectively manage TADs toward the common goal of protecting animal resource, sustaining livelihood and safeguarding the public and environment.
“This training will prepare competent hands to promptly and swiftly respond to any emergency zoo sanitary situations in the country,” he added.
The country representative, however, said that for effective prevention and control of animal diseases, FAO would wish to emphasise that harmonisation and coordination of disease control measure was a way to go in Nigeria, Africa and beyond.
He further enjoined participates to galvanize their intellects and focus their energies to meet the set objective of the training.
Dr Olaniran Alabi, the Director, Department of Veterinary and Pest Control Services, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, said that the ability to manage disease events effectively depended on preparedness, skills and utilisation of resources.
Alabi said that the training would therefore enhance the participants’ knowledge and skills in best practices, while managing emergency situations at all levels.
“I have been informed that the resource persons on this subject matter are experts who have interacted with others across the globe and are generous to have come and share their vast experiences with us.
“I will like to appreciate the efforts and support of the FAO for supporting this training. FAO has always been with us particularly in our moments of critical needs,” he said.
NAN reports that the training with the theme: Strengthen Capacity to Manage Animal Disease Emergencies in Nigeria brought participants from the federal and state ministries of agriculture.
Speaking on the need for and the implications of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory Quality Assurance Workshop that held recently in Abuja and Lagos, Director, Department of Climate Change in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr Peter Tarfa, says that, besides being very fortunate to be picked for the training programme, Nigeria will immensely benefit in terms of socio-economic development
Dr Peter Tarfa, Director, Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the Federal Ministry of Environment
We are here for an international training supported by the UNFCCC with the assistance of the UNDP Regional Office in Lome, Togo. We are to train national experts on greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventory for Quality Assurance. This is a very critically required training that Nigeria has been able to get from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Several countries are clamouring for it; we have been fortunate to be picked.
Need for qualitative data
Under the Paris Agreement, there is the aspect of reporting and our report should be qualitative and transparent. To be able to do that, we need assurance on the quality of the data we are generating. We have been engaging consultants in the preparation of our National Communications and Biennial Update Report (BUR), among others. We as government are responsible for ensuring that what is submitted to the international community is factual and transparent and verifiable.
How do we do that if we don’t have the capacity to determine the quality of work, especially the data? How do we critique and say, “No, consultant, you did not give me the appropriate data?” How are we sure that the data from in an area (say energy or steel industry) are apt and reflective of the sector?
Transforming the economy
The whole idea about this reporting is to help the countries to go towards the low carbon development pathway. It will transform the economy, it will help us to be able to advise government appropriately. What will be the benefit now to the economy if we have energy generation through renewable energy, and then we have a healthier environment by being able to eliminate the generators. I can assure you that virtually every household in Nigeria owns a generator.
So, what is the contribution of that to the quality of our air? So, the climate change regime is a tool that is used for socio-economic development and by really getting all the data we can determine whether there is an emission reduction down the line it will help us to inform government to form policies that will lead to development.
Why Nigeria was selected
Nigeria was selected because: we have the largest economy in Africa; we are a major contributor to global emissions; and because of our socio-economic development, population, as well as level of industrialisation, given the oil and gas sector alone.
So, if we get it right, it is going to have a major input on the economy, and in meeting obligations under the Paris Agreement.
Implication of training for Nigeria at COP24
It will help us to clearly understand what kind of Rulebooks we should be clamouring for. When we are looking at the aspect of mitigation as a component of the Rulebook, we will be able to say okay, countries should be encouraged financially and technically including capacity building to put in place a robust natural GHG inventory framework.
Once we can do that, and it is continuous and becomes a seamless exercise, we will have data that will be useful for research, useful for economic planning, and meeting our obligation on NDCs. So, it is a very, very significant gathering and I must inform you also that the participants cut across all the major priority sectors like transport, agriculture, industry, power, oil & gas (NNPC), and private experts, who should be responsible for quality assurance when data is generated. All these entities are the data providers, including NiMET, we are the data controllers. But the quality assurance is supposed to be a national independent outfit.
Need for accredited entities
So, we will get to a stage where we accredit entities across the IPCC structure; we will accredit Nigeria entities the way you have accredited banks to do banking business. So, similarly, we must accredit these entities. They will be responsible for quality assurance in the area of energy, etc. All the criteria must be developed for accrediting them. It is a major requirement and if we set this right it will help us in creating jobs; it will transform the economy in the sense that the way we do business will change.
If we can eliminate all these emissions coming from generators, you have a serene, healthier environment. If you can also put in place quality and environmentally friendly transportation system in a city like Lagos, it will also lead to reduction of emissions and it will give us a healthier environment and people can move around in mass and more seamlessly via a cleaner transportation system. To do all these, we need to have data – quality data. The training is to ensure that the data being generated is qualitative for the different sectors.
Impact on the NDCs
It will have an impact on the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the sense that, down the line in the year 2020, we must revise the NDCs. Our NDCs and the revision will be based on data. We will not backslide; rather we have committed to 20%. If we have data and see how what we are in, we can even beat our chest to say we are able to do up to 50% unconditionally. Nigeria is indeed very fortunate to be picked for this programme.
In the sidelines of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory Quality Assurance Workshop that held recently in Abuja and Lagos, William Agyemang-Bonsu, Manager, Mitigation and Transparency Support (Mitigation, Data and Analysis) at the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, says emissions estimate should be the basis for which Nigeria decides what climate policies are appropriate
William Agyemang-Bonsu, Manager, Mitigation and Transparency Support (Mitigation, Data and Analysis) at the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat
We are holding this training to assist Nigeria to be able to prepare qualitative and robust greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory. If our goal is only to produce the numbers, the emission estimates and that’s the end of it, then we have not been helpful to Nigeria, or the expertise in Nigeria has not been utilised to the maximum.
And therefore, we want to see where the sources of emissions are and how averagely they are estimated. And this depends on several factors, the latest that is used for estimation and the activity data that goes into estimating the emissions as well as the choice of emission factor, and all these together and now for these sectors we have emission estimates in the sector.
The industries in Nigeria wil have their own categorisation in terms of how much emission is coming from that sub-sector of industry. If you go to cement production, you have a similar type of emissions happening over there. If you go to energy, power production, you also have some emissions there. Various sectors have their sources of emissions and these emissions must be estimated.
Waste sector – management or wastewater treatment plat – all these facilities potentially have emissions that are GHG emissions, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane or nitrous oxide. And the discussions we’ve been having is that we want to ensure that these estimates are of the highest quality possible and you are using the approved methodology which is the IPCC 2006 Guidelines.
If I may retract a bit, that during the emission estimate, if our goal as Nigeria is only to get these numbers and report to the Climate Change Secretariat that this is where Nigeria’s emissions are, then we have failed the country. I’m repeating that because it’s very important. This is because the emission estimate should be the basis for which Nigeria will decide what climate policy in terms of emission reduction policy are appropriate to be put in place in the country.
Going beyond even the policy development, for me what is critical is that it becomes the basis of very many development interventions in various sectors. For example, if you look at Ikeja in Lagos, you see clearly that there is traffic congestion problem, and because we have those volumes of traffic, we would have high levels of GHG emissions especially CO2. So, what Nigeria, especially the municipality of Ikeja or the state of Lagos, could be doing would be to look at how to develop infrastructure such that congestion can be reduced.
But in doing that, the benefit of that intervention is that it would reduce not only GHG, but also particulate matter or emissions which normally would have implications for human health in the urban centre. So, even though we set out to do a climate intervention which was reducing congestion to reduce GHG emissions, we would have development benefit, health impact is reduced.
And I’m saying again and again that should be what drives us as Nigerians to do climate policy and interventions; take climate actions. We need to do that because its of development benefit. The other benefits that will arise as a result of the interventions in GHG emissions. And I would encourage you to look at those reductions as rather the co-benefit – benefit resulting as a result of development. So, that should be the goal, and that’s what we are trying to understand how these emissions are properly estimated already informs policy making.
So, it’s a more scientific technical work, but the goal is not only to do the technical work and let it rest there, the goal is to bring up the policy and inform development. There are several areas where we can do climate interventions, but what comes out of it is more of development benefits, and that’s what I will encourage that we do to help our development in the country.
Another point fundamentally linked with GHG emission inventory which is for the future is to look at over the years, working with other stakeholders at the national level, including all the MDAs, private sector, research, academia and NGOs, how we can base the work being done, make this national system for GHG inventory an important foundation for measurement reporting and verification. But at the same time, lay a foundation for potential future work.
Nigeria is one of the biggest economies in Africa with a large skill base and when able to lay this good foundation of inventory across sectors, the goal is to help Nigeria into the future to develop what we call an Emissions Trading Scheme. This is something a little bit into the future and will only happen this foundation works. That’s why the robustness of the estimates is critical.
Once we can estimate the GHGs, attributing the emissions to specific sources within the country, we can have a scheme as is being done in other countries, including some developing countries such as Korea and China. Because of the size of the economy in Nigeria, we can start to do that. This is the foundation.
Because you know where they came from, you can allocate actions to reduce emissions to these various sources where they are coming from. And the beauty of it is that it gets to a stage where a lot of these actions would not be driven by government, but by either the private sector or other entities that are interested in contributing to addressing those emission reductions.
Additionally, what happens is that Nigeria under the Paris Agreement has committed to do some voluntary reductions. And what the Paris Agreement requires is that Parties under the Agreement over time will increase their mitigation ambition. So, if you have laid this foundation when you know all the sources and are adequately estimated and you have other actors beyond government contributing to these reductions, Nigeria can confidently stand up before the international community and tell them: “We can do 50% reduction by 2030 because we know that other partners out there will be able to do some reductions on their own, in addition to what the government can do.”
And you can only make that proclamation that we will do 50% reduction when you know where you are. You must know where you are – in terms of accurate emission sources – and you will be able to say: “I will reduce that where I am to that level and compare that level to where I was, and the reduction is 50%.” So, its not mere saying do this and that; no. Yo have to know where you are in terms of emissions and therefore you can say: “Based on our experience, the contributions we have had from the private sector, philanthropies, donors as well as our own contributions as government, we are able to do the 50% reductions.”
This is critical and should not only be driven by the Department of Climate Change because it has implications for the whole economy and therefore all hands should be on deck. There should be research and academia bringing in their expertise; there should be other private sector entities, NGOs, municipalities, various MDAs participating in that.
So, we have a core group that we’ve started working with, trying to explain some of these methodologies and discussing looking at what they have done so far and the areas they can improve and discussing the improvements, we are looking at within the time span of now and into the future which activities can be done in terms of improvement immediately, in to the medium term and which can we look at in the long term.
Nigeria’s bid to prepare qualitative greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories has received a boost, thanks to a fatherly arm extended by the United Nations, whose bodies are collaborating in the landmark initiative.
Participants at the International GHG Inventory Quality Assurance Training for Nigeria organised by the UNFCCC Secretariat, in collaboration with the FAO, UNDP and UNEP Global Support Programme on National Communications and BUR, held in Lagos
At the International Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory Quality Assurance Training for Nigeria organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Support Programme on National Communications and Biennial Update Report (BUR) held in Lagos from November 5 to 9, 2018, experts from various sectors were skilled on GHG inventory strategies.
In his opening remarks at the workshop, Director, Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr Peter Tarfa, emphasised that there is a growing understanding that the response to climate change can only be effective if the knowledge of climate change is linked across all stakeholders.
Tarfa, who was represented by Mrs Iniobong Abiola-Awe, a Deputy Director in the DCC and National Coordinator, National GHG Inventory Management System, said: “Quality control in climate change reporting entails how we review the quality of all factors involved in the production of our national reporting. It is a good practice to document and archive all information required to produce the national emissions inventory estimates with all the quality checks at each level of preparation to such a way that the reported emissions estimates are transparent and steps in their calculation can be retraced.”
According to him, one of the goals of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on good practice guidance is to support the development of national GHG inventories that can be readily assessed in terms of readiness and completeness.
“It is a good practice to implement quality assurance procedures in the development of national GHG inventory to accomplish this goal. Understanding all the necessary check points to undertake quality assurance right from the process of data collection to report compilation is necessary. There is a great need to draw attention of all stakeholders and to disseminate knowledge, promote awareness and understanding of effective climate change knowledge reporting for national development.”
One of the trainers at the workshop, Rasack Nayamuth, said: “The training covers quality assurance and on how to compile, including the computerisation, of the GHG inventory. It is following last week’s training in Abuja that covered hands-on training for national experts on how to run the 2006 IPCC software, which is the methodology recommended by the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC to do inventories. All countries follow the same method so that it can be comparable over the years, over time and between countries.
“Nigeria is a signatory Party to the Convention (UNFCCC) and as such has obligations to report what it is achieving in terms of implementation of the Convention. The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilise the level of GHG in the atmosphere to eventually try to reduce global warming over a longer period which the IPCC is measuring.”
Manager, Mitigation and Transparency Support (Mitigation, data and Analysis) at the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, William Agyemang-Bonsu, stressed that the benefit of the intervention is that it would reduce not only GHG, but also particulate matter or emissions which normally would have implications for human health in the urban centre.
“The goal is not only to do the technical work and let it rest there, the goal is to bring up the policy and inform development,” he said, adding that the nation should not only look at making the national system for GHG inventory an important foundation for measurement, reporting and verification, but at the same time lay a foundation for potential future work.”
