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Climate action investment needs to move faster to farming

Michael Simire
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Climate action investment needs to move faster to farming

Investing faster and further in agricultural climate action and to support the sustainable livelihoods of small-scale farmers will unlock much greater potential to curb emissions and protect people against climate change, sector leaders and experts said on Friday, November 10, 2017 at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany.

René Castro
René Castro, Assistant-Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

“Agriculture is a key factor for the sustainability of rural areas, the responsibility for food security and its potential to offer climate change solutions is enormous,” Christian Schmidt, Germany’s Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, said during the session opening.

The call to direct far more resources to the agriculture sector as a key strategy to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the inextricably linked 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was made during Agriculture Action Day under the Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action at COP23.

“Countries now have the opportunity to transform their agricultural sectors to achieve food security for all through sustainable agriculture and strategies that boost resource-use efficiency, conserve and restore biodiversity and natural resources, and combat the impacts of climate change,” said René Castro, Assistant-Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The central goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep the average global temperature rise well below 2 degrees C and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees. About one degree of that rise has already happened, underlining the urgency to progress further and faster to cut the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

For the livestock sector, for example FAO estimates that emissions could be readily reduced by about 30 percent with the adoption of best practices.

Extreme climate impacts also disproportionately affect small-scale farmers, pastoralists and fishing and forest communities who still provide the bulk of the planet’s food. Supporting these communities with innovative solutions both to reduce their emissions and protect their communities also meets many of the objectives of literally every one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Detailing some of the actions needed to transform the agriculture sector, the FAO has released a new Sourcebook on Climate-Smart Agriculture. The book, launched at the event, features knowledge and stories about actual projects to guide policymakers and programme managers to make the agricultural sectors more sustainable and productive while also contributing to food security and lower carbon intensity.

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), an organiser of the Agriculture Action day, announced they will work in the next few years to create the conditions for greater agricultural climate action. They aim to help give countries the confidence to set realistic yet ambitious targets through the next revision of their national climate plans – Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

“Agriculture is a large source of powerful greenhouse gases like methane and other short-lived climate pollutants but has great potential to store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases in our lifetime, that’s why we support and advocate for countries to improve their livestock emissions inventories,” said Helena Molin Valdes, Head of the CCAC Secretariat.

A number of other agriculture-based solutions for addressing climate change were also presented at the event. Discussions involved participants from governments, civil society, the private sector, small scale and young farmers centered on livestock, traditional agriculture systems, water, soil, food loss and waste, and integrated landscape management.

Among the recommended actions and initiatives were:

  • Scale up public and private climate finance flows to agriculture, and use them in a catalytic manner. Climate finance flows continue to favour mitigation over adaptation, and focus overwhelmingly on energy systems and infrastructure. These imbalances should be addressed.
  • Incentivise public-private partnerships. Strong dialogue and collaboration between the public and private sectors is key to ensure alignment between public policy and private sector investment decisions in agriculture and throughout the entire food system.
  • Strengthen a multi-sector and multi-stakeholder dialogue towards more integrated approaches. Integrated approaches to landscape management will require enhanced coordination of policy and climate action across multiple public and private entities.
  • Invest in knowledge and information. Additional analyses are needed to better identify the institutional barriers and market failures that are inhibiting broader adoption of climate-resilient and low-emissions agricultural practices in individual countries, regions and communities.
  • Build capacity to address barriers to implement climate action. Agricultural producers require additional capacities to understand the climate risks and vulnerabilities they face, and respond accordingly.

Accelerated action on energy needed to implement Paris

Michael Simire
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Accelerated action on energy needed to implement Paris

Leaders from a wide range of sectors came together on Friday, November 10, 2017 at COP23 Energy Day to announce a new set of initiatives to transition to renewable energy and to show that more ambitious clean energy development can quickly become a bigger part of national climate plans submitted under the Paris Agreement.

Rachel Kyte
Rachel Kyte, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL)

“With the price of renewable and storage technologies tumbling, and greater understanding on how to set the policy table for a cleaner energy mix and more integrated energy planning, the question before decision makers is, why wait?” said Rachel Kyte, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and CEO, Sustainable Energy for All.

Success stories, action and new commitments shared during Energy Day at the COP23 UN Climate Change Conference from businesses, states, cities and forward-thinking countries continue to show ambition to ensure the clean energy transition is not only underway but is irreversible.

“Our pledge to leave no one behind is a critical component of the Paris Agreement. The energy transition that we can see is underway and must be a transition towards energy systems around the world that secure sustainable energy for all,” said Ms Kyte.

“This means placing energy efficiency first, adopting a laser like focus on ending energy poverty and using the renewable energy revolution to achieve universal access and a bending of the emissions curve. With each year, each COP, the health and economic impacts of carbon pollution are better documented and the science of what awaits us, if we continue on our current path, mounts,” she said.

Adnan Z. Amin, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Director-General, said: “Two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions stem from energy production and use, which puts the energy sector front and centre of global efforts to combat climate change. Our analysis shows that renewables and energy efficiency can together provide over 90 per cent of the mitigation needed in the energy system by 2050 to achieve the ambitions of the Paris Agreement, while also boosting the economy, creating jobs and improving human health and well-being.”

“We have a large, untapped, and affordable renewable energy potential waiting to be developed. Revising the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) gives countries an opportunity to take a fresh look at how to harvest this potential, not only for mitigation, but in light of the multiple socio-economic benefits of renewables, also for adaptation,” said Mr Amin.

Fatih Birol, International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director, said: “The transition of the energy sector in the next decades will be critical to meeting shared climate and sustainable development goals. Widespread action by governments and private sector alike has helped keep global energy-related emissions flat the last three years. Our analysis shows we can meet climate goals while achieving energy access and improving the environment.”

The central goal of the Paris Agreement is to keep the average global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees. About one degree of that rise has already happened, underlining the urgency to progress much further and faster with the global clean energy transformation.

Energy Day is organised by The Climate Group, IEA, IRENA and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) as part of a series of thematic action days held under the auspices of the Marrakech Partnership.

Key announcements from the day include:

  • IRENA releases a new report, “Untapped Potential for Climate Action: Renewable Energy in Nationally Determined Contributions,” which finds that the renewable energy components of current national climate plans (NDCs) lag behind actual deployment trends, national energy targets and the cost-effective potential for accelerated deployment. The report suggests there is substantial scope for countries to cost-effectively increase the renewable energy ambitions set forth in their NDCs so that they are aligned with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement.
  • The Climate Group announces new members to its recently launched EV100 campaign, a major new global electric transport initiative designed to make electric vehicles “the new normal.” The campaign is designed to utilise global business buying power to fast-track the roll-out of electric vehicles and infrastructure and address rising global transport emissions.
  • Some 13 countries and the International Energy Agency announced on November 7 the launch of the “IEA Clean Energy Transitions Programme,” a new multi-year, €30 million plan to support clean energy transitions around the world. Backed by IEA Member Countries committed to promoting the development of clean energy, this new programme will leverage the IEA’s unique energy expertise across all fuels and technologies to help accelerate global clean-energy transitions, particularly in major emerging economies.
  • The day consists of four sessions, covering: the state of the energy transition; policies needed to enable change; experiences of leaders around the world who are catalysing action; and recommendations for accelerating progress.

Financing must triple to meet climate and SDG goals for water

Michael Simire
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Financing must triple to meet climate and SDG goals for water

The majority of national climate plans with an adaptation component which have been submitted under the Paris Climate Change Agreement prioritise action on water, yet financing would need to triple to  €255 billion (about $295 billion) per year to meet such targets.

Mariet Verhoef-Cohen
Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, President of the Women for Water Partnership, and Co-Chair of Water Scarcity in Agriculture Platform (WASAG)

This was a key message of the international water community on Friday, November 10, 2017 at their Action event during the COP23 UN Climate Change Conference.

“Sustainable use of water for multiple purposes must remain a way of life and needs to be at the centre of building resilient cities and human settlements and ensuring food security in a climate change context,” said Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, President of the Women for Water Partnership, and Co-Chair of Water Scarcity in Agriculture Platform (WASAG).

The international water community co-signed what it called a “nature based solution declaration” at the opening of the Water Action Day to encourage the use of natural systems in managing healthy water supplies.

Water tends to be a local issue but consequences of its unwise management have global impact. Around 40% of the world’s population will face water shortages by 2050, accelerating migration and triggering conflict, while some regions could lose up to 6% of their economic output, unless it is better managed.

Obstacles in accessing funding to meet climate change investment requirements in the water sector hinders achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all), as well as endangering the Paris Agreement’s goal to keep the average global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5.

“Involving both women and men in decision making and integrated water resources initiatives leads to better sustainability, governance and efficiency,” said Ms Verhoef-Cohen.

The international water community encompasses several networks, including also #ClimateIsWater, Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) and Global Alliances for Water and Climate (GAfWaC). The community underlined the imperative to develop closer cooperation within the climate community, as well as the energy, agriculture, urban, health, and oceans communities.

Water community experts said countries should turn their commitments into ambitious actions, notably by enhancing the efforts announced in their national climate plans – known as nationally-determined contributions.

Water must emerge as a greater priority in national policies and be integrated within other major sectors such as energy, food security, health, education, they said.

Fabius, COP21 president, named UNEP patron

Michael Simire
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Fabius, COP21 president, named UNEP patron

Former French Foreign Minister and President of the 2015 Paris Climate Change negotiations (COP21), Laurent Fabius, was designated UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Patron on Environmental Governance on Friday, November 10, 2017 at the 23rd Climate Change Conference (COP23) in Bonn, Germany.

Laurent Fabius
Former French Foreign Affairs Minister and President of COP21, Laurent Fabius. Photo credit: REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen

Lauded for his masterful negotiating skills, Fabius brought together 195 countries to sign the first universal agreement in the history of climate negotiations at the Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21). He has continued to channel his decades of political expertise into championing the protection of the environment, by initiating and now promoting the project of a Global Pact for the Environment, which would see the first universal legal framework for environmental protection.

“The tenacity and skills Laurent Fabius displayed in conducting the incredibly challenging negotiations that led to the Paris Accord is precisely what is needed to bring governments together to act for future generations,” head of UN Environment, Erik Solheim, says.

“Given the rising threats that climate change, biodiversity loss, soil erosion and desertification, and increasing pollution pose to our environment and human health, it is essential the world focuses on how we can fight for a sustainable future as a global community.”

As an honorary UN Environment Patron on Environmental Governance, Fabius adds unrivalled experience and diplomatic weight to the push for better international environmental consensus and policies, adds the UN.

“UN Environment is recognised as a dynamic and effective institution for meeting the challenges of climate change and environmental protection,” Fabius says, adding:

“The Paris Agreement was a historic leap forward but, today, the red alert is still on. We must act massively, we must act immediately. In this difficult context, Erik Solheim convinced me that I could be usefully involved in UN Environment on a volunteer basis, especially by contributing to the adoption of a Global Pact for the Environment in the years to come. It is a title that I am honoured to receive.”

Fabius will be attending this year’s UN Environment Assembly where environmental governance will be a key element of the conference. Holding in Nairobi, Kenya from December 4 to 6, the Assembly brings together heads of state and ministers from all 193 member states of the United Nations to discuss how to finally beat pollution and move toward a pollution-free planet.

Fabius is currently the President of France’s Constitutional Council.

Bloomberg gives $50m to aid shift from coal worldwide

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Bloomberg gives $50m to aid shift from coal worldwide

Former New York mayor and billionaire, Michael Bloomberg, is donating $50 million to help nations around the world shift from coal to combat pollution and climate change, expanding his funding outside the United States.

Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg

The project would start in Europe and expand into other countries later on, his charity, Bloomberg Philanthropies, said in a statement on Thursday, November 9, 2017 on the margins of U.N. climate negotiations (COP23) among 200 nations in Bonn, Germany.

The European Climate Foundation, a non-governmental group, will be the leading partner in Europe, it said.

“Bloomberg’s announcement marks is first investment in efforts outside the U.S. to decrease reliance on coal and shift to renewable, cleaner energy sources,” Bloomberg’s charity said in the statement.

In the United States, Bloomberg has given $110 million to a Beyond Coal campaign to close mines since 2011.

“A growing number of European countries have made plans to go 100 per cent coal-free.

“This move sets a great example for the rest of the world – but coal still kills around 20,000 people in the European Union each year,” Bloomberg said in the statement.

Since 2011 nearly half of the U.S. coal-fired power plants, or nearly 260 plants, have closed.

The closures have continued this year in spite of President Donald Trump’s plan to pull out of the global Paris agreement for fighting climate change and instead promote jobs in the domestic fossil fuel industry.

AfDB endorses five-year climate action plan

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AfDB endorses five-year climate action plan

The Boards of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 approved the “Africa Thriving and Resilient: The Bank Group’s Second Climate Change Action Plan, 2016-2020 (CCAP2)”. The approval of the document is said to be propitious as, according to the organisation, it echoes the on-going discussions at COP23 in Bonn, Germany to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change and achieve the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global temperature rises to 1.5C.

Akinwumi Adesina
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina

The African continent is a minor contributor to global warming but is highly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change that threatens its economic development. However, the continent also has enormous opportunities to build resilience to climate change as well as transition towards low-carbon development.

The commitment of the African continent to contribute to global solutions to climate change is demonstrated by the fact that all 54 countries have submitted their “Intended National Determined Contribution” under the Paris Agreement, and 43 of these countries have actually ratified the Agreement.

The CCAP2 is designed to incorporate the Bank’s High 5 priorities in the Paris Agreement, the 2030 development agenda, the Bank’s Green Growth Framework and the lessons learned in the implementation of the first climate change action plan (CCAP1), 2011-2015.

AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, said:  “The approval of the CCAP2 by the Board today sends a clear message on the Bank’s commitment to helping African countries to mobilise resources to support the implementation of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions of our Regional Member Countries in a way that will not hinder their development.”

The strategic vision of CCAP2 is to enable the achievement of “low – carbon and climate-resilient” development in Africa. It has four Pillars: Mitigation, Adaptation, Climate Finance and a Cross Cutting Pillar that addresses technology transfer, capacity development, institutional reforms as well as other cross-cutting activities that will create of the enabling environment for its successful implementation.

“Over the next four years, the AfDB hopes to achieve the objectives set out in the CCAP2, to help our member countries to be developed and resilient while keeping Africa a low-emitting continent,” said Amadou Hott, Vice President of the Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth Complex. The interventions identified under CCAP2 aim at bringing economic prosperity to African communities within safe planetary boundaries, including the boundaries imposed by climate change. Achieving this requires substantial investments from the Bank and its partners.

Edo to cultivate 100,000 hectares oil palm in three years, says governor

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Edo to cultivate 100,000 hectares oil palm in three years, says governor

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State says the goal of his administration is to cultivate 100,000 hectares of oil palm plantation in the state within the next three years.

oil palm
Oil palm plantation

The governor said this on Thursday, November 9, 2017 when members of the Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria (POFON) visited him in Benin City, the state capital.

He said that he intended to visit Indonesia and Malaysia, as part of efforts to revamp oil palm plantation in the state.

“We are very much endowed and we pride ourselves as one of the leading oil palm producing states in Nigeria, and investors are showing significant interest.

“Our oil palm production is significant in Ovia, Orhiomwon and Uhunwonde local government areas, and we clearly have in excess of 500,000 hectares of land available for oil palm cultivation.

“We have set up a committee that is currently reviewing the land allocation processes in the state and we will soon come up with decisions on how to address the issue of land grabbers,’’ he said.

Speaking, Mr Emmanuel Ibru, the Chairman of POFON, said that the members of the association owned the vast majority of private oil palm and rubber plantations across the country.

He said that the association was formed to protect the existing investments of its members, while showcasing new investment opportunities to potential investors.

Ibru said that the visit was to enable the association to ascertain the availability and accessibility of lands for oil palm cultivation in the state, the land use charges as well as the security of existing and new investments.

By Joy Odigie

Benue domesticates food security, nutrition strategy

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Benue domesticates food security, nutrition strategy

Domestication of the Agricultural Food Security and Nutrition Strategy (AFSNS) in Benue State has been initiated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded Synergos for the State Partnership for Agriculture (SPA) programme in the state.

Makurdi
Group photograph of participants at the meeting. Photo credit: Damian Daga

The move to domesticate the strategy for integration in the State Implementation Plans commenced on Thursday, November 9, 2017 at a Synergos organised Benue State Core Delivery Team CDT meeting held at Trust Resort, Makurdi to facilitate the process by training the state actors and key stakeholders on the benefits of the Strategy.

In her presentations, nutrition expert and consultant for Synergos, Dr Funmi Akinyele, who outlined that the Strategy has eight priority areas of enhancing food value chain, diversified food production targeting women and nutrition education, noted that agriculture is vital in addressing malnutrition. She added that there should be emphasis on the practice of nutrition sensitive agriculture, in order to encourage good nutrition practice.

According to Dr Akinyele, lack of information, especially in the face of available options, lack of dietary diversity, lack of exclusive feeding, poverty and poor access to supplements among others leads to malnutrition.

“Over all, information is key to good practice of nutrition,” she added.

Also speaking, the Senior Special Adviser to the Benue State Governor on Food Security, Mrs Dorcas Ukpe, charged stakeholders in the state to encourage, embrace and use baseline data in planning strategies, concerning nutrition and agriculture in order to have an idea of what is on ground and what is needed to move forward.

“We can not live without statistics and, until we accept it and use it, we can not have meaningful impact in our development plans,” she emphasised.

Earlier, Benue Team Lead Synergos, Mr Michael Agon, maintained that domesticating AFSNS in the state was ideal and would go a long way to ensure the availability of food and tackle issues of malnutrition and hunger.

To this end, Mr Agon, who charged the government to adopt the strategy and give it budgetary provisions in the 2018 budget, added that adhering to it would make it easier for the state government to solve nutrition and food security challenges.

By Damian Daga, Makurdi

Customs impounds GM maize, NBMA cautions against unauthorised import

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Customs impounds GM maize, NBMA cautions against unauthorised import

The Nigeria Customs Service on Monday, November 6, 2017 impounded a consignment of 90 metric tonnes of genetically-modified (GM) maize at the Apapa Wharf in Lagos.

GM-Maize
Genetically modified (GM) maize

The shipload is believed to have been imported by seed company, Walcot, from Argentina. Worth over $10 million, sources say that the cargo may be returned to the country of import.

Walcot, it was gathered, did not comply with the provisions of the National Biosafety Management Act (NBMA) Act.

On Thursday, November 9, 2017, the NBMA warned those involved in and/or intend to be involved in the handling, importation or transfer of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to seek clarification and authorisation from the Agency before doing so.

Director General/CEO of the Agency, Dr Rufus Ebegba, said this is in line with the NBMA Act, Part VII which states that “no person, institution or body shall import, export, transit or commercialize any genetically modified organism or a product intended for direct use as food or feed, or for processing unless with the approval of the Agency”.

“The NBMA is by this Act empowered to sanction any erring party for importing or releasing unauthorised genetically modified products, be it grain or any kind of seed as the case may be”.

He noted that the Act made it clear that any person, institution or body who wishes to import, export, transit or otherwise carry out contained activities, confined field trial, multi-locational trial or commercial release of a GMO shall apply to the Director General of NBMA prior to such activity.

The DG/CEO advised all to abide by the law to avoid being sanctioned and re-assured Nigerians that safety is the priority of the Agency as NBMA is an unbiased umpire.

The NBMA was set up to provide regulatory framework, institutional and administrative mechanism for safety measures in the application of modern biotechnology and its products (GMOs) in Nigeria with the view to preventing any adverse effect on human health, animals, plants and the environment.

COP23: GCF doubles climate finance output

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COP23: GCF doubles climate finance output

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has doubled the amount of approved climate finance during the past year, the Co-Chairs to the GCF Board reported on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 to the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that is currently convening in Bonn, Germany.

GCF COP23
GCF Co-chairs at COP23 in Bonn, Germany

An acceleration of GCF’s distribution of climate finance “translates to double the number, and more than double the amount of approved GCF funding reported at the COP last year,” said GCF Board Co-Chair Ayman Shasly from Saudi Arabia. “The Green Climate Fund is picking up its speed to programme resources for the implementation of ambitious, paradigm shifting action,” he stated.

Mr Shasly explained that the GCF Board has approved a total of $2.65 billion in GCF funding for 54 climate change projects and programmes to be implemented in 73 developing countries. When accounting for co-financing with other contributing organisations, the GCF portfolio is now valued at $9.16 billion.

GCF Co-Chair Ewen McDonald from Australia, highlighted recent GCF progress in expanding its scope of climate finance to cover Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) as well as its moves to streamline its approval processes.

“I am delighted to report that the Green Climate Fund has taken solid steps to take our mandate on REDD+ into concrete action,” said Mr McDonald. “At our last Board meeting, we allocated $500 million to a request for proposals pilot program on REDD+ results-based payments.”

The REDD+ request for proposals programme will allow for payments to developing countries for emissions reductions achieved through REDD+ activities.

The GCF Board also recently approved a pilot scheme for a Simplified Approval Process,  which will streamline the approval process for small-scale climate finance proposals, particularly from direct access Accredited Entities.

Representing the 24-member GCF Board, Mr McDonald and Mr Shasly said the Green Climate Fund will continue to respond to the guidance from the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) in channelling climate finance to developing countries to promote a paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways.

The COP established the Green Climate Fund in 2010 as a dedicated international climate finance institution, and requested the GCF Board to report on the Fund’s progress annually.

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