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UK aid to support 11m Africans to access solar electricity

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UK aid to support 11m Africans to access solar electricity

The UK Government has said it is supporting the growth of solar technology companies to help more than 11 million people across Africa have access to solar electricity.

Theresa May
Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK)

A statement from the British High Commission in Abuja noted that the UK Minister of State for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, made the announcement on Wednesday, August 29, 2018.

Baldwin, who accompanied Prime Minister Theresa May to Nigeria, said that supporting such companies to provide clean energy to off-grid households in Africa would improve the livelihoods of people.

“Africa’s solar industry is vibrant and exciting, full of potential to transform the lives of millions of people who are still living off the grid.

“By sharing British expertise we’re allowing this industry to flourish, helping the poorest to access clean, sustainable energy, while also opening up opportunities for UK business and investment.

“This is a win for African countries and a win for the UK,” she said.

The high commission, in the statement, mentioned that the UK aid through the Department for International Development (DFID) was helping to boost opportunities for early stage businesses in Africa.

It stated that the opportunities were made available through the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) and a new round of the fund was being launched in five sub-Saharan African countries.

The countries are Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Senegal and Ethiopia.

“A new round of the AECF, £16 million, is being launched, providing grants, loans and business development support to small businesses creating innovative household solar products and appliances.”

“This programme will help up to 1.5 million poor people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2022 access clean, affordable modern energy, with a focus on women and children.”

It added that the UK aid would also help governments reduce the barriers in the growth of solar companies in Africa and “lay the groundwork” for 14 partner sub-Saharan African countries in clean energy.

“Support to DFID’s Clean Energy Technical Assistance Facility (£15.5 million) will work across 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and Kenya.”

It pointed out that the UK aid would increase its support to the Energise Africa impact investment platform to help 1500 new UK small investors provide the necessary finance needed.

It added that the platform would connect 125,000 more people to affordable solar energy, allowing the programme to reach a total of 325,000 people.

“Energise Africa to date has raised £4.8 million from 1000 investors to help more than 195,000 access affordable solar energy.

“Strengthening the solar market in Africa is opening up opportunities for the UK’s own pioneering solar industry to access the untapped potential offered by African markets.”

By Tope Pole

NEMA raises flood alarm, urges evacuation of people from river banks

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NEMA raises flood alarm, urges evacuation of people from river banks

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says the water level in River Niger is almost at nine centimetres which will ultimately lead to flooding in Lokoja and other eight local government areas in Kogi State.

Lokoja
Flooded parts of Lokoja in Kogi State in 2012. One of the forums explored how far banks and insurance companies can include into their corporate strategies environmental sustainability commitments, responsibilities and initiatives that can contribute to climate resilience

Mr Bitrus Samuel, Head, NEMA Operations in Abuja and Kogi, who raised the alarm on Thursday, August 30, 2018 in Lokoja, said that the flood might come anytime from now, urging those living on river banks to evacuate.

Samuel said that the impending flood was due to intensity and duration of high rainfalls currently being witnessed in different parts of the country.

He, however, said that the agency and other stakeholders were yet to determine the exact time and day the flood would hit Lokoja which he described as a receptacle of floods from other rivers.

“Flood usually comes in the night when people are fast asleep,” Samuel said, asking people living on flood plains to leave.

According to him, the ground has become saturated that its percolation and absorption levels have reduced considerably.

Aside Rivers Niger and Benue, he said that other rivers across the country had started overflowing their banks due to distortion in pattern of rainfall and charged Nigerians to prepare for more floods this year.

Samuel later met with other stakeholders to discuss their level of preparedness for the impending flood, evacuation plans and rescue strategies being put in place by them and the state government.

He charged them to immediately commence education and enlightenment of residents on the impending flood which he said had greatest damage potential of all disasters.

The NEMA official advised the state government and other stakeholders to immediately identify high grounds, establish camps and pre -position drugs, foods and non-food items in readiness for the flood.

Samuel also called on them to discourage violation of town planning laws, check dumping of refuse in rivers and poor drainage system and control location of settlements along river banks to mitigate effects of flooding.

At the meeting, the state Deputy Governor, Mr Simon Achuba, said that the government had responded promptly and adequately to disasters, adding that the impending flood would not be an exception.

Achuba, who was represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Idris Omade, directed immediate activation of their emergency management committees, asking them to organise similar stakeholders’ meetings.

The Executive Secretary of the Kogi State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr Alhassan Ayegba, said that the organisation was fully at alert and that it was expanding its frontier of response to emergency.

Ayegba also stated that officials of the agency and other relevant ministries, departments, and other stakeholders had been deployed to communities that could likely be affected to educate and sensitive residents to the impending floods.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that stakeholders from fire service, Nigeria Medical Association, Red Cross, security agencies, paramilitary agencies, religious groups, relevant ministries and agencies attended the one-day meeting.

Groups conclude plans for ‘Abuja Climate Summit’

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Groups conclude plans for ‘Abuja Climate Summit’

350 Nigeria, in partnership with Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP) and the Climate and Sustainable Development Network (CSDevNet) are putting together the “Abuja Climate Summit” that will be held on the Friday, September 7, 2018 in Abuja. The following day on Saturday, September 8, Abuja will also host the “Walk for Climate”.

Abuja
The Abuja city gate

Abuja Climate Summit is part of the Global Day of Action taking place in major cities around the world bringing people to come together to Rise for Climate Action.

“With climate impacts escalating, we don’t have the luxury to wait to see what bureaucratic negotiations have to offer. We need our local leaders to step up and do everything they can right now,” says David Michael Terungwa, executive director of GIFSEP.

According to him, the summit aims at bringing together key stakeholders from the civil Society, development partners, religious and traditional leaders, private sector, academia, women, youth, indigenous groups and policy makers to share ideas and perspectives on the progress made in Nigeria’s implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient, green economic trajectory.

His words: “The summit will also seek to explore and deliberate on converging areas of advocacy and mobilisation from bottom up, inclusive, pro-indigenous people-centered climate responses in FCT Abuja and at the national level among state and non-state actors while working towards and identifying and defining the action agenda for different stakeholders.”

Terungwa noted that the conference will be graced by some 350 delegates and feature:

  • Presentation on Nigeria’s NDCs: The journey so far
  • Nigeria’s Road Map on Transition to Renewable Energy
  • Panel Discussion on Religion, the Environment and Climate change
  • Panel Discussion on the role of Development partners and examples of key interventions
  • Panel Discussion with Leaders of Political Parties on the inclusion of Environment, Climate Change and Renewable Energy in their manifesto
  • Declaration of Abuja Climate Action
  • Press interviews
  • Communiqué

Vote4WASH campaign: Why Nigeria should prioritise water, sanitation – WaterAid

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Vote4WASH campaign: Why Nigeria should prioritise water, sanitation – WaterAid

As Nigeria counts down to the 2019 general elections, WaterAid and other development partners are highlighting the importance of clean water and decent toilet to the general wellbeing of Nigerians and make the case for clean water, basic sanitation and good hygiene to be given priority in the country’s development agenda

Suleiman Adamu
Suleiman Adamu, African Water Facility (AWF) Chair and Nigeria’s Minister of Water Resources

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) remain one of the most neglected critical issues in the country; a fact driven home by the Federal Government’s declaration of a state of emergency in its WASH sector in April this year. With nearly 60 million people living without clean water, over 120 million without access to a decent toilet and about 46 million defecating in the open, we cannot afford to ignore the urgency of WASH action in Nigeria.

At the current rates of progress, the promise to bring safe water and toilets to everyone by 2030 will not be met. In fact, the percentage of the population with access to basic sanitation continues to drop steadily. It is sad that a country of our stature cannot provide these basic life-saving services to its citizens. Nearly 60,000 children under the age of five die of WASH related diseases in Nigeria every year. Sub-Saharan Africa ranks lowest in the world for access to improved drinking water and sanitation and that is linked, of course, to the region’s under-five mortality rate which is one of the highest in the world.

There is still a lot of inequality in our society and we are still leaving millions behind: children, women, persons living with disabilities and our most vulnerable and marginalised communities. These are the people who could benefit most from these services and we need to ensure we target resources to those who are most at risk from a lack of access to clean water and sanitation.

Many Nigerians will save on health bills and be able to be more productive and generate more income if they have clean water and sanitation. Without access to water and sanitation, many will not get a fair chance at escaping poverty and reaching their full potential. Our leaders cannot continue to be careless with the health and wellbeing of its citizens and we must hold them responsible for doing the things they are supposed to do.

Sadly, the impact of poor access to WASH is not limited to health alone. Women and children bear the burden of getting water for the household; this prevents children from attending school regularly and can discourage parents from enrolling their children in school. Furthermore, it reduces the amount of time women can spend on productive activities that will help in alleviating poverty.

However, despite these documented negative impacts of lack of access to WASH, provision of WASH still ranks low in the development priorities of most elected officials in Nigeria.

Thankfully, we have an opportunity now to change this. You can change this.

The Vote4WASH campaign calls on all electoral candidates to ensure that water, sanitation and hygiene promotion is given the priority it deserves with ambitious universal access targets on (WASH) for households as well as schools, health facilities and other public places.

We ask that electoral candidates (across all elective positions) seeking the vote of Nigerians to heed calls to improve the wellbeing of Nigerians by providing universal access to clean water and decent toilets and ensuring that no child dies a preventable death because of a lack of these basic but yet vital and fundamental services.

We call on the people of Nigeria to use their votes to demand for their right to clean water and decent toilets. It is time for politicians to be held to a higher standard of governance. It is the duty of all eligible voters to seize this opportunity to hold candidates to account during and after the election. A vote for clean water is a vote for good health, education and improved livelihood.

The success of the Vote4WASH campaign was clearly documented in the last election with Aljazeera reporting that after corruption and before religious and ethnic divisions, water was a key election issue. We need to make and keep access to water, sanitation and hygiene a priority again.

Restoring degraded land highlights opportunities for sustainable development in Africa

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Restoring degraded land highlights opportunities for sustainable development in Africa

Almost 1,000 participants joined the Global Landscape Forum’s GLF Nairobi 2018 at United Nations Office in Nairobi to hear speakers from across Africa discuss their experiences and successes restoring forests, farms and coastlines. A global audience participated online and the event was a top-trending social media site in Kenya.

Erik Solheim
Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Photo credit: OECD/Michael Dean

Community leaders, including Serge Zoubga and Concepta Mukasa discussed their efforts to restore local landscapes, while Rwanda Environment Minister Francine Tumushine, UN Environment Executive Director Erik Solheim, Stefan Schmitz of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Director General Robert Nasi shared insights into the role of restoration in sustainable development and climate mitigation and adaptation.

“Unless urgent and concerted action is taken, land degradation will worsen in the face of population growth, unprecedented consumption, an increasingly globalised economy and climate change,” said CIFOR’s Nasi. “We must restore at least 12 million hectares annually simply to reach land degradation neutrality. And if we want to rectify errors from the past, then we need to run twice as fast.”

Degraded landscapes each year cost 10 percent of the global economy, affecting the livelihoods and wellbeing of some three billion people across the world, many in developing countries. The global landscapes community aims to restore more than two billion hectares of degraded land worldwide – a footprint larger than South America. For progress to take place, the private and public sectors must invest $350 billion annually.

“We have the necessary technical knowledge to restore landscapes; what is missing is stronger political commitment and better rural governance,” said Schmitz. “This includes decentralizing decision-making, administrative capacities and financial resources; putting in place adequate territorial and tenure policies.”

Initiatives big and small, from the AFR100 to local efforts such as mangrove restoration, are demonstrating the potential for greater agricultural yields, ecosystem services and climate protection. At the same time, now is the time to convert commitments to restore hundreds of millions of hectares of land into action by involving communities, women and youth, the speakers said.

“In a degraded landscape, if a woman doesn’t have the firewood, it will be difficult for her to get the water,” said Mukasa. “We managed to bring together six communities using an adaptive collaborative management approach. That vision is over restoration of degraded landscapes. These communities have been able to produce community trees.”

Solheim reiterated his support for a U.N. decade devoted to promoting the rehabilitation of degraded, damaged and destroyed ecosystems to help speed up the race against climate change and biodiversity loss. He urged participants to support the proposal for a U.N. Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, which was first floated by El Salvador.

“Ecosystem restoration can counter climate change, poverty and biodiversity loss,” said Solheim. “A U.N. Decade for Ecosystem Restoration would give us an opportunity to accelerate restoration action and UN Environment supports El Salvador and the many other countries who are champions of this idea.”

GLF Nairobi 2018 continues Thursday with discussions about ‘The Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative’, the launch of a documentary and a concert by musician Rocky Dawuni.

Experts urge African govts to restore degraded landscape for green growth

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Experts urge African govts to restore degraded landscape for green growth

African governments must prioritise restoration of degraded landscapes to hasten green and inclusive growth in the continent, experts said on Thursday, August 30, 2018 at the global landscapes forum taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.

Robert Nasi
Robert Nasi, Director General of the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

The international experts, policymakers and campaigners stated that reclaiming Africa’s degraded landscapes dovetails with the continent’s quest to achieve sustainable development and enhance its resilience in the face of climate change.

“Urgent and concerted action must be taken to halt land degradation in Africa that has been worsened by population growth, urbanisation and climate change,” said Robert Nasi, the director-general of Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

More than 1,000 delegates including Africa’s environment ministers, scientists, industry leaders and grassroots campaigners attended the two-day Nairobi forum to explore new ways to restore degraded landscapes in a continent on the cusp of industrial take off.

The high-level forum which was organised by CIFOR and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) resolved to galvanise attention to the alarming rate of landscapes degradation in Africa estimated at 50,000 hectares annually.

Nasi said policy and legislative reforms coupled with public awareness is key to stimulate investments in land reclamation across sub-Saharan Africa.

“We must incentivise key stakeholders like industry and farmers’ groups to be part of landscapes restoration drive in order to address poverty, hunger, lack of clean drinking water and energy deficit in this continent,” Nasi remarked.

Africa is currently the epicenter of landscapes degradation that could undermine the continent’s ability to sustain economic growth, stability and peace.

The World Resources Institute reckon that two thirds of Africa’s land mass are degraded while 2.8 million hectares of the continent’s forests have been cleared to pave way for farming or human settlement.

Erik Solheim, the executive director of UNEP, said multilateral institutions have rallied behind rehabilitation of Africa’s degraded ecosystems as means to counter climate change, poverty and biodiversity loss.

Flood hits eight LGAs in Kano

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Flood hits eight LGAs in Kano

The Kano State Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (SERERA) says it has dispatched personnel to eight local government areas of the state recently affected by flood to assessing the damage caused by the disaster in the areas.

Ali Makoda
Dr. Ali Makoda, Kano State Commissioner of Environment

Executive Secretary of the agency, Alhaji Ali Bashir, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano, the state capital, on Thursday, August 30, 2018.

He said the team had visited seven out of the eight local government areas concerned to compile report on the situation.

Bashir listed the local government areas as: Rimin Gado, Tofa, Dawakin Tofa, Gwarzo, Danbatta, Kabo, Gezawa and Gabasawa.

“The team has so far visited and assessed the situation in Rimin Gado, Danbatta, Gezawa, Gwarzo, Tofa, Dawakin Tofa and Kabo local government areas.

“As I am talking to you now, we are in Gabasawa Local Government Area, assessing the damage caused by the flooding in the area,” he said.

Bashir, who declined to state the number of people affected by the disaster, said after the assessment, the agency would make a comprehensive report for onward submission to the state government.

“We cannot give you the exact number of persons or houses affected until after we finish the assignment.”

According to him, the agency is still receiving reports of the disaster from other areas prone to flood.

NAN reports that no fewer than three people were reported to have died and several houses destroyed in Kiru Local Government Area of the state, following a heavy rainfall on Monday.

By Tukur Muntari

UNDP restates commitment to addressing Nigeria’s environmental degradation

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UNDP restates commitment to addressing Nigeria’s environmental degradation

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 in Abuja restated its continued support to address environmental degradation in Nigeria.

GEF-UNDP
L-R: Dr Reuben Bamidele of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO); Ahmed Auwal Maidabino, Director, Planning, Research & Statistics, GEF-OFP, Federal Ministry of Environment; Dr Peter Tarfa, Director, Department of Climate Change in the Federal Ministry of Environment; Faris Khader, UNDP Regional Technical Advisor, Climate Change Mitigation and Energy; and Dr John Fonweban, Forest Officer, REDD+ Programme Forest Policy & Resources Division

Mr Faris Khader, UNDP Regional Technical Advisor, Climate Change Mitigation and Energy, said this at a two-day 11th Global Environment Facility (GEF) National Steering Committee Meeting in the federal capital city.

The GEF is a global fund provider to address the issues of environment such as biodiversity, climate change, ozone layer, international waters and pollution.

Khader, who said UNDP was part of the implementing agencies of GEF projects, commended the Federal Government for its active participation in the implementation of GEF projects in the country.

“I will like to congratulate the Honourable Minister for Environment for his dynamic leadership, as evidenced by his recent active participation in GEF Assembly in Vietnam.

“I wish to therefore, assure him of UNDP’s continuing support, especially with developing responsive interventions that are fully aligned with Government’s Change Agenda and national priorities,” he said.

According to him, people live in an incredibly complex and interconnected environment, which is a life supporting system for human survival.

“While a properly managed environment can be geared towards productive requirements, a poorly managed one can easily threaten human survival.

“This underpins the critical role that GEF investments play in the scaling up sustainable local solutions for global benefits,” Khader said.

His words: “As we all know, we live in an incredibly complex and interconnected environment, which is a life supporting system for human survival. While a properly managed environment can be geared towards productive requirements, a poorly managed one could easily threaten human survival. This underpins the critical role that GEF investments play in the scaling up sustainable local solutions for global benefits.

“Noteworthy, is the inclusion of State actors and local communities in this two-day consultation. A recognition of the significant roles they play in designing of sustainable programmatic interventions and harnessing grassroots solutions and innovations that will sustainably address the key drivers of environmental degradation in Nigeria, while maximizing the benefits of GEF at all levels.

“The longstanding UNDP-Federal Ministry of Environment is of significant value. Together, our current GEF programming covers biodiversity and climate change, with the overall vision of delivering value to the poor and marginalized (especially women and youths), empowering policy makers and unlocking private sector investments for nature-based solutions. We at UNDP look with excitement into the future filled with limitless possibilities of working with the Government of Nigeria in their quest to build a sustainable and prosperous future for its people.”

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Alhaji Sheu Ahmed, who declared the meeting open, thanked the UNDP for its efforts in assisting Nigeria in its task at ensuring a desirable environment.

Ahmed, who was represented by the Director, Department of Climate Change in the ministry, Dr Peter Tarfa, said that the federal government was working to upscale the Nigerian environment.

He said that the ministry was implementing programmes and projects to eradicate plastic pollution that posed threats to lives and aquatic lives and causing depletion to the ozone layer, an incidence very harmful to human existence.

The permanent secretary expressed the federal government’s determination to maximize benefits accruable from the opportunities available in terms of getting more funds into the nation’s system through GEF-funded projects.

By Deji Abdulwahab

UN modernises, relaunches climate change e-commerce web platform

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UN modernises, relaunches climate change e-commerce web platform

The UN Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 announced the relaunch of its Online Platform for Voluntary Cancellation of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), where organisations, governments, businesses and citizens alike can purchase carbon offsets vetted by the United Nations to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions.

Arthur Rolle
Arthur Rolle, Chair of the CDM Executive Board

The e-commerce platform, according to the UN climate body, has gained in simplicity, user friendliness and usability, and is accessible in English and French with a Spanish version to follow later in the year.

“Along with clearer visual explanations and multimedia material on the meaning and benefits of offsetting, the central improvement consists of a new climate footprint calculator to estimate greenhouse gas emissions of households. This tool has evolved thanks to an efficient background data processing system and benefits from a brand-new smart design, making it easy for everyone to use,” the UNFCCC disclosed in a statement.

Arthur Rolle, Chair of the Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board, said: “The platform is enjoying increasing popularity at the global level. Since its initial launch in 2015, over 2,500 transactions resulted in over 300,000 tonnes of CO2 (i.e. 300,000 CERs) being cancelled. I hope that this upgrade will motivate even more users, individuals and businesses to take the climate action we urgently need. And we hope to become an even more attractive partner for peer organizations and initiatives who also promote urgent climate action and who wish to collaborate with us.”

The carbon credits come from projects registered under the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Under the CDM, projects in developing countries earn a saleable credit for each tonne of greenhouse gas they reduce or avoid. 8,100 projects and programmes in 111 countries range from clean cookstoves and water purification to wind power and large industrial gases projects.

In addition to being green and climate-friendly, these activities make a real difference as they bring sustainable development benefits to local communities, such as improved air and water quality, improved income, improved health, reduced energy consumption and much more. The purchase of CERs also contributes to the continuation of the projects and hence of these benefits, which underlines the importance of a well-functioning and user-friendly web platform.

The platform is said to function the same way it used to: the entire contributions users make while offsetting emissions go directly to the project owners, without any commission taken or fee added by the United Nations. This direct payment method is unique and is part of the identity of this platform: The United Nations facilitate the process without intervening in it.

Pakistan, India hold water talks as climate change bites South Asia

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Pakistan, India hold water talks as climate change bites South Asia

Pakistan and India are holding a fresh round of talks to sort out disputes over water resources from rivers that flow across their borders.

Kerala
Rescue operations in Kerala, India in a flooded neighbourhood

The two-day talks began on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, days after a new government in Islamabad vowed to revive peace talk with India that have stalled since 2008.

The officials from the Pakistan-India Indus Commission, a body that deals with water issues between the two countries under a 1960 World Bank-backed treaty, are participating.

“We are hopeful of a positive outcome,’’ Pakistan lead negotiator Mehr Shah said, ahead of talks. “Water is a lifeline to our agrarian economies and we will look for solutions.’’

Six rivers flow from India into Pakistan, South Asian nuclear powers that have fought three wars since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

The Indus Waters Treaty entitled India to waters of the eastern rivers Sutlej, Beas and Ravi and gave Pakistan control of the western rivers the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab.

However, the 1960 accord allowed India to use water from rivers allocated to Pakistan in a way that did not block or reduce their flow, like certain hydropower projects.

But Islamabad has accused India of building dams at western rivers that curtail the flow of water into Pakistan, in violation of the treaty.

“That’s the issue we are going to raise at talks,’’ said an official of the Pakistani Ministry for Water Resources, on condition of anonymity. “We cannot let India deprive us of our right.’’

The latest round takes place as the entire South Asian region faces severe droughts and floods because of climate change.

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