Have you heard the word “Desertification” before? Are you aware of the devastating impacts it could have? Does it make any sense to have a hand in such environmental disaster? Wouldn’t you rather be a solution to this threat?
Desertification in Nigeria
By way of introduction, Desertification is the process by which a fertile land becomes a desert. It is a land degradation phenomenon common to arid, semi-arid and humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities.
It is not mere speculations that many people outside the “environmental niche” are not (or poorly) enlightened about environment issues. They know nothing about how their actions – deliberately or otherwise lead to great (usually negative) consequences to the world they live in. More discouraging is that the youths lead the pack in this subset of “the environmentally naïve”.
Though statistics reveals that a whopping 63% of the entire landmass of Nigeria across 15 northern states are presently plagued by desertification, the menace did not start this morning. In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared every June 17 as “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought”; the aim was to promote public awareness of the issue and the implementation of the United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in countries experiencing it – Nigeria inclusive.
Northern Nigeria, the largest producers of cereals and a significant contributor to the economy of Africa, are most affected by desertification. It is believed that states like Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Adamawa, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Niger, and Kebbi loses up to 350,000 hectares (ha) of land to desertification annually.
Two other close ties to desertification are drought and deforestation. We have laid a basis for desertification, drought, on the other hand, has been earmarked as a principal cause of desertification. Though seen as a naturally occurring phenomenon that can be attributed to a (drastic) drop in the amount of precipitation over a particular period in a particular place, deforestation, which is human-induced, is an underlying cause.
It has been proven by researchers that activities such as deforestation, bush burning, overgrazing, fuelwood extraction and poor management of irrigation have contributed to this menace. The impact of desertification in Nigeria also include loss of biological diversity, alteration of geo- chemical composition of the soil, global warming, increased erosion, water scarcity, reduced agricultural yield hence, contributing to food insecurity, reduced economic growth among other unfavourable impacts.
“What then is the government doing?” you ask. In fairness, the government of Nigeria has, in the past, put up several combative measures to curb drought and deforestation. Some of such measure is the signing of UNCED in 1994 and the establishment of State Environmental Protection Agencies (SEPAs) in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Unfortunately, rather than the expected rejuvenation, these initiatives have been weakened by socio-economic indices such as poverty, poor cooperation from the governed, lack of political will, institutional weakness and corruption.
A particular study says, and I agree, that the best shot at finding a solution to this challenge would be alleviating poverty to reduce forest dependence, embarking on afforestation programmes, sustainable land use and most importantly, raising awareness at local, national and global level.
In conclusion, a majority of adverse human activity on the environment could be mitigated if defaulters are aware of inherent consequences.
An objective approach will be for us to ask ourselves, “What then are we doing as a people?” The least, effortless contribution one can make to support this campaign is to tell someone about it – raise awareness! I just told you; hope you will do the same?
By Ogunjobi Oluwamuyiwa Felix (Port Harcourt-based environmental advocate; phelicks93@gmail.com)
On World Day to Combat Desertification observed globally on Saturday, June 17, 2017 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) explores how conserving soil biodiversity can make dryland communities more resilient to drought and other threats, and prevent desertification
Combating desertification: Planting some 20,000 trees to create living hedges in Burkina Faso
Conserving soil-dwelling worms, insects and bacteria is not the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about nature conservation. In fact, in dryland areas like the Sahel, most biodiversity is found beneath the earth’s surface – and conserving it is crucial for water and food security.
Drylands like grasslands and savannahs are particularly vulnerable to environmental degradation. Overgrazing and unsustainable farming combined with climate change can quickly turn a productive dryland into a wasteland.
Much of the reason why healthy soils are more fertile can be found underground.
A typical healthy soil might contain several species of vertebrate animals and earthworms, over 20 species of mites,over 50 species of insects, tens of species of nematodes, hundreds of species of fungi and thousands of species of bacteria.
In drylands most species are found underground where they form interdependent communities. These communities are responsible for some of the most important earth-regulating cycles: water, carbon and nitrogen. They influence the capacity of soil to infiltrate and store water and they determine the overall fertility and productivity of the land.
Termites, for example, create pores in the soil and recycle large amounts of decaying vegetation. If we take their total weight, termites are by far the largest animal living on the Savannah.
Healthy, living soils promote water security. Every gram of organic matter can increase soil moisture by 10-20 g, and the capacity of soil to capture and store water declines rapidly when soil biodiversity is lost. But water can be managed to adapt to scarcity and variability.
Healthy soils also mean more food security. Soil contributes to the production of 95% of all our food and, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), by sustainably managing soils we could produce up to 58% more food. This is roughly the same as the projected increase in food production needed to feed the world population in 2050.
By helping local people return to traditional farming and grazing methods IUCN works to conserve biodiversity both above and below the ground, making drylands more productive and sustainable.
In the Sahel, IUCN is promoting sustainable land management as part of the Great Green Wall, a Pan African initiative to restore a vast swathe of drylands that support millions of farmers and pastoralists. A book on this project will be launched later this year.
In Burkina Faso IUCN is supporting the expansion of sustainable land management practices to create more resilient dryland livelihoods.
For example, farmers plant seeds in small pits known as zaï, filled with organic manure, to concentrate water and nutrients at a plant’s base. By introducing organic matter to the soil they help preserve fertile, living soils, contributing to food security.
In Kenya, IUCN is helping manage land in a way that allows for traditional grazing practices, where “dry season pastures” are set aside to act as a buffer in periods of drought. By conserving vegetation above ground, they are also protecting soil biodiversity that helps retain moisture.
Healthy, living soils also help mitigate climate change by storing carbon. It is estimated that soils can sequester around 20 petagrams of carbon in 25 years – more than 10 % of the anthropogenic emissions.
In sub-Saharan Africa, where a large part of the economy depends on rain-fed subsistence agriculture, desertification and human poverty are inextricably linked. Conserving life both above and below the Earth’s surface must be part of the solution.
A high-level symposium of Africa’s interior, environment and foreign affairs ministers held recently in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, warned that ignoring the plight of jobless young people in sub-Saharan Africa is a recipe for political instability and global insecurity. They called for support to create land-based jobs in the rural areas to ward off the temptation for the most disillusioned to take up alternative but dangerous sources of income.
President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of Burkina Faso
This is the first time high-ranking officials drawn from Africa’s foreign affairs, environment and interior ministries have met jointly to find solutions to Africa’s growing challenge of rural youth unemployment that is driving distress migration and radicalisation of disillusioned young men.
A few weeks ago, the Group of 7 (G-7) leaders declared that Africa’s security, stability and sustainable development are high priorities for G-7 countries.
The high-level symposium held on Friday, June 16, 2917 stressed that Africa’s heavy reliance on the natural resource base for livelihoods is a challenge, and its mismanagement increases household risks and amplifies the vulnerability of millions of people.
They called for the identification of sites where tenure or access to land rights can be secured and provided to vulnerable at-risk-groups. They also called for partnerships to create two million secure land-based jobs through rehabilitation of 10 million hectares of degraded land.
They also called for investment in rural infrastructure, rehabilitation tools and skills development and prioritisation of job creation in unstable and insecure areas.
President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of Burkina Faso delivered a speech jointly prepared with Presidents Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali and Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, who also attended the ceremony in solidarity. The Presidents also received the Symposium’s outcome, a Call to Action, which was presented by Batio Bassiere, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change on behalf of the participants that the high-level symposium.
The symposium examined the threats connected to sustainability, stability and security, namely, conflicts linked to access to degrading natural resources, instability due to unemployment of rural youth and insecurity and the risk of the radicalisation triggered by social and economic marginalisation and exposure to extremist groups.
The Symposium was part of the global celebration of World Day to Combat Desertification. Two days earlier, more than 400 civil society representatives from African participated in their World Day observance, also in Ouagadougou, and organised by Spong, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), to prepare for the International Summit of CSOs titled, Desertif’actions 2017, to be held on June 27-28, 2017 in Strasbourg, France.
The outcomes of the Strasbourg Summit will be presented to the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD to be held in Ordos, China, in September 2017, and the 23rd session of the Conference of Parties to the Climate Change Convention.
During the celebrations, Executive Secretary Barbut announced the two winners of the prestigious Land for Life Award: Practical Action Sudan/UNEP from South Sudan; Watershed Organisation Trust from India. The Land for Life China award was given to Ms Yingzhen Pan, Director General of National Bureau to Combat Desertification, China.
The winners will be recognised at the award ceremony which is planned at the Kubuqi International Desert Forum next month.
President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali and Mahammadou Issoufou of Niger chorused: “Drought, food insecurity, water scarcity, unemployment, hopelessness about the future and poverty are fertile grounds for extremism, and a sign of insecurity, instability and unsustainability. The 1st African Action Summit by Heads of State and Government held in Marrakesh in 2016 launched the Sustainability, Stability and Security initiative – the 3S Initiative – with a commitment to speed up the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded lands as a means to create jobs for rural youth. The question we must answer today is this: are we capable of continuing to invest for the future?”
Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary, UN Convention to Combat Desertification: “More than 375 million young people will enter Africa’s job market over the next 15 years, of whom 200 million be living in the rural areas. Millions of rural young people face an uncertain future due to the lack of decent rural jobs and continuous loss of livelihoods due to land degradation and falling yields.
“Frustrations will boil over with more migration and more conflict over a shriveling resource base. The challenge is bigger than just a matter of a million young African’s attempting to make the move towards Europe over the course of a year. The UK Ministry of Defence estimates up to 60 million Africans are at risk of distressed migration as a result of land degradation and desertification pressures in the next two decades. Imagine what could happen if each of you committed to rehabilitate 100,000 hectares of land in your respective countries, and if young people in Africa were given the chance to bring that natural capital back to life and into production. With the right type of investments in land, rural infrastructure and skills development, the future in your region can be bright.”
Batio Bassiere, Minister of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change, Burkina Faso: “Burkina Faso, on average, loses 360,000 ha of land to degradation every year, with significant impacts on 85% of the population that lives off agriculture and pastoral activities. As stated in the theme of the World Day to Combat Desertification, Our Land, Our Home, Our Future must be preserved against all forms of degradation or desertification. Burkina Faso is now among the 110 countries that to-date have committed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target of land degradation neutrality by 2030.”
Regarding the Land for Life Award Winners, Barbut states: “The winners show that restoration of degraded land can halt distress migration that is driven by unproductive land resources. Families and communities are transformed and become more resilient towards climate change when job opportunities are created. When practices like these are amplified globally, sustainability, stability and security of all is possible. It only requires political will and decisive action against losing more productive land to desertification.
Awadalla Hamid, Practical Action Sudan, North Darfur: “Practical Action and all our partners are delighted to have won the global Land for Life Award 2017. Ecosystem-based approaches to disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) are certainly an effective approach for bringing together beneficiary communities and relevant state institutions as partners in building local resilience. Winning the Global Land for Life Award 2017 was made possible by the successful collaboration between Practical Action, the UN Environment, the European Union and all other partners.”
Marcella D’Souza, Watershed Organisation Trust from India: Combating desertification can be realised! Team WOTR is thrilled that we have proved it substantially. Thank you UNCCD for recognising the years of silent committed effort of my team and villagers through this prestigious award. We thank our funders – the BMZ with the KfW and GIZ, the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, NABARD, the Indian Government and our many donors who have helped us realise this. WOTR renews its commitment to continue Combating Desertification.”
Abdalla Latief, Director General, State Ministry of Agriculture North Darfur: “Excellent news on the occasion of Ramadan. It is extremely rewarding for the Eco DRR project in North Darfur to be awarded the Global Land for Life Award 2017 by the UNCCD Secretariat. It is a great accomplishment for our communities, the UN Environment, the state government of North Darfur, Practical Action and the Voluntary Networks. I had faith that the exceptional devotion and efficient coordination towards implementing Eco-DRR projects was leading us to success.”
Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment: “I’m immensely proud of the work UN Environment is doing to help improve people’s lives in North Darfur and around the world. Winning this award proves that by working together in effective partnerships and hand in hand with communities themselves, we can make positive and lasting change, even in some of the most difficult situations.”
Winner of Land for Life China Award Pan Yingzhen, Director General of National Bureau to Combat Desertification, China: “Thank you UNCCD for awarding this Land for Life Award. I am very honoured. This is recognition not only for me but also for those who have worked hard to fight desertification. The award also gives affirmation to our government’s commitment to combat land degradation and encouragement to people to restore degraded land. As the China National Focal Point of Combating Desertification, I will continue together with my colleagues to lead and realise the work of rehabilitating degraded land. Let our land be alive again, giving more hopes and opportunities!”
Gridlock, caused by the invasion by petrol tankers and trucks of the Apapa Road and other link roads, which are in a state of disrepair, paralysed movement in Lagos on Friday, June 16, 2017 with commuters spending long, productive hours in an unusual traffic snarl, which forced others to resort to trekking unhealthy distances to get to their duty posts.
Correspondent Innocent Onoh, who was also caught in the web, now reports.
The Government of France on Thursday, June 15, 2017, deposited its instrument of ratification, thereby becoming the 58th future Party to the Minamata Convention.
Emmanuel Macron, President of France
This emerged a couple of days after Austria on Monday, June 12, 2017 ratified the global accord, and making it the 57th country to do so.
A few days before that, the West African nation of Niger on Friday, June 9 ratified the pact to become the 56th Party to the mercury treaty.
Hitherto, Finland on Thursday, June 1 endorsed the treaty, making it the 55th Party. Prior to that, Slokavia on Wednesday, May 31 ratified the Convention.
The twin island nation of St Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 had ratified the Convention, making it the 53rd Party to the global treaty.
The Minamata Convention has already entered into force, thanks to the landmark rash of ratifications on Thursday, May 18, 2017 that triggered the Convention on Mercury into force, having garnered the required 50 ratifications.
On that day, the EU and seven of its member States – Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden – deposited their instruments of ratification at the UN Headquarters in New York, bringing to 51 that day the number of future Parties.
As a result, on August 16 2017, the Convention, which aims at protecting human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds, will become legally binding for all its Parties.
The 1st Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention (COP1) will gather governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations from around the world in Geneva from September 24 to 29, 2017.
The Minamata Convention is said to be the first new global Convention on environment and health adopted for close to a decade. It addresses the entire life cycle of mercury, considered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the top 10 chemicals of major health concern, which threatens the environment and health of millions.
The Ogun State Government is canvassing for the establishment of more forest reserves in the South West geo-political zone with the conviction that the step will help in mitigating the effect of climate change and control acute weather.
Ogun State Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal
Commissioner for Forestry, Chief Kolawole Lawal, made the call recently while featuring on a live television programme in Abeokuta, the capital city.
He said it had become imperative for the concerned states to embark on massive tree planting and other forestry activities, noting that it would assist the states in tackling climate change as forests help to absorb excess carbon-dioxide and releases oxygen into the atmosphere.
Chief Lawal explained that, apart from mitigating against climate change, it could also serve as an energy source as electricity could be generated through biomass and saw dust, a waste product of the forest.
The Commissioner noted that Ogun State Government, on its part, had designed a template to ensure sustainability of forest reserves in the state through conservation.
World football governing body, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), is having sleepless night as it is failing to attract backing, after firms appear to desert the sponsorship of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Giovanni Infantino, FIFA President
The development stems from the corruption scandals, hooliganism threats, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy in Syria and Ukraine.
The once-booming and money-spinning FIFA has now lost £700 million in the two years since its bosses were arrested some years back over financial scandals.
Figures show just 10 sponsors have signed to pump cash into the Russian event next year – 24 short of FIFA’s target figure.
FIFA drew up a list of 20 sponsors before the last World Cup in Brazil and all were filled a year before kick-off.
Since the arrest of top officials in 2015, FIFA has secured just one local sponsor, the Moscow-based Alfa Bank, and only one international backer, China’s Wanda Group.
The others, including Coca-Cola, Adidas, Hyundai, Visa, McDonald’s and Gazprom, all signed before the corruption scandal broke.
Football sponsorship expert, Dr Dan Plumley of the Sheffield Hallam University, said: “The FIFA brand has become toxic. Companies want to be associated with a brand in a positive light.”
FIFA’s annual accounts in April showed in April showed it lost nearly £300 million in 2016 and could lost £400 million this year.
The world’s football ruling body however believes that affiliates will join before the World Cup.
Meanwhile, the Confederation Cup is set to begin in St Petersburg on Saturday, with Russia playing New Zealand in the opener.
Portugal and Mexico are the other two nations in Group A, with Cameroon, Chile, Australia and Germany filling Group B.
Held every four years, the Confederation Cup is a tournament that tests the stadia and infrastructure in World Cup host countries.
The Volgograd Arena is not set to host any matches in this year’s tournament, but will host four group stage matches in 2018.
African governments have been called upon to adopt a declaration to affirm their commitment to the acceleration of implementation of the Paris Agreement, and condemn the decision by the United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Representatives of the African Major Groups and Stakeholders to the 16th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) in Libreville, Gabon
The call was made on Thursday, June 15, 2017 in Libreville, Gabon in a statement issued by the African Major Groups and Stakeholders to the 16th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN).
While calling on African governments that have not yet ratified the Agreement to do so and prepare comprehensive low-carbon and climate-resilient strategies, the Groups and Stakeholders, demanded support for the Africa Group of Negotiators in the development of an “Africa Paris Rulebook” before the 23rd session of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP23) scheduled to hold in Bonn, Germany in November, 2017.
“We strongly urge our African leaders to develop, pursue and implement their climate and sustainable development commitments,” the statement noted, urging the authorities to develop robust plans and resource mobilisation strategies to invest and harness the renewable energy potential in the continent in order provide access to millions of energy poor populations across the continent.
“We further call upon African leaders to safeguard the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) and put in place necessary procedures to ensure this remains Africa-driven and deliver the energy transformation the continent is aspiring for,” the groups emphasised while applauding the political commitment of the committee of African Heads of States for the AREI and condemning the decision by United States to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
Expressing concern over the high levels of environmental degradation in Africa as a result of multiple sources including air, soil, marine and fresh water pollution, the campaigners acknowledged the role of indigenous knowledge and efforts in conserving the environment and addressing climate change challenges in Africa.
Other resolutions at forum were listed to include:
AMCEN
We call upon member states through the African Heads of State to revisit the proposal to dissolve AMCEN. We also call on AMCEN to improve the provision of policy guidance and heightened responses to regional environmental and sustainable development challenges.
We strongly urge Member States to live up to their obligation and pay the mandatory annual contribution to the Trust Fund. The contributions will ensure sustainable financing for convening AMCEN and implementation of its activities. We commend all member states who have met their obligation and single out Madagascar, Mauritius and South Africa for contributing beyond the mandatory amount. We also call upon AMCEN and African member states to financially support the engagement of the African Civil Society to effectively participate in environmental governance processes in Africa.
Implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and Africa Agenda 2063
We call upon African Governments to accelerate the implementation of SDGs and Africa Agenda 2063, by taking an integrated, inclusive, innovative and gender-responsive approach to ensure collective actions.
We further call on the African Governments to cap foreign debt and domestically mobilise and effectively utilise both financial and natural resources to reflect African priorities.
Pollution
We strongly urge African Governments to take decisive action to combat all forms of pollution including ban on production, importation and use of plastics. African Governments should adopt best practices from a country like Rwanda on plastics ban.
Further, we urge African Government to increase investment on research, advance clean technologies and implement existing laws to deal with all types of pollution and at all levels.
We encourage governments to address pollution related to mining, agriculture, waste, including transboundary pollution, by monitoring compliance with regulatory frameworks.
Illegal Wildlife Trade
We call upon member states to accelerate the implementation of the African Strategy on Combatting Illegal Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora. We further request governments to implement the Convention on Migratory Species to prevent the risk of poisoning of wildlife, develop and enforce legislation to regulate and restrict the use and disposal of toxic chemicals used to poison wildlife.
Gender, youth and indigenous peoples
We call upon African Governments to embark on gender-responsive and participatory approaches where both women, men and youth are equally involved and well represented at all levels. Governments should harness the vast potential of indigenous knowledge of the African people to provide sustainable solutions to environmental challenges.
We strongly reiterate our commitment, in collaborating and supporting efforts by our governments and other stakeholders, to promote initiatives geared towards investing in innovative environmental solutions to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2063 in Africa.
Machinery has been put in place for the drafting of an agriculture policy in Benue State by Synergos, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Gates Foundation or BMGF) supported organisation, in conjunction with other stakeholders.
Participants at the CDT/AVG meeting on the Benue State agriculture policy in a group photograph. Photo credit: Damian Daga
This was the key reflection at the the Synergos Benue State CDT/AVG Meeting for State Partnership for Agriculture (SPA) held 15th June, 2017 in Makurdi, Benue State.
In his presentation, Field Manager Synergos Nigeria, Mr Victor Adejoh, who lamented that many states in the country do not have an agriculture policy, stated that he is optimistic that they will aid in the development of one for Benue State, which he hopes will be replicated by other states.
To that end, he charged stakeholders at the meeting to be positive minded and provide the gaps needed to fashion out a policy that will address the system constraints in the agricultural sector in the state as well as meet the needs of farmers.
Earlier, Permanent Secretary in the Benue State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Richard Tondu, in his opening remarks, enthused that they have been awaiting a push for an agriculture policy.
He maintained that the stakeholders’ contributions at the meeting would give way for a very sound agriculture policy in the state.
“The agriculture policy will help Benue maintain her lead in agriculture,” he stated.
Also speaking, Abdulraman Danbaba from Techno-Serve, who made a presentation on “Initiating a Policy for Agriculture in Benue State”, noted that the policy would increase economic growth, productivity of agricultural resources, provide guidelines for developing the agricultural sector and create an enabling environment for investment.
According to him, the policy is a sure way to properly harness the abundant agricultural potentials that abound in the state from vegetation and climate, land resources, veterinary services, mineral resources and water resources among others.
Commenting after the meeting, Benue Team Lead Synergos, Mr Michael Agon, noted that the policy document on agriculture in the state would make an impact once the implementation is duly carried out.
In separate remarks, Prof. Godwin Abu, Mrs Janet Adejoh and Mrs Maureen Kajo who spoke as stakeholders at the meeting, called for the inclusion of youths, women and farmers in the formulation of policies and budgetary processes in order to have a realistic policy or budget that will revolutionise agriculture, adding that feeder roads are needed to convey agriculture products to points of sale as their absence were greatly hampering agricultural growth.
No fewer than 100 European airports are to be carbon neutral by 2030, according to the planning of the European branch of Airports Council International (ACI Europe).
About 100 airports in Europe to go climate neutral by 2030
The council this week doubled its carbon neutrality target for 2030 in support of the central goal of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, which is to hold the global average temperature rise to as close as possible to 1.5°C.
Carbon emissions generated by airport operations account for up to 5% of total emissions from the aviation sector, and engagement of the airport industry is said to be key to achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. According to experts, the aviation industry has a major interest in preventing more extreme weather from climate change, as more storms, heatwaves and turbulence will directly affect air travel.
“Europe’s airports are fully behind the objective of keeping the global average temperature rise well below 2°C and aiming to reach 1.5°C. For its part, the airport industry has already moved from words to actions a while ago, through the independent carbon management programme, Airport Carbon Accreditation,” said Augustin de Romanet, President of ACI Europe and President/CEO of Groupe ADP.
ACI Europe made an original pledge to make 50 European airports carbon neutral by 2030 at the UN Climate Change Conference in France in 2015, where the Paris Agreement was clinched.
On the decision to ramp up his association’s pledge, Augustin de Romanet said: “We thought we could do even better. We thought that we needed to do better. So I am extremely proud today to announce that we are doubling our commitment.”
Already 27 Carbon Neutral Airports in Europe
The carbon neutral status of airports is certified by the independent carbon management programme Airport Carbon Accreditation under Airports Council International, which supports airports in measuring, reporting and reducing their emissions. ACI is in turn aligned with the Climate Neutral Now initiative of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which encourages voluntary climate action towards climate neutrality.
Earlier this month, the airports of Gatwick and Lyon-Saint Exupéry achieved the carbon neutrality status under Airport Carbon Accreditation, bringing the number of carbon neutral airports in Europe to 27.
Niclas Svenningsen, who heads the Climate Neutral Now initiative at the UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, said: “Less than two years ago here in Paris, 195 countries signed to Paris Agreement under the motto of ‘We can, We must, We will’. The announcement by ACI EUROPE about its increased climate neutral ambition is very much in the same spirit and sets a great example for other industries and sectors to follow. We at UNFCCC welcome the continued efforts of the airport industry and support all the airports that are taking action to combat climate change.”
The movement to make Europe’s airports climate neutral was pioneered by Swedavia’s Stockholm-Arlanda airport, which achieved certification as the first carbon neutral airport in the world in November 2009.
A total of 116 airports in Europe are currently working to reduce their CO2 emissions using various forms of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. Around 65% of European air passenger traffic goes through these airports.
