About three months after stakeholders assembled in Kaduna to brainstorm on ways to actualise the Third National Communication (TNC), participants yet again converged on Lagos on Tuesday, October 24, 2017, this time to engage with investors.

For two days (from Wednesday, July 26 to Thursday, July 27, 2017) in the Kaduna State capital city, stakeholders explored ways to establish and institutionalise thematic working groups that will serve as the hub for the TNC data sources and possibly map out other areas for data collection. The occasion was the Stakeholders’ Follow-up Workshop Towards Preparation of Nigeria’s TNC to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The purpose of the Kaduna meeting was to also collate and incorporate the views and pertinent information of the stakeholders in the TNC. However, the organised private sector (OPS) and financial institutions, according to the promoters, were not fully represented at the two-day gathering.

In a bid to address the anomaly and ensure that the TNC is a true reflection of the activities of all the stakeholders of the country’s economy, the Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Tuesday held the daylong forum themed: “Engagement with Organised Private Sector on the Importance of Climate Finance in Econpmic Development of Nigeria and Role of Country Documents in Providing Access.”

A National Communication is an update prepared periodically and submitted by countries who are Parties to the UNFCCC on efforts they undertake towards combating climate change. This is to meet the ultimate objective of the Convention, which is “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. Nigeria is presently preparing the third in the series of National Communications.

Engendered by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Lagos dialogue, which featured representatives of banks and other financial institutions and other private sector players,  saw the consultants to the TNC, Messers Triple’E’  Systems Limited, providing salient information to the financial institutions on National Communications.

Besides presenting an update on the preparation of the TNC, information on available global climate finance tools and how they can be accessed was also made available to the investors.

Similarly, participants brainstormed on the necessary country documents (NAMAs, INDC, BUR and NC) that must be put in place by Nigeria before the global climate finance can be accessed.

While NAMAs implies Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions, INDC indicates Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, BUR means Biennial Update Report , and NC stands for National Communication.

Participants eventually developed a sustainable framework through which the views of the financial institutions will be regularly mainstreamed into Nigeria climate change dialogue and policies.

Director General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, in a goodwill address, said: “We commend the organisers of this forum for engaging the private sector, which is the engine of growth in this process. In particular, the industrial sector is a critical factor in the issue of carbon emission; the consequences of which has incrementally resulted in global warming.

“Today, it is interesting to note that, across the globe, the issue of taming global warming has become a priority item of governments at all levels. This is why this forum is coming at an appropriate time and the articulation of this workshop is commendable.”

He pointed out that, around the world, uncertainty remains over the present and potential damage of global warming as well as unforeseen geological de-stabilisation and carbon dioxide leakages into marine and terrestrial environments.

“Some advanced countries are finding it very difficult to contain this menace despite their prowess in technology and environmental sciences,” even as he urged members of MAN  and other private sector stakeholders “to cooperate and collaborate with the Technical Team by providing the necessary information that will facilitate the preparation of an acceptable National Communication for Nigeria which will give us access to requisite international funding resources that are available for countries across the world as a necessary condition for addressing the menace of carbon emission.”

Prof Felix Dayo, CEO of Triple’E’ Systems, in a presentation titled: “Access to Climate Change Finance for Nigeria’s Economic Development: The roles that organised private sector (OPS) can play”, emphasised that funding requirements for undertakings such as reallocating resources and developing and adopting cleaner, more efficient technologies are immense and require the determination and power of investors, large asset owners, and public and private banks.

“As climate risk becomes recognised as critical to banks, investors want to know whether this risk is being managed well and at the highest levels of the organisation,” he stressed, adding that global trends have implications on sectors like power generation, transport, manufacturing, telecommunications, agriculture, housing, banking and insurance.

He lamented that Nigeria has not been successful in accessing majority of the existing international climate funds for the benefit of the country.

Prof Dayo, however, added: “Few times in the last two years, Nigeria has featured in submissions to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board as part of programme funding:

• IFC Green Bond Program (Programme Pulled By IFC)
• GEEREF II (No Letter of No Objection from Nigeria)
• GCF Board recently approved Deutsche Bank and 12 other Financial Institutions Proposal for Climate Funding – Nigeria was one of the recipient countries.
• At the last GCF Board meeting (B18: September 29 to October 3, 2017), Nigeria was included in a programme covering five countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana and Nigeria).

“Nigeria has not fared very well in gaining access to climate finance. There are barriers working against this access which the OPS can assist in addressing,” he said, listing key barriers to include: information, economic, technological, regulatory, financial, and absence of enabling environment and documentation.

Lagos-based environment expert, Prince Lekan Fadina, underscored the need for Nigeria to access climate finance as, according to him, jobs of the future will be characterised by the transition towards low carbon economies, automation, as well as effective utilisation of natural resources.

Fadina, who is Executive Director, ‎Centre For Investment, Sustainable Development, Management & Environment (CISME), stressed that Nigeria must invest in its human capital development in order to allow it tackle its challenges which include climate change.

“This effort requires key investment in capacity building and acquisition of low carbon technologies, among other needs,” he said.

Protesting at the Brazilian National Oil and Gas Agency headquarters, activists pressure the government for more transparency and responsibility, and highlight the impacts of oil and gas exploration on climate, biodiversity and traditional communities

The Brazilian government’s current move to reopen the oil market as an alternative to raise the country’s economy has rekindled criticism from civil society and raised questions about Brazil’s ability to meet the goals set out in the Paris Accord.

Activists from 350.org Brazil protested on Thursday, October 26, 2017 in front of the headquarters of the National Oil and Gas Agency (ANP), in Rio de Janeiro, demanding greater transparency and dialogue with the communities directly affected by the blocks, and for more coherence with regard to national energy policies.

On Friday November, 27, ANP is set to hold two more rounds of bidding for oil and gas exploration; this time, in the deep pre-salt layers. In total, eight areas in the Santos Basin, located between the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, will be auctioned off during the 2nd and 3rd Rounds.

Activists took the demonstration to one of the largest avenues in the centre of Rio, and inflated a giant black balloon to represent the pollution and amount of carbon that will be emitted from the exploration.

“Our true wealth is at stake here,” said Nicole Figueiredo de Oliveira, director of 350.org Brazil and Latin America, pointing at a photo exhibition that also formed part of the demonstration. The exposition showed the threatened species in the areas of the blocks and portrayed natural disasters that could be aggravated by the intensification of the climatic changes caused by these activities.

“By prioritising investments in fossil fuel exploration and ignoring the direct impacts on biodiversity, the Brazilian government is showing total disregard for the climate, and for the promises they’ve made under international commitments like the Paris Accord. Worse, by opening new doors for companies that have been exploiting our resources indiscriminately for decades, they disrespect the most fundamental rights of diverse populations. No more walking backwards! We want a fair transition to a renewable energy-powered future, free from the trail of destruction that accompanies the fossil fuels!”

There are 10 companies confirmed for the 2nd Round and 14 for the 3rd Round. Many of them are the same companies interested in the blocs of the 14th Round, which happened exactly one month ago. Among them are big names in the international oil sector, such as Shell, ExxonMobil, Repsol, Petronas and BP. Exxon, the undisputed winner of the latest auction, promises to enter with force again in the next rounds in an attempt to replenish its reserves, which have slumped in recent years on account of the drop in the price of the oil barrel.

The pre-salt areas are offered under a profit-sharing regime, where part of the profit from production goes directly to the Union. These will be the first auctions after the approval of a law that releases the obligation of Petrobras’ participation in at least 30% of the activities in these areas. This time, Petrobras opted to be an operator with a 30% stake in the blocks of Campo de Sapinhoá, to be offered in the 2nd Round, and also with 30% in the blocks of Peroba and Alto de Cabo Frio – Central, both in the 3rd Round.

Emissions and risk to biodiversity

Estimates indicate that the entire pre-salt layer may hold some 80 billion barrels of oil in reserves, placing Brazil among the world’s top ten producers. But the exploitation of these reserves and the burning of all that fuel will also raise the country’s position in the ranking of the biggest climate villains as it would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions.

Just two of the blocks offered in the 3rd Round – Peroba and Pau Brasil – could release about 5.4 billion tons of CO2 equivalent in the atmosphere. In addition, the oil extraction mechanism alone already causes a lot of damage. The deep sea counts on a great concentration of carbon. Retained in the pre-salt layer for millions of years, on a geological scale, the carbon monoxide will be transferred to the surface in just a few decades. The emissions estimated only for this amount of CO2 present in the reservoirs exceed 3 billion tons.

In addition to putting the country at the top of the list of the world’s largest polluters, exploring the deep layers of the pre-salt also endangers many marine species, such as the Jubarte and Cachalote whales, and one of the symbols of the state of Rio, the Grey Dolphin (‘Boto-cinza’). “There are several overlapping of the blocks with the habitats of endangered species, which are highly sensitive to sound waves and can be strongly affected by seismic tests,” said Nicole Oliveira.

Hydrocarbon exploration and production activities may also result in a considerable intensification of conflicts with the fishing fleets. Not to mention the risk of a spill accident on the high seas, whose impact may reach a much larger area than the polygon of the blocks, including coastal areas, where other endangered species are also found.

“At a time when there is so much talk about sustainable development and the use of clean energy, it is unacceptable for the Brazilian government to take a completely contradictory stance and insist on investing in a process that brings so much damage. Following this path would make it simply impossible for Brazil to reduce its carbon emissions in 30% by 2020, as promised. This goal requires immediate abandonment of fossil fuels. But it seems that the Brazilian government has forgotten that part,” said Juliano Bueno de Araujo, climate campaigner at 350.org Brazil and founder of the No Fracking Brazil Coalition.

Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo, representing Friends of the Earth International on global legally binding treaty Subject 7 Jurisdiction, says in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday, October 26, 2017 that States must guarantee that a complaint against transnational corporations (TNCs) can be submitted for the abuses committed in host communities in any member state. He spoke during the United Nations Intergovernmental Working Group to hold transnational corporations account for their human rights violations

My name is Godwin Uyi Ojo, Director, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, member of Friends of the Earth International with autonomous national groups from 75 countries and over 2 million grassroots members.  We are part of the global campaign to dismantle corporate power and stop impunity of transnational corporations.

We welcome the Treaty elements on transnational corporations and their supply chains with regard to holding them to account for human rights violations.

State obligations must include civil and criminal liabilities that address TNCs human rights violations.

The imperative nature of victims’ access to justice and right to reparation in international law is attested to by numerous international instruments and regional jurisdictions.

In the reparation case brought by four fishermen from the Niger Delta, the Court in The Hague, ruled that Shell has a case to answer for its human rights violations committed in Nigeria.

At a national level obligations must establish the jurisdiction of their courts with respect to TNCs’ violations of human rights’.

This should include the state in whose territory human rights violations occurred, the national state of the parent company, the national state of the shareholders, and all other states where the transnational corporation has activities.

States must guarantee that a complaint against TNCs can be submitted for the abuses committed in host communities in any member state. So TNC home states or TNC host states cannot apply the doctrine of forum non conveniens when invoking a human rights violation committed by a TNC. Each State must allow foreign persons and communities seeking environmental justice to take legal action in its courts if they so wish.

It is imperative that the national measures required of States for the implementation of the future treaty contain an obligation for them to establish the criminal responsibility of the leaders of multinationals and other companies in case of negligence or active participation in certain human rights violations.

The States Parties shall adopt legislative, administrative or judicial measures that allow human rights lawyers and defenders to act in litigation process against TNCs, while providing them technical and financial assistance. In this regard, States Parties must ensure that civil society organisations have access to courts on behalf of victims in these cases.

We strongly believe that an international court or Tribunal for TNCs human rights violations will allow impacted communities to seek reparation that is long overdue because as we speak now the people are suffering and dying in silence.