Journalists for Social Development Initiative (JSDI) and Connected Development (CODE) have entered into an agreement to launch the first ever Science Café as part of efforts to increase the level of science literacy in Nigeria.
The Abuja city gate: The city of Abuja will host the Science Café
The event, which is scheduled to hold on Thursday, January 18, 2018 in Abuja, is dubbed – “Science, Technology and Modern Society: Role of Communication in Promoting Sustainable Livelihood”.
JSDI, under the pact, will oversee all the technical operations of the café, while CODE is expected to provide the platform and serve as host to the project.
In addition to the science hangout, the initiative will feature series of other activities including a monthly Science Digest that will capture latest developments in the science and technology sphere.
It is also expected to introduce a weekly talk show on radio where topical as well as trending issues on science and technology innovations are going to be discussed.
Co-initiator of the Science Cafe/Coordinator of Journalists for Social Development Initiative, Etta Michael Bisong, hinted that his organisation initiated the project to provide an informal platform where stakeholders can come together and brainstorm on how best to leverage on the potentials of science and technology for sustainable living.
Etta lamented that science and technology has continued to suffer all sorts of public assaults despite its remendous contributions to the growth of society.
These benefits, according to him, are clearly visible in the transformation of most sectors of the economy such as the banking, agriculture, education, aviation as well as in information and communication technologies (ICTs).
He noted that the attacks, most of which are more emotional than scientific are caused by the ill public perception on science & technology especially concerning health and environmental safety.
“It is this singular reason that is responsible for the conceptualisation of the science café,” he said.
Co-founder/Chief Executive of Connected Development, Hamzat Lawal, said the work relationship with JSDI is in fulfillment of his organisation’s mandate to strengthen and use the media as tool to make the world a better place.
He expressed optimism in the exercise and urged other key players both local and international to support this noble initiative so as to help accomplish objective of the project.
JSDI is a non-governmental organisation established in 2015 to bridge the gap and serve as an alternative voice for the promotion of developmental communication across Africa.
Presently, the group has a membership base that span across over 80 organisations including print, electronics as well as the online media.
Abuja-based activist and Co-Founder/Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal is working to build a grassroots movement of citizen-led actions through Follow The Money, an initiative that, among others, seeks better service delivery in rural communities while holding government representatives accountable. In this piece, he explores dynamics of the Not Too Young to Run campaign in the light of progress made so far
Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki
Now that the Not Too Young to Run Bill has been passed by the National Assembly, and is now awaiting approval of two-thirds majority of the 36 Houses of Assembly of the Federation for inclusion in the Nigerian constitution, we the youth are hopeful that a new dawn is about to break over our country’s political horizon. However, in as much as our hopes have been raised to the pitch of expectant enthusiasm, we cannot afford to rest on our oars. We are in for the long haul!
Considering that the bill is in the chambers of the State Assemblies, one could assume that it has found a place among its own: the grassroots. The truth is that the essence of the Not Too Young to Run is to mainstream the youth in governance, and there is no better background for situating the gauge for effective democratic governance but in the wards and local governments, the actual constituencies of the Houses of Assemblies.
Therefore, we must let every Nigerian, young and old, to know that the victory of the Bill is a victory for democracy, because the best dividends thereof are the ones that touch the people at the bottom of the pyramid. As the bill faces the final hurdle, there are relevant issues that need to be brought to light.
The first is the present challenge of rural to urban migration. It is young people that are more affected because they are perennially in need of better comfort, prospects and opportunities. Their fresh energy and exuberant drive push them to the cities in their millions, and when in the cities, they are further pushed to try their luck outside the country. But the sad reality is that at the end of the day, the frustration they encounter both in the cities and in foreign lands make them get even angrier at the government.
Nigeria is at a crossroads. These young people are sent back to Nigeria from countries that can barely afford to feed its own teeming youth population. Presently, we are feeling a national outrage at the inhuman experience of many Nigerians in Libya.
They suffer slavery, prostitution and forced labour in foreign land. But most remarkably, the pain they feel is in the fact that they have finally become disappointed when they discovered that the reality is that even Nigeria could be better than the country they had ran to for greener pasture. They realize that their own country has potentials for greatness. Ironically, these Nigerians believe, but do not trust. Why? Because our political class is not made up of young faces like theirs.
All over the world, young people want to see leaders with kindred spirits, with whom they could dream and build. They want to be part of a new system where people like themselves are given opportunities to impact the lives of fellow young people. They are tired of promises of a better tomorrow that never gets better. They are tired of begging. They are tired of handouts.
The second reality is that Nigeria is a regional giant, and therefore the #NotTooYoungToRun could easily catalyse a new African political paradigm. A peaceful one at that, without the violence that usually accompanies youthful movements like the Arab Spring.
For instance, the United Nations had taken clue from this action and set up agencies to pioneer the campaign to make it a global goal. The Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth initiated the Not Too Young To Run global campaign in partnership with UNDP, OHCHR, the IPU, Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) and the European Youth Forum in order to convene existing efforts into a global movement and provide young people with a central platform through which to advocate. The global campaign was launched at the first United Nations Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law at United Nations Geneva, November, 22, 2016.
According to the UN, there are more young people in the world now, than ever before, and approximately 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10 and 24. In Nigeria, over 60% of the population is under the age of 25. The median age of the country is 18, placing it in the top 20 youngest countries in the world. This is why Nigeria’s leadership must reflect its populace.
The third issue is the psychological impact the Bill will have. At the onset of the #NotTooYoungToRun movement, there were some groups that insisted that age limit should be totally removed, so that even young Nigerians who are 18 years of age should be eligible to run for political offices. To this school of thought, the victory recorded so far in the removal of five years from age limit of President, Member House of Representatives, and Governor, is nothing to celebrate. However, I am of the view that we cannot afford to miss the psychological triumph gained by the assent of the National Assembly to our demands.
For sure, it opens up a whole new vista in the political affairs of our country. It is a way of telling every young Nigerian to maximize his energy for the good of all. Five years is time enough to rev up one’s youthful potentials and make resounding impact.
For the avoidance of doubt, the bill sought to alter the section, 65, 106, 131, and 177 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) to reduce the age qualification for the office of the President, Governor, Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly. The Bill also advocated for an independent candidate in our electoral system.
Finally, with the successful passage of the Bill at the National Assembly there is a convergence of powers. It will be recalled that while the Bill was still at the National Assembly undergoing deliberations, more than 25 State Houses of Assembly had publicly declared support for and endorsed the Bill, following a series of fruitful engagements with young people at the state level. This is why I expect that we shall surpass the required two thirds (24 Houses of Assembly) approval. We look forward to up to 30 approvals.
One can safely conclude then that the Legislature has taken up the gauntlet, and is poised to guard our democratic heritage by engendering equal representation and true patriotism. Having recognised a future of demographic threat of a rising youth population without commensurate channels of positive engagement, our lawmakers are investing wisely. As can be easily understood, the greatest investment in youth is political investment, because it holds the key to opening the doors to other developmental concerns like infrastructure, equality, education, health and environment, and general self-advancement.
It is now left to us as youth to prepare to play our own part with requisite wisdom, tact and patriotism. We must muster a new intellectual energy with which to positively engage the democratic arena in future elections after the Bill must have become law. We must equip ourselves with the right tools for sustainable democratic process. We must increase our capacity. We must learn new things, from our elders and from history.
It is my hope that come 2019, we would see young people in power, helping to chart the course of governance to an all-inclusive future. By then we must have found the “cohesion-incentive” to make us continue believing in our young democracy where we shall see eye-to-eye with our leaders, and hold hands with our fathers, mothers and mentors in a journey to birth a people-oriented new Nigeria.
The Petroleum Technologies Association of Nigeria (PETAN) has honoured Shell companies in Nigeria with the Aret Adams Award for Excellence in recognition of their “outstanding contributions to the development of local content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.”
General Manager External Relations, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Igo Weli; President, Petroleum Technologies Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Bank Anthony Okoroafor; Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Bayo Ojulari; and SNEPCo’s Nigerian Content Manager, Austin Uzoka, at the PETAN Awards Ceremony in Lagos
PETAN, comprising 89 indigenous companies in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, announced the recognition at the 2017 award night in Lagos, the 3rd corporate laurel to be won by Shell from the organisation. Shell had won PETAN’s Local Content Operator of the Year awards in 2013 and 2015.
Speaking at the awards ceremony, PETAN President, Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, acknowledged the leadership role of Shell Companies in Nigeria in local content development and said the award was well deserved.
He added, “Indigenous companies look to leveraging growth opportunities in the industry.”
Speaking later, the Managing Director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and production Company Ltd (SNEPCo), Bayo Ojulari, who represented Shell companies in Nigeria, thanked PETAN for the recognition.
He said: “At Shell, we see local content as a critical business enabler, not just a regulatory requirement, and that is why we took cogent steps to encourage community and Nigerian contractors even before the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act was enacted in 2010. Today, these steps have matured as contracts and funding and other capacity building initiatives as well as highly rewarding collaborative engagements with Nigerian oil and gas professionals in Scotland and suppliers in China. We are pleased that the milestones have been recognised by PETAN and other organisations.”
The Lagos event also featured awards to other intentional oil companies and Nigerian service providers.
Shell Companies in Nigeria awarded 94% of their total number of contracts to Nigerian companies in 2016, with the total value amounting to $0.74 billion.
In a related development, 110 persons have completed the Shell/PETAN Internship Programme designed to support efforts towards tackling the shortage of competent manpower in some critical disciplines in the oil and gas industry, with emphasis on geology and engineering.
Speaking at the graduation of the third batch of the programme in Port Harcourt on Thursday, December 7, 2017, Managing Director of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, said the collaboration with PETAN was targeted at fresh graduates on an annual basis.
“This is achieved through exposure to rich technical on-the-job work experience, designed to equip the participants with practical industry experience and to position them more favourably for employment after the 12-month internship,” he said.
Represented by the General Manager External Relations, Igo Weli, the SPDC MD also announced the commencement of the fourth batch of the programme.
The Shell/PETAN Internship Programme commenced in 2014 and about 50 percent of the 110 beneficiaries from the first to third batches have been employed by some PETAN member companies.
Bothered by the unsavoury effects of lead to man and the environment, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has said that it is ready to ensure that Nigerian markets are rid of lead-laden products.
Participants at the workshop
Director-general of CPC, Babatunde Irukera, declared this at the Lead Paint Elimination Campaign organised by Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria), in Lagos on Friday, December 8, 2017.
Olusanya asserted this in a presentation titled: “The Role of Consumer Protection Council in Substandard Lead Paint Elimination In Nigeria.”
Olusanya stated that “lead in paint that appears intact is not necessarily harmful. However, it produces dangerous lead dust when damaged or during renovations.”
According to him, it affects children’s brains and causes harm in adults.
Represented by Fatimah Ojo at the event, which took place at Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) building, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, the CPC DG noted that the Council’s mandates involve ensuring that consumers were served only safe and standardised products and services.
“Our mandates generally involve active and proactive roles that ensure safe and standardised products and services in our market places for consumers. This issue of eliminating substandard lead paints in our markets is not an exception.
“You will thus agree with me that CPC is well poised to carry out the role of ensuring that our market places are rid of lead-laden paints.”
He also reiterated that “CPC is an important and effective organ of government whose role contributes to rid our markets of harmful and substandard products and services such as substandard lead paints.”
Mr. Olubunmi Olusanya of the Ministry of Environment on his part disclosed that the irrational behaviours of some commercial bus attendants, popularly known as conductors, have been linked to the frequent inhalation of lead found in the premium motor spirit (PMS) known as petrol.
The Federal Ministry of Environment, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Paint Manufacturers Association (PMA) were among the agencies and associations represented at the event.
Professor Babajide Alo of the Department of Chemistry, University of Lagos (UNILAG), who is SRADev’s technical adviser, moderated the event, which was chaired by Olusanya of the Minister of Environment.
Executive director of SRADev, Leslie Adogame, noted that all paint samples from his 2008 findings, including enamel and plastic paint, showed high lead concentrations exceeding 90 parts per million (ppm) limits.
He said: “Out of the 10 countries from where paint samples were collected and analysed for total lead contents, two countries, Nigeria and Tanzania, showed very high percentage of samples containing more than 90 ppm of lead. Nigeria and Tanzania were followed by Mexico, South Africa, Belarus, and Senegal. Thailand had the lowest per cent of paint samples containing lead in excess of 90 ppm.
“In the absence of any mandatory standard for lead in paints, industries, big and small, are using lead without regard for its environmental and health impacts.”
Olusanya noted that global efforts to eliminate lead paint started when the first resolution on lead paint was introduced at the World Health Summit in 2002.
In 2009, he said, the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM) identified lead in paint as an emerging policy issue and invited the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to establish a global partnership to promote phasing out the use of lead in paints and also serve as its Secretariat.
This gave birth to the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint (Lead Paint Alliance).
He added: “The economic and social costs associated with childhood lead exposure are very high, while costs associated with eliminating the use of added lead compounds in decorative and other paints are low.”
Senior standard officer of SON, Jessy Orun, in his presentation titled: “National Industrial Standards and Specification for Lead paints in Nigeria”, noted: “Further to the Federal Government’s directive on ease of doing business, compliance to standard specifications for paint, which is <9oppm, would facilitate international trade.”
He disclosed that a heavy metal testing laboratory for chem-tech products would soon be operational at the new SON laboratory complex in Ogba, Lagos.
At the end of the programme, the participants adopted SRADev’s Roadmap for Lead Paint Elimination and Management in Nigeria.
The science body under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meets this week to discuss a wide array of biodiversity-related issues critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and tackling climate change.
Cristiana Paşca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
These discussions, taking place at the 21st meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-21), being held in Montreal, Canada from Monday, December 11 to Thursday, December 14 2017, will lay the foundation for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
According to the CBD, close to 600 delegates from around the world will address the following issues.
Scenarios for the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity
SBSTTA-21 will consider models and scenarios with implications for the actions needed to reach the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, agreed by governments in 2010. This vision, “Living in harmony with nature”, reflects a global consensus that by the year 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people. Deliberations on these scenarios provide input to the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
Mainstreaming biodiversity into energy and mining, infrastructure, manufacturing and processing industry, and health sectors
SBSTTA, for the first time under the CBD, will launch consideration of the nexus between biodiversity and key economic sectors, including energy and mining, infrastructure, manufacturing and processing industry, as well as health. SBSTTA’s work will help mobilise momentum and build a solid basis for further inter-sessional work and consensus building by the Second meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (July 2018) and the next UN Biodiversity Conference1, to be held November 2018 in Egypt.
Biodiversity and human health
All human health ultimately depends on ecosystem services that are made possible by biodiversity and the products derived from them. Biodiversity and human health are interlinked in various ways and better consideration of health-biodiversity linkages could contribute to improving many aspects of human health. SBSTTA will consider guidance for a “One Health” approach to foster integrated approaches across health, environment, agriculture and other sectors with a view to enhancing implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
SBSTTA provides the essential driving force for evidence-based decision-making under the Convention. It has met 20 times to date and provided 216 recommendations. As a subsidiary body of the Conference of the Parties (COP), the SBSTTA reports regularly to the COP on all aspects of its work. SBSTTA comprises government representatives competent in multidisciplinary fields of expertise.
Sustainable wildlife management: Guidance for achieving a more sustainable bushmeat sector
Wild meat has long served as a source of nutrition for millions of people in many regions of the world, in both developed and developing countries. In some rural communities in tropical developing countries, wild meat has been found to provide almost all of the protein in the diet. SBSTTA will further elaborate technical guidance for better governance towards a more sustainable bushmeat sector, with actions identified to be taken in the context of the 2050 Vision of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To that end, SBSTTA may provide recommendations to ensure that the supply of bushmeat is sustainably managed at the source, control the excessive demand of wild meat in towns and cities, and, create an enabling environment for the sustainable management of wild meat.
Fifth Edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook
The plan for the development of the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5) will be considered. A periodic report that summarises the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity worldwide, GBO-5 is an important input to the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, and provides the final assessment of progress in implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.
Tools to evaluate the effectiveness of policy instruments for the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020
SBSTTA-21 will review different approaches and tools used to evaluate progress and the effectiveness of national actions for implementing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity. Approaches to evaluation and their relevance to the preparation of the sixth national reports to the CBD will also be considered. These discussions will help in developing tools for evaluating the effectiveness of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
New and emerging issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
SBSTTA will consider whether several issues related to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity should be formally considered by the CBD. Four options under consideration include: environmental and social consequences of forced migration, “jurisdiction shopping” and selection of non-genetic-material media for transmission, legislative and regulatory frameworks to govern bioprospecting and use of digital sequence information, and impact of marine dust from the Sahara on the Amazon Rainforest.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Sen. Olanrewaju Tejuoso, on Thursday, December 7, 2017 said the Basic Health Provision Fund provided under National Health Act 2014 would generate about N54 billion for health intervention programmes.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Sen. Olanrewaju Tejuoso
The senator made this known during an advocacy meeting with Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage in Abuja.
Tejuoso said one of the major concerns of the National Assembly was the implementation of one per cent consolidated revenue to fund basic health care provision fund in 2018 budget.
He added that the Act provides that one per cent consolidated revenue should be a statutory transfer the agencies; meaning that the fund would not be accessed the way the budget was usually done.
He said: “It means the fund will go into particular pockets as grant to provide basic healthcare to Nigerians.
“It is supposed to be a minimum of one per cent of consolidated revenue to support the funding coming from partners; part of that money will, however, not go into the fight against malaria.”
He said the money would be domiciled with the agencies and if unspent, it would be extended to the following year, stressing that the fund would be accruing and accumulating.
He added that while government was waiting for loans to fund the budget, the money would be available to support the health system.
Dr Gafar Alawode, the Chief of Party Health Finance and Governance, an NGO, said the Legislative Network for Universal Health Coverage was on advocacy visit to the senate committee chairman to seek for funding for malaria elimination programmes.
He commended government’s commitment in reducing malaria burden in the country over the years, noting that evidence had shown that malaria cases dropped from 42 per cent in 2010 to 27 per cent in 2015.
He, however, said “malaria cases were currently on the increase again.”
He noted that World Health Organisation records revealed that in 2017, Nigeria had one million new cases of malaria, which was above recorded cases in 2016.
He said “this calls for concern because donors funding has been dwindling.
“Donors are shifting focus to counterpart-based funding; they are showing commitment to countries that are ready to increase domestic funding of malaria elimination programmes.”
He added that the group wanted Senate to lead the cause for increased funding for malaria programmes because Nigeria was one of the countries with highest burden of the disease in the world.
The Federal Government says programmes of Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria) Nigeria have contributed significantly to its efforts to implement the Minimata Convention on mercury phase-out.
L-R: Executive Director of Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev), Leslie Adogame; Chairman of the occasion and representative of the Minister of Environment, Olubunmi Okusanya; SRADev Technical Director, Prof. Babajide Alo; and Anthony Hotton of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) at the National Dissemination Workshop on Mercury Products Projects in Nigeria facilitated by SRADev in Lagos on Thursday, December 7, 2017
Ibrahim Jibril, Environment Minister of State, disclosed this exclusively to EnviroNews on Thursday, December 7, 2017 at the final National Dissemination Workshop organised by SRADev in Lagos.
Represented by Olubunmi Olusanya, the minister said contributions from SRADev’s sensitisation programmes formed part of the ministry’s submissions on the phase out/phase down of mercury in products.
Since April 2015, SRADev had embarked on the project “Contributing to the Preparation/Implementation of the Minimata Convention on Mercury, with a Focus on Developing Strategies to Implement Mercury-added Product Phase-out Provisions of the Minimata Convention in Nigeria”. It targeted a deadline of May 2017, but had to extend it to December.
In his opening remarks, Okusanya, who was chairman of the occasion, noted that the “Minamata Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury pollution, and Article 4 of the convention deals with mercury-added products.”
Nigeria signed the Convention in 2013 and made efforts to ratify it in May 2017.
He noted that the ratification was “to ensure that our country does not end up as a dumping ground for mercury-added products after the rest of the world phases them out.”
According to Prof. Babajide Alo, the technical adviser to SRADev, Nigeria has signed the document and sent to New York.
The professor of Chemistry, while congratulating Nigeria for efforts so far to ratify the Convention, noted that “we have the Minimata Initial Assessment (MIA), but its implementation is why we are here.”
Going down memory lane, the don said 195 countries had come together and agreed that mercury is a pollutant of concern; hence they agreed to do something about it which led to the convention at Minimata, a village in Japan where people were dying of mercury poisoning.
Article 4 of the Convention read in part: “Each Party shall not allow, by taking appropriate measures, the manufacture, import or export of mercury-added products listed in Part I of Annex A after the phase-out date specified for those products (Year 2020), except where an exclusion is specified in Annex A or the Party has a registered exemption pursuant to Article 6. 2.”
Rico Euripidou, a South African international expert in mercury phase out/phase down, presented the keynote paper of the workshop. He made his presentation through Skype to the audience, as he could not make it to Nigeria before the workshop.
In his “Overview of the Mercury Convention: Expectations from Mercury-added Products phase-out Obligations”, Mr. Euripidou praised Nigeria for strategies adopted to achieve the phase-out, and encouraged the country to continue on that path.
He said: “We have been following the project in Nigeria. Nigeria has made a lot of progress with its sound strategies. We are very pleased. This convention represents a major milestone. This is only the beginning of the beginning.”
The executive director of SRAdev, Leslie Adogame, in his welcome speech, said SRADev was just complementing government’s efforts via helping to develop strategy to achieve the phase-out.
He disclosed that his organisation’s works had the backing of the Federal Government through the Ministry of Environment, the National Agency for Food and drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other agencies as well as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).
In a goodwill message, Anthony Hotton from NAFDAC said the agency, which was at the vanguard of the zero-mercury journey, “is still 100 per cent interested in the campaign.”
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), through its Lagos State coordinator, Nosa Aigbedion, said the agency “is happy and ready to partner with anybody for a healthy environment.”
The workshop was wrapped up by status/updates of mercury-added products regulations in Nigeria by NESREA and NAFDAC.
African presidents have reached a consensus to focus on regional integration, inclusive growth and youth empowerment in order to achieve continued and sustained growth on the continent at the Africa 2017 Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, President of Egypt
President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, hosted African heads of state and business leaders including President of the Republic of Guinea Alpha Condé, President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Côte D’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara, and President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
The business and investment forum, titled “Driving investment for inclusive growth”, was convened to increase intra-African investments and cross-border collaboration. The message sent was that entrepreneurship and private sector would be the driving force to transform the continent. The forum was preceded by a Young Entrepreneurs Day, which brought together over 200 young African entrepreneurs who were meeting investors to pitch their businesses over the two days of the forum. Al Sisi highlighted the importance of African youth, saying they should be the cornerstone of development plans in the continent as governments strive to promote innovation and technology.
The second edition of the forum appeared to be another clear statement of intent from the Egyptian President, who, in his opening remarks, highlighted the strong bond Egypt has with the rest of the continent, saying it has always been a partner in African development. Putting Africa on the global map and paving the way for a prosperous future can be achieved by working harder to attract investment and collaborating more closely, he added.
President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, co-chair of the Young Entrepreneurs Day, reiterated the need for more urgency: “We cannot afford to waste opportunities because of unnecessary red tape and associated delays,” declared.
Citing the launch of the Tripartite Free Trade Area in Egypt in 2015, he added that it was important that African leaders drive the institutional reform of the African Union in order to get the FTA fully operational.
Heba Salama, Director of the COMESA Regional Investment Agency, co-conveners of the forum, in an emotional address reminded the young and the leaders in the room that “if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough”.
This did not go unheeded by the entrepreneurs in the room many of whom had scaled up businesses that were ripe for take off.
Africa 2017 Forum held under the patronage of Abdel Fattah Al Sisi from December 7 to 9, 2017 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and was organised by the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation of Egypt and the COMESA Regional Investment Agency (RIA).
The 2017 edition builds on the success of the inaugural Africa 2016, which saw participation of six Heads of State and over 1,000 delegates from 45 countries.
The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) on Friday, December 8, 2017 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on collaboration of ensuring safe practice of modern biotechnology.
Director General/CEO of NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba
Director General/CEO of NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, while addressing the team from the SON underscored the need for government agencies to work together to serve the people better.
He said NBMA is established to ensure that the practice of modern biotechnology that results in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is safe to both human and the environment.
The DG said, “Risk assessment is a pillar of the agency. NBMA is interested in the gene of insert. It ensures that genetically modified organisms are well assessed to ascertain that there is no risk to the people or the environment before they are released into the environment.”
Director General of SON, Osita Anthony Aboloma, who was represented by Director of Legal Services, Umaru Kawu, expressed happiness over the memorandum and stated that SON is ready to partner with NBMA to actualise its mandate.
He also stressed the need for government agencies to synergise, and to facilitate the set goals of government. “It is good that NBMA has signed MoU with other major government agencies that will contribute to the effectiveness of its mandate.’’
The MoU is said to be the fifth signed by NBMA with sister agencies in the bid to ensure that genetically modified products are safely deployed for the benefit of Nigerians.
Different low carbon technologies from wind or solar energy to fossil carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) differ greatly when it comes to indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their life cycle.
Solar panels
This is the result of a comprehensive new study conducted by an international team of scientists that is now published in the journal Nature Energy. Unlike what some critics argue, the researchers not only found that wind and solar energy belong to the more favorable when it comes to life-cycle emissions. They also show that a full decarbonisation of the global power sector by scaling up these technologies would induce only modest indirect greenhouse gas emissions – and hence not impede the transformation towards a climate-friendly power system.
“Both fossil and non-fossil power technologies still come with a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions within their life cycle – on the one hand because it needs energy to construct and operate them, on the other hand because of methane emissions, e.g. from coal and gas production,” explains lead author, Michaja Pehl. “However, we found there are substantial differences across technologies regarding their greenhouse gas balance. Electricity production from biomass, coal, gas and hydropower for instance induces much higher indirect greenhouse gas emissions than nuclear electricity, or wind and solar-based power supply.”
With their study the researchers provide an innovative and comprehensive global analysis of embodied energy use and indirect greenhouse gas emissions – from all relevant power sector technologies. For the first time, their study combines the strengths of simulations based on integrated energy-economy-climate models that estimate cost-optimal long-term strategies to meet climate targets with life cycle assessment approaches.
So far, these research branches have operated separately. Exploring the life cycle emissions of future low-carbon supply systems and the implications for technology choices, they found that fossil power plants equipped with CCS will still account for life-cycle emissions of around 100 grams of CO2-equivalents per kWh of electricity produced, ten times more than the around 10 grams of CO2-equivalents for wind and solar power they project for 2050 in a climate protection scenario in which power production is almost completely decarbonised.
Wind and solar provide a much better greenhouse gas emissions balance than fossil-based technologies
“There is no such thing as truly clean coal. Conventional coal power currently comes with around 1000 grams of CO2-equivalents per kWh. Capturing CO2 from coal plants can reduce emissions per kWh by around 90 percent, but substantial life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions remain,” says Gunnar Luderer, energy system analyst from PIK and project leader. “To keep global warming below 2°C, however, virtually carbon free electricity is necessary. This makes it increasingly implausible that coal power will play a major role in the future, even if equipped with CO2scrubbers.”
“When it comes to life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, wind and solar energy provide a much better greenhouse gas balance than fossil-based low carbon technologies, because they do not require additional energy for the production and transport of fuels, and the technologies themselves can be produced to a large extend with decarbonised electricity,” states Edgar Hertwich, an industrial ecologist from Yale University who co-authored the study. Due to technological innovation, less and less energy will be needed to produce wind turbines and solar photovoltaic systems.
“Some critics have argued renewable energies could come with high hidden greenhouse gas emissions that would negate their benefits to the climate. Our study now shows that the opposite is true,” concludes Luderer. “During the transition to clean power supply, the additional life-cycle emissions for building up wind and solar capacities are much smaller than the remaining emissions from existing fossil power plants before they can finally be decommissioned. The faster the low-carbon transformation of power supply is accomplished, the lower is the overall remaining carbon burden for the climate.”
