After unprecedented global success in malaria control progress has stalled, according to the World Malaria Report 2017. There were an estimated five million more malaria cases in 2016 than in 2015. Malaria deaths stood at around 445,000, a similar number to the previous year.
The malaria-causing anopheles mosquito feeding on a victim
“In recent years, we have made major gains in the fight against malaria,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “We are now at a turning point. Without urgent action, we risk going backwards, and missing the global malaria targets for 2020 and beyond.”
The WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria calls for reductions of at least 40% in malaria case incidence and mortality rates by the year 2020. According to WHO’s latest malaria report, the world is not on track to reach these critical milestones.
A major problem is insufficient funding at both domestic and international levels, resulting in major gaps in coverage of insecticide-treated nets, medicines, and other life-saving tools.
Funding shortage
An estimated $2.7 billion was invested in malaria control and elimination efforts globally in 2016. That is well below the $6.5 billion annual investment required by 2020 to meet the 2030 targets of the WHO global malaria strategy.
In 2016, governments of endemic countries provided $800 million, representing 31% of total funding. The United States of America was the largest international funder of malaria control programmes in 2016, providing $1 billion (38% of all malaria funding), followed by other major donors, including the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, France, Germany and Japan.
The global figures
The report shows that, in 2016, there were an estimated 216 million cases of malaria in 91 countries, up from 211 million cases in 2015. The estimated global tally of malaria deaths reached 445,000 in 2016 compared to 446,000 the previous year.
While the rate of new cases of malaria had fallen overall, since 2014 the trend has levelled off and even reversed in some regions. Malaria mortality rates followed a similar pattern.
The African Region continues to bear an estimated 90% of all malaria cases and deaths worldwide. Fifteen countries – all but one in sub-Saharan Africa – carry 80% of the global malaria burden.
“Clearly, if we are to get the global malaria response back on track, supporting the most heavily affected countries in the African Region must be the primary focus,” said Dr Tedros.
Controlling malaria
In most malaria-affected countries, sleeping under an insecticide-treated bednet (ITN) is the most common and most effective way to prevent infection. In 2016, an estimated 54% of people at risk of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa slept under an ITN compared to 30% in 2010. However, the rate of increase in ITN coverage has slowed since 2014, the report finds.
Spraying the inside walls of homes with insecticides is another effective way to prevent malaria. The report reveals a steep drop in the number of people protected from malaria by this method – from an estimated 180 million in 2010 to 100 million in 2016 – with the largest reductions seen in the African Region.
The African Region has seen a major increase in diagnostic testing in the public health sector: from 36% of suspected cases in 2010 to 87% in 2016. A majority of patients (70%) who sought treatment for malaria in the public health sector received artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) – the most effective antimalarial medicines.
However, in many areas, access to the public health system remains low. National-level surveys in the African Region show that only about one third (34%) of children with a fever are taken to a medical provider in the public health sector.
Tackling malaria in complex settings
The report also outlines additional challenges in the global malaria response, including the risks posed by conflict and crises in malaria endemic zones. WHO is currently supporting malaria responses in Nigeria, South Sudan, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) and Yemen, where ongoing humanitarian crises pose serious health risks. In Nigeria’s Borno State, for example, WHO supported the launch of a mass antimalarial drug administration campaign this year that reached an estimated 1.2 million children aged under five years in targeted areas. Early results point to a reduction in malaria cases and deaths in this state.
A wake-up call
“We are at a crossroads in the response to malaria,” said Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the Global Malaria Programme, commenting on the findings of this year’s report. “We hope this report serves as a wake-up call for the global health community. Meeting the global malaria targets will only be possible through greater investment and expanded coverage of core tools that prevent, diagnose and treat malaria. Robust financing for the research and development of new tools is equally critical.”
Global credit rating agency, Moody’s Investor Services, has released a new report describing the importance of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change in order to avoid negative credit ratings. The findings are relevant for states and municipalities in the United States.
Donald Trump, US president
The US is still recovering from the devastating impacts of severe hurricanes such as Irma, Maria and Harvey that caused a widespread destruction of lives and livelihoods, and damaged properties and infrastructure of billions of dollars.
The report “Environmental Risks – Evaluating the impact of climate change on US state and local issuers,” forecasts that the accelerating impacts of climate change, including increasing global temperatures and rising sea levels, will make an impact on the financial health of US states and municipalities in the years ahead. Moody’s assigns credit ratings to bond issuers to indicate the risk of default.
“While we anticipate states and municipalities will adopt mitigation strategies for extreme climate events, costs to employ them could also become an ongoing credit challenge. Our analysis of economic strength and diversity, access to liquidity and levers to raise additional revenues are also key to our assessment of climate risks as is evaluating asset management and governance,” Michael Wertz, Moody’s Vice President, said.
The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events – natural disasters, floods, heatwaves and droughts – is likely to increase with the rise in global average temperature. Recognising the importance of mitigation (reducing greenhouse gases) and adaptation (building resilience) strategies to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the Paris Agreement aims to limit the average global temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees.
Differentiating between climate shocks and long-term climate shifts
The Moody’s report makes a distinction between climate trends – long term shifts in the climate over several decades – and climate shocks, defined as extreme weather events exacerbated by climate trends.
Extreme weather events make significant impacts on an issuer’s infrastructure, economy and revenue base, and environment. The report explains how the credit agency factors these impacts into its analysis of an issuer’s economy, fiscal position and capital infrastructure, as well as management’s ability to marshal resources and implement strategies to drive recovery.
One example of climate shock driving rating change was when Hurricane Katrina stuck the city of New Orleans (rating: A3 Stable). In addition to widespread infrastructure damage, the city’s revenue declined significantly and a large percentage of its population permanently left New Orleans.
For issuers, the availability of state and federal resources is a key element that improves the response capabilities of local governments and their ability of mitigate credit impacts. Moody’s analysis weighs the impact of climate risks with states and municipalities’ preparedness and planning for these changes while analyzing credit ratings.
Analysts for municipal issuers with higher exposure to climate risks will also focus on current and future mitigation steps and how these steps will impact the issuer’s overall profile when assigning ratings.
It is a classic case of one ministry proposing and another disposing. A new analysis of the coal-based power sector by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) indicates that the sector – with active help from the Ministry of Power (MoP) and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) – is all set to avoid complying with the new emission norms that will come into effect shortly. These new norms were enacted by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in December 2015 in view of the sector’s massive contribution to air pollution and its huge water withdrawal.
A power plant fired by coal
Of the total emissions from the industrial sector, the power sector alone contributes 60 per cent of the PM (particulate matter), 45 per cent of the Sox (sulphur dioxide), 30 per cent of the NOx (nitrogen oxides) and 80 per cent of the mercury emissions.
Though the industry was given two years to comply, there has been very little progress so far. The norms come into effect from December 2017, but the CEA is now recommending that plants be given another five years (which means the deadline should be extended from 2017 to 2022) to comply with the new norms. CSE, however, has recommended to the MoEF&CC and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) not to accept the fresh timelines proposed by power ministry and the CEA.
Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General, CSE, said: “Another five years to meet these standards is unacceptable. Power plants have already wasted two years doing virtually nothing. It is important to push for ambitious timelines for compliance with the new norms. The environment ministry needs to come up with a tight implementable deadline and a concrete roadmap for each and every plant to ensure compliance.”
He added: “Implementing the new norms will provide significant environmental benefits — major pollutants from coal-based power plants such as SOx and NOx will be cut by 70-85 per cent.”
The MoP and CEA have consistently objected to these norms and their deadlines. They have supported the industry in its stiff opposition to these norms.
“The CEA’s own reports show that issues raised by the industry such as lack of technology suppliers, suitability of technology for Indian coal, high capital costs, and tariff impact of the pollution control technology measures can be easily managed, and are not serious impediments. It is inconceivable why the CEA and the ministry has still done very little to oversee and push implementation of the new norms,” said Priyavrat Bhati, Programme Director-Energy, CSE.
CEA’s 2022 plan – glaring weaknesses
The plan submitted by CEA to implement the standards by 2022 suffers from many shortcomings:
There is no clarity on the pollution control technology needed by plants. Most plants have done very little to even assess their technology needs or the investment required, let alone begin the projects to install pollution control equipment. For instance, the CEA is asking all plants to install FGD (flue gas desulphurisation) to control SOx emissions. CSE’s analysis shows that it is not required for smaller and older units.
The plan is heavily back-loaded. Most plants will do nothing for the next two-three years. They will start putting equipments only from 2020 onwards. There is a major risk that in 2020 the sector will again ask for an extension.
The CEA plan is not backed by written commitments from power stations to install new equipment.
What CSE has proposed instead
CSE recommends that an aggressive timeline needs to be pursued, considering the gravity of the problem. It has also proposed that plants located in densely or critically polluted areas must be prioritised. According to CSE’s proposal:
CEA’s own report suggests that about 65 per cent of the capacity meet PM standards. These plants should produce evidence of compliance by December 2017. However, if some of the plants exceed the norms by a small margin, they could do minor retrofits to meet PM norms by March 2018. The remaining one-third capacity should meet PM norms by March 2019.
About 50 per cent of the capacity is estimated to be complying with NOx norms based on emissions data from CPCB and industry experts. The remaining can meet the norms during annual maintenance over the next two years by December 2019.
About 50 per cent of the capacity should meet SOx norms by December 2019 and the remaining, by December 2020.
“Our analysis shows that these are achievable. But to ensure that there are no further delays, the environment ministry should back these timelineswith penalties and bank guarantees,” said Priyavrat Bhati.
“These standards can be met with less than 3 per cent annual increase in the electricity tariff for the next three years. In comparison, in the last five years, electricity tariff in India has increased by 8 per cent annually. This is a low price to pay for a significant gain in environmental and health benefits,” added Bhushan.
After two weeks of intense negotiations, the UN Climate Change Conference ended in the early hours of November 18, 2017. The outcomes of COP23 sent a clear signal that all participating states – except one – remain committed to fulfilling the Paris Agreement.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, making a presentation during the opening ceremony of COP23
Despite some criticism concerning the lack of speed in progress, the results of the negotiations in Bonn prove that multilateral negotiations work and are crucial if we are to strengthen global climate protection.
COP23 was significant for three reasons. It was the first Conference of Parties presided over by Fiji – a small island state that’s particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change. It was also the first COP following the US announcement that it will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the landmark climate accord reached in 2015. And it had the extremely difficult task of realising noticeable progress on the Paris Rulebook, a guide to implementing the goals set by the Paris Agreement.
One of the most important things COP23 had to achieve was preparing the ground for raising ambition in national climate action. Under the current nationally determined contributions (NDCs), it will not be possible to reach the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, because the mitigation efforts are not strong enough. Two processes are needed: first, strong climate action before 2020, and second, the Talanoa Dialogue, a process that supports and guides countries to raise ambition in their NDCs, including pre- and post-2020 action. In both areas, COP23 made considerable progress.
Where do we want to go?
The negotiating parties agreed on a fixed pre-2020 stocktake at COP24 in Poland next year, as well as at COP25 in Latin America in 2019. Through this process, industrialised countries in particular will have to account for the fulfillment of their climate protection goals, as well as their promises to provide climate finance.
Parties at COP23 were also able to give the Talanoa Dialogue a clear design. Throughout 2018, this process will take stock and explore options for enhancing climate action, answering the questions “Where do we want to go?” and “How do we get there?”. It will also include pre-2020 action and inputs by experts, non-state actors and civil society, and will be able to create political pressure towards preparing a new generation of more ambitious NDCs.
As such it can be a bridge towards viable long-term strategies in climate protection. In providing a roadmap for the Talanoa Diaogue and agreeing on how to integrate pre-2020 action, COP23 prepared the ground for greater ambition in climate policies.
When climate-induced loss and damage was anchored in the Paris Agreement in 2015, it was a huge success; countries vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change were hopeful that it would help them cope with extreme weather events and their implications. As loss and damage goes far beyond what they can adapt to in terms of irreparable losses and recoverable damages, one of the most important focus points in this discussion has always been finance. Developed countries have been blocking progress for years, fearing unlimited liability and compensation.
While it has become clear that the topic is being accepted as relevant to the negotiations, COP23 has not been able to make progress on financing climate-induced loss and damage. The handling of the Adaptation Fund, however – which provides support for countries in adapting and building resilience to climate change – can be considered a success. The German environment ministry pledged €50 million to this fund on the first day of negotiations; an important sign of solidarity with those who have not caused climate change but are already suffering from the consequences.
Parties were also charged with working on guidelines on how exactly to implement the Paris Agreement. This guide, the Paris Rulebook, will have to be settled by next year’s conference. Discussions here progressed to developing draft texts for every subsection; while this is positive, they are too long and complex as they stand, leaving much work for negotiators in the coming year. It is essential to develop a rulebook with firm instructions for countries in terms of transparency, accounting and reporting.
Engagement on the local level
Just like in previous conferences in Paris and Marrakesh, the success of negotiations should be judged by more than what came out of plenary hall negotiations and formal meetings. The spotlight must be on climate initiatives as well, as they have the potential to support implementation of the Paris Agreement. Bonn was full of such initiatives.
One particularly interesting project is the Powering Past Coal Alliance, in which 28 countries and regions – among them Britain, Canada, Austria, Costa Rica, New Zealand and Italy – pledge to phase out coal as soon as possible and to stop financing coal completely. While these countries may not be heavyweights in coal extraction, it is nevertheless a sign that more and more countries are realising that the age of fossil fuels is coming to an end.
Then there is the InsuResilience Global Partnership, which aims to support countries in managing their climate risks and increasing their resilience. One instrument is to provide insurance solutions to help them better adapt to climate change. COP23 also brought a lot of investments to the table, including financial support to phase out coal and support renewable energies, and the implementation of national climate protection plans.
International commitment
Stakeholders, mayors and civil society representatives from the US also showed that there is a different United States, one that values climate protection and is committed to fulfilling the goals set by the Paris Agreement. With their own US Climate Action Centre forum, they showed that they will do everything in their power to support ambitious climate protection strategies.
These initiatives all demonstrate that there is a strong local, national and international commitment to saving the world from dangerous climate change. They also show that multinational negotiations provide a useful framework for bringing together non-state action. A global challenge like climate change can only be successfully addressed through such joint efforts and global solutions.
The outcomes of COP23 can be considered moderately positive, with parties agreeing on the way forward, especially in terms of increasing climate ambition. None of these steps would have been possible in a national or bilateral framework alone. In turbulent political times, the world needs more cooperation and more exchange, not more isolationism and ignorance; global fora like this are more important now than ever. For further successful climate action, three things are essential: multilateral negotiations that incorporate all countries; climate action on the ground to maintain the momentum and create political pressure; and the necessary speed to make sure that the 1.5 degrees goal stays within our reach.
By Manuela Matthess (Policy Officer, International Climate and Energy Policies, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung)
The total sum of N4.545 trillion was disbursed as the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations between January and September 2017. Out of this amount, N1.757 trillion was shared in the third quarter of 2017 as against the N1.377 trillion and N1.411 trillion disbursed in the second and first quarters of the year.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Waziri Adio
The information is contained in the latest Quarterly Review of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
The publication, which contains information and data on FAAC disbursements for the third quarter of 2017 and on mid-year budget implementation, also shows that, between January and September 2017, the federal government received the highest allocation of N1.851.32 trillion, followed by state governments with N1.509 trillion and the 774 local governments with N913.8 billion. The sum of N271.78 billion went to DPR, Customs and the FIRS as cost of revenue collections.
Further analysis shows that the revenues shared to the federating units were higher in the third quarter of 2017 which has been the pattern for some years now.
For instance, while the federal government got N549.41 billion in the second quarter of 2017, third quarter figures were N752.79 billion, an increase of 37.02%. The trend is the same for the states and local governments, which received N586.58 billion and N363.98 billion in the third quarter as against N467.13 and 280.42 billion in the second quarter respectively. The percentage increases between the two quarters for the two tiers of government are 25.57% and 29.80% respectively.
The Review attributed the reason for the increases in FAAC disbursements to the three tiers of governments in the third quarter to what it called “Positive developments in the oil sector – evident from resurgent oil prices and increased production levels. The third quarter also represents the summer season when global oil demand and consequently oil prices are generally higher than other times of the year and this could possibly explain the higher revenue accruals to the Federation account in these third quarters”.
The NEITI Quarterly Review, which based its analysis on data obtained from FAAC, National Bureau of Statistics, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Budget Office of the Federation, noted that the “upward trend in the FAAC disbursements to the three tiers of governments are encouraging signs which if sustained will improve government expenditures, help to boost economic activities and move the country further away from recession”.
Another major highlight of the report is the high degree of volatility in FAAC disbursements between January and September 2017.
For example, the federal and local governments received highest revenues in July recording as much difference as 75% and 58% respectively between the months with the highest and lowest disbursements. State governments on the other hand got the highest allocations in September with a difference in revenues of about 53% between the high and low revenue months.
“Disbursements to the federal, states and local governments have risen and fallen in alternate months throughout the year, making economic planning and execution of capital projects difficult”, the report stated underlining the need for “diversified sources of government revenue to limit volatility and ensure more stable and predictable revenue streams.”
Another highlight from the NEITI report is that Nigeria’s revenues in the first half of 2017 were about 49% lower than budgeted figures. While government projected N5.368 trillion revenue flows in its 2017 Fiscal framework for the first six months of the year, actual inflows were N2.712 trillion.
From the report, government’s half year projections were 2.667 trillion for oil and 2.701 trillion for non-oil revenue. However, actual revenue for the first half of the year fell short of projections. “Actual oil revenue was N1.587 trillion, representing a shortfall of N1.079 trillion, implying a 40.4% underperformance. Non-oil revenue fared slightly worse, as only 41.6% of the projected revenue was realized. Actual non-oil revenue totaled N1.125 trillion, indicating a shortfall of N1.575 trillion.”
The Report also pointed out that while government projected that the non-oil sector would outperform the oil sector, the oil sector performed better by as much as 41% in revenues generation raking in N1.587 trillion as against N1.125 trillion for the non-oil sector.
Figures for the three tiers of government were no different. The federal government has hoped for a N2.542 trillion revenue flows for the first half of 2017 but actual revenue was N1.497 trillion. A breakdown of the inflows shows that the oil sector accounted for a larger part of the shortfall with a 60% drop while the non – oil sector underperformed by 49%.
According to the NEITI publication, “Budgeted half-year inflows from the oil sector was N1.061 trillion but actual oil inflows to the federal government was N414 billion. The federal government’s budget estimated half-year non-oil revenue inflows at N705 billion but realized only N352 billion, indicating a 49% shortfall.”
The Report also compared government’s earnings in 2017 to 2016 and showed that total revenues were higher in the first half of 2017 than the corresponding period of 2016 by 22%.
The report indicates that all sources of oil revenues with the exception of rents recorded positive improvements in 2017 than 2016 first halves. The same goes for the non – oil sector revenues where Value Added Tax (VAT) was the largest contributor to the revenues with a 16% increase over 2016 figures.
The report attributes the development to “increase in economic activities, expansion in the tax base and the improvement in performance of revenue collecting agencies.”
However, the report notes that there was no revenue recorded from solid minerals and dividends from investments funded by FAAC despite the abundant solid minerals deposits in the country.
The NEITI Quarterly Review further analysed FAAC disbursements to the states in the first three quarters of 2017. It observed that the allocations were 42% lower than the states budgetary requirements.
The report notes that “states will have to aggressively raise their IGR in order to be able to actualise their budgets. The alternative is increased borrowing. About half of the states (15 states) have FAAC disbursements as a ratio of budgets lower than 20%”.
Energy company Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 announced its intention to halve its carbon footprint by 2050 and to increase its spending on clean energy to up to $2 billion a year in order to help meet the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden
The central objective of the Paris agreement is to limit the global average temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees C in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, which include severe droughts, flooding and storms. For the this to happen, around 80% of the world’s existing fossil fuel reserves would need to be left in the ground.
In a letter to the Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa, Royal Dutch Shell’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden, on Tuesday said: “Shell is announcing an ambition to bring down the net footprint of our energy products (expressed in grams of CO2 equivalent per Megajoule consumed) by around half by 2050. As an interim goal, we aim to reduce it by around 20% by 2035- an ambition that we believe is compatible with a 2° C roadmap. This ambition includes emissions direct from Shell operations, emissions caused by third parties who supply energy for that production and emissions caused by the use of our products by consumers, as well as activities that reduce or offset C02 emissions.”
On the same day, Shell announced to shareholders that it would increase capital allocated to clean technologies to $1 to 2 billion a year through 2020, and that the company would measure progress on cutting its net carbon footprint by annually disclosing information not only from its operations and energy use, but from the use of its energy products.
In his letter to the UN’s Patricia Espinosa, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden wrote that meeting the goal of halving its carbon footprint by 2050 would involve providing lower-carbon fuels like biofuels and hydrogen to customers, in addition to generating renewable power from solar and wind; driving demand for battery electric vehicles by growing the number of charging points and developing gas markets for power and transport.
“We also plan to pursue further operational efficiencies in our assets and will seek to develop carbon capture and storage. And increasingly we will work with nature, forests and wetlands, to help compensate for those emissions from uses where alternatives do not yet exist or will take time to scale,” he wrote.
Ben van Beurden said that these efforts require well-targeted regulation, support for technological innovation and clear long-term policy frameworks that give strong investment signals and drive different choices and behaviours across the economy.
“Shell will continue to work with governments to help shape the policy frameworks that promote the decarbonisation of all sectors of the economy without unwanted side effects. All of us recognise that the challenge of tackling climate change can only be met through a cross-generational, multi-faceted approach to which we all contribute and around which we all collaborate,” he wrote.
The world is entering “a technology-driven Age of Optimisation” bringing about more sustainable production, consumption and work in many manifestations and at every scale.
Deborah Wince-Smith, President of the GFCC and CEO of the US Council on Competitiveness
That’s the message from international experts meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Global Innovation Summit 2017, the 8th in a series focused this year on environmental sustainability. The event is organised by the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC) and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT).
Says Deborah Wince-Smith, President of the GFCC and CEO of the US Council on Competitiveness: “The digital, biotechnological, nanotechnology, and cognitive revolutions are colliding and converging to re-write the rules of production, consumption and work in ways we could only imagine a decade ago.
“These technologies could also answer the grand global challenges of adequate food, clean water, energy, the environment, and global health.”
Digitisation, sensorisation, and big data will help optimise all aspects of manufacturing production, Ms. Wince-Smith says.
“We will have the ability to illuminate the operation of every machine and device, the cut of every blade, every movement of material, and the consumption of energy minute by minute – providing insight for greater efficiency, waste reduction and lower energy consumption.”
Systems designed for optimal efficiency of buildings, meanwhile, make 60% to 80% energy savings possible without sacrificing comfort or cost effectiveness.
Other early examples of high-tech driven resource optimisation include sensor-based, smart farming focused to the square meter level, with irrigation water delivered precisely when and where needed while saving energy.
Social network platforms like the new Turo, which enables individuals to rent out their idle private vehicles, are also part of a fast-moving trend towards sharing and economising.
In the US, Ms. Wince-Smith notes, some 150,000 neighbourhoods now use private social networks to rationalise the local labor market through referrals of local handymen and hairdressers, and by finding consumers for the unused work hours of nannies, gardeners, and house helpers.
“Neighbours moving in pass on moving boxes to neighbours moving out; new homes are found for furniture being discarded that would otherwise end up in the landfill; alerts tell neighbours when toys, bicycles, kitchenware or other items are sitting at the curb and up for grabs for free. Reuse is a main tenant of sustainability, and here is it being organised at a very local level.”
Encouraged by these development, she says, “the big question is how can we leverage new technologies across the spectrum of human activity for the most positive impact on society and sustainability?”
Fostering sustainability through innovation and competitiveness: 10 principles
The GFCC offered 10 guiding principles for nations, regions and cities looking to both succeed in ever more fierce global trading rivalries and achieve environmental sustainability.
The “10 principles of competitiveness for the sustainable future of production, consumption and work” emphasise research and development; education and training for all; sustainable and responsible natural resource development; strong intellectual property rights; open trade; and a stable, transparent, efficient and fair environment for business investment, formation and growth.
Nations that lead the world in innovation will also lead in environmental sustainability and economically, the GFCC says.
“The world is going through rapid transformations driven by technological growth, climate change, urbanisation, and changing demographics,” says Charles O. Holliday, Jr., Chairman, of Royal Dutch Shell plc. and Chairman of the GFCC.
The 2017 edition of the competitiveness principles offers “a conceptual framework to maximise the upside of such transformations, for instance, harnessing the potential of new technologies – artificial intelligence, sensors, robotics, and additive manufacturing – to drive sustainable production and prepare economies and societies to face some of the challenges ahead.”
“Malaysia is one of many emerging economy nations looking to fine tune the mix of policies and efforts that will equip our society to compete in the global marketplace and meet immense environmental challenges ahead,” says Tan Sri Zakri Abdul Hamid, Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Joint Chairman of MIGHT.
“Innovative technologies hold the promise of a path to environmental sustainability. Their introduction is also expected to transform the world’s workplaces, creating and eliminating countless jobs at a rapid pace, with the many social implications such disruption entails.”
“Major risks, opportunities and rewards, therefore, are abundant in the decisions made today. How to achieve an innovative, competitive and environmentally sustainable economy is fundamental to our national well-being, and the topics of this Global Innovation Summit could not be more important. Malaysians are proud to welcome the many distinguished delegates from around the world.”
The Global Federation of Competitiveness Council’s 10 Principles of Competitiveness for the Sustainable Future of Production, Consumption and Work
Build coalitions and public-private partnerships to drive future and sustainable growth
Public and private sector collaboration is critical for scaling sustainable future production and consumption systems, as well as for developing the future workforce. Technologies, standards, regulations, investments, policies and initiatives need to be coordinated through consultation, cooperation and joint investment mechanisms. Establishing buy-in on opportunities, challenges and common goals from government, academia, business and civil society will be critical for creating a common sustainable future.
Make innovation the centerpiece of sustainable growth strategies Innovation is a fundamental driver for sustainable production systems and a key factor for creating new businesses. To drive sustainable future growth, countries, regions and cities need to combine: world-class STEM, business and creative capabilities; favorable regulatory regimes; openness and trust; top-notch infrastructures; capital availability; smart finance; and effective business connectors and knowledge brokers.
Invest in developing the skills needed for future production, and in transitioning the workforce and society to a new economic paradigm
The transition to future production systems will require a massive adaptation in the workforce, powered by STEM and social sciences. New skills will be needed; jobs that do not exist today will emerge; many jobs will disappear. Government, academia, businesses and civil society will need to come together to effectively develop future workforce, respecting local cultures and values. They will need to work to ensure citizens will have opportunities to adapt and access future economic opportunities regardless of race, gender, religion, age or economic status.
Enhance local capabilities and leverage local assets to build global competitiveness Cities and regions have become the cornerstones for today’s economy – they concentrate: manufacturing, consumption of goods and resources, innovation capabilities, finance and economic activities in general. The emergence of future sustainable production-consumption systems will primarily take place in cities and their surrounding regions. It will be essential to mobilise local actors in government, business, academia, non-profit, international organisations and financial institutions and leverage local innovation capabilities to create new sustainable technologies, businesses, jobs and production systems.
Implement functional, fast and forward-looking IP regimes to unleash innovation and global deployment
New technology solutions and business models will make future production systems possible. They will emerge and deploy in places were innovators and businesses are sure they will receive rewards for their efforts. Speed is critical for IP regimes as technology and global competition continue to accelerate.
Bridge technology development, investment and sustainable business models with infrastructure development
Sustainable, resilient and secure physical and cyber infrastructures will be essential to address global challenges in areas such as water, energy, climate, mobility, food, housing and natural resources. Investments in these infrastructures will also have the potential to turbocharge innovation capabilities and capacities. Countries, regions and cities should tap into the potential of infrastructure investment as a key accelerator for sustainable technologies, businesses and production systems. Innovative finance and regulation will be essential.
Scale sustainable technologies and business models via global markets Future competitiveness will result from local innovation combined with global perspective and scale. Global flows of goods, capital, information and ideas will be essential for future production systems. Stakeholders should support open and transparent markets as drivers for economic growth around the world.
Use advanced technologies to boost resource productivity, create sustainable value chains and decouple natural resource pressures from economic growth
New, disruptive, emerging technologies open up enormous opportunities to increase the efficiency and productivity of energy and other natural resources – from minerals to water. In order to maximise this potential, these advanced technologies should be combined with smart regulation and systemic business, production and urban networks concepts. This mix can help decouple economic growth from natural resources depletion, while combatting biodiversity loss, desertification and land degradation.
Implement forward-looking, seamless and efficient regulations that create favorable conditions for the emergence of new business models and sustainable technologies
Efficiency, transparency and predictability are key attributes for functional and innovation-positive business environments. A fast-paced, changing global scenario also requires flexibility, adaptation, speed and accelerated learning. The emergence of future production and consumption systems will require experimentation and institutional learning.
Turbocharge local and national sustainable development through systematic business, regulation, policy and strategy global benchmarking
For countries, regions and cities to compete and cooperate in building sustainable production and consumption systems, it will be essential to track key metrics and constantly assess new solutions and practices implemented globally. Learning and adapting will only be possible with systematic global engagement and benchmarking.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says one in 10 drugs sold in developing countries is fake or substandard, leading to tens of thousands of deaths, many of them of African children given ineffective treatments for pneumonia and malaria.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Photo credit: AFP / FABRICE COFFRINI / Getty Images
In a major review of the problem, the WHO said that bogus drugs are a growing threat as increased pharmaceutical trade, including internet sales, open the door to sometimes toxic products.
Some pharmacists in Africa, for example, say that they are compelled to buy from the cheapest but not necessarily the safest suppliers to compete with illegal street traders.
Fake drugs could contain incorrect doses, wrong ingredients or no active ingredients at all.
At the same time, a worrying number of authorised medicines fail to meet quality standards because of improper storage and other issues.
The scale of the problem is hard to quantify precisely, but a WHO pooled analysis of 100 studies from 2007 to 2016, covering more than 48,000 samples, showed 10.5 per cent of drugs in low and middle-income countries to be fake or substandard.
With pharmaceutical sales in such countries running at nearly $300 billion a year, this implies that trade in fake medicines is a $30 billion-business.
The human toll is enormous, according to a team from the University of Edinburgh, which was commissioned by the WHO to study the impact of fake drugs.
They calculated that up to 72,000 deaths from childhood pneumonia could be attributed to the use of antibiotics with reduced activity, increasing to 169,000 deaths if drugs had no activity.
Poor-quality drugs also add to the danger of antibiotic resistance, threatening to undermine the power of life-saving medicines in future.
Another group from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated that 116,000 additional deaths from malaria could be caused each year by bad anti-malarials in sub-Saharan Africa.
“Substandard and falsified medicines particularly affect the most vulnerable communities,” said WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus.
“This is unacceptable.”
Since 2013, the WHO has received 1,500 reports of fake and low-quality products, with anti-malarials and antibiotics the most commonly reported categories.
However, the problem extends to everything from cancer drugs to contraceptive pills.
Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 42 per cent of all the reports.
There was no global reporting of this data before 2013.
The Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, has called for the collaboration between government and private sector to develop domestic market for “Made in Nigeria” clean cookstoves.
Minister of State for Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibril, giving the opening remarks at the Nigerian Clean Cooking Forum
Jibril made the call on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 at the 2017 Nigeria Clean Cooking Forum in Abuja, the Federal Capital City.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the forum is “Clean Cooking Energy for All in Nigeria: Scaling up Domestic Production.’’
The minister, who said domestic market for clean cooking solutions must be developed, underscored the need for government and private sector to work together in stimulating the market for “Made in Nigeria” clean cookstoves.
According to him, clean cooking is a priority area in energy access that is central in achieving the goals of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which aims to reduce carbon emissions.
“It also aims to reduce the emission of green house gas to below 2’’Celsus pre-industrial time and the Sustainable Energy for All initiative in Nigeria.
“Clean cooking energy for all is not only possible but a right for our citizens,’’ he said.
Dr Bukola Saraki, President of the Senate, stressed the need to step up the activities and actions aimed at ensuring the increased usage of clean energy by households in the country.
Saraki, who was represented by Sen. Abu Ibrahim, a member of Senate Committee on Environment, said it was enormous for the nation’s forest to bear when the country consumes more than 500 million kilograms of firewood daily.
He said nearly 65,000 people die every year in Nigeria due to household air pollution while over four million people die globally annually.
According to him, more than half of these victims are children and women.
The senate president, who stressed the need to increase the usage of clean cooking stoves by households, said the stoves would save their lives and help to create jobs for people in the country.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has urged the public to support its efforts at ensuring a cleaner and healthier environment.
Dr. Lawrence Anukam, Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Agency (NESREA)
The Enugu State Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Pele Egbagiri, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu, on Tuesday, November 28, 2017.
He said that the agency would soon embark on the review five new draft environmental regulations which included the national environmental regulations on the energy sector, hazardous chemicals and pesticides.
He listed others to include regulation on the control of charcoal production, export air quality control as well as the regulation of dam and reservoirs.
The coordinator said that the final review and harmonisation in Abuja would be preceded by workshops to be organised in the 36 states of the federation.
“We are committed to ensuring that enforceable national environmental regulations are made in all sectors of our life that impact on the environment,” he said.
He said that prior to the draft regulations; the agency was already reviewing 24 other national environmental regulations on various sectors.
The coordinator added that the main objective of the programme would to be to critically study, observe and make useful inputs to the new draft regulations
He expressed the hope that by the end of the review, implementable inputs would have been made to perfect the draft document.
NESREA was established by the Act of the National Assembly in 2007 as an enforcement agency under the Federal Ministry of Environment which aimed at ensuring a cleaner and healthier environment for all Nigerians.
The agency equally aims at inspiring personal and collective responsibilities in building an environment conscious society for the achievement of sustainable development.
