The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. says three bodies have been recovered in the ongoing rescue operations of the helicopter that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, near Port-Harcourt on Thursday, October 24, 2024.
NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari
Mr. Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd. disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja
Soneye said the helicopter, operated by East Winds Aviation, took off from Port Harcourt NAF Base en route the FPSO – NUIMS ANTAN, with eight persons on board (six passengers and two crew members), name withheld.
According to the NNPCL spokesperson, the helicopter was engaged to transport personnel to its Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) facility, NUIMS ANTAN, when it tragically lost contact.
“The helicopter, a Sikorsky SK76 operated by East Wind Aviation, was en route from the Port Harcourt Military Base to the NUIMANTAN oil rig when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Bonny Finima.
“The flight had eight people on board — six passengers and two crew members — when contact was lost at 11:22 am,” he said.
Soneye added that teams from the Nigerian Search and Rescue Unit, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and the National Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) were actively participating in the rescue efforts.
He added that neighbouring aerodromes had been alerted to assist in the ongoing operations.
‘Although no Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signal was detected, authorities are using manual methods to track the accident site. Low-flying aircraft and military units are being deployed in the search for survivors,” he said
Soneye said the NNPCL would continue to do everything possible to support the ongoing search and rescue operation.
“We shall continue to monitor the situation and provide regular updates as the events unfold.
“Our prayers are with the passengers, crew and their respective families at this very difficult time.
“We will continue to do everything possible to support the ongoing search and rescue operation,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has directed an intensification of search and rescue for passengers of the ill-fated helicopter that crashed into the Atlantic near Bonny Finima on Thursday in Port-Harcourt.
The helicopter, operated by East Winds Aviation and registered as 5NBQG, was hired by NNPC Ltd. to ferry some contract staff to the NNPC facility FPSO—NUIMS ANTAN.
Tinubu urged military officers involved in various operations in the zone to join the rescue mission and provide all necessary support to the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, and other relevant agencies.
He condoled with the Board and staff of NNPC Ltd. and the families of those confirmed dead in the accident, Mr Bayo Onanuga, his Special Adviser, Information and Strategy, said in a statement.
Tinubu prayed that the Almighty God would grant eternal rest to the three departed souls and comfort their families.
Stakeholders in the health and climate space have said that lack of actionable plans to strengthen the food security chain amid the climate change crisis, may lead to dire consequences.
Dr Dolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory
They said this during a panel session on “Addressing Climate Impacts on Nutrition and Food Security” at the 10th edition of Future of Health Conference on Thursday, October 24, 2024, in Abuja.
The conference, organised by Nigeria Health Watch, is themed, “From Evidence to Action: Building resilience at The Climate-Health Nexus”.
Dr Dolapo Fasawe, Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory, said that climate change undoubtedly had adverse effects on all aspects of food security, including availability, access, utilisation and stability.
She said that for food security objectives to be realised, all four highlighted dimensions must be fulfilled simultaneously.
“On the contrary, Nigeria is unable to fulfil these dimensions, leading to food insecurity.”
Citing a 2023 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report on “Climate Action and Nutrition – Pathways to Impact”, Fasawe said that climate change also impacted the nutritional quality of available foods.
She said increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have been shown to reduce the concentrations of essential nutrients such as iron, protein, and zinc in staple crops like rice, maize, wheat, and potatoes.
“Reduced levels of these micronutrients in food crops will drive micronutrient deficiencies and poor nutrition outcomes, particularly among low-income communities and women and children as the most vulnerable.”
She, however, called for the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, including investment in research and development of climate-adapted crops and technologies.
She also called for diversification of diets to promote dietary choices that enhanced nutrition, reduced reliance on mono-cropping systems and support agrobiodiversity.
“Implementing strategies to reduce post-harvest losses and improve food distribution systems will minimise environmental harm, address food loss and waste, and ultimately enhance food security.”
On his part, Mr. Samuel Onuigbo, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Climate Change at the eight assembly, said that the Climate Change Act talked about the importance of agriculture, the environment, mines and water resources.
This, he said, was to ensure that Nigeria employed a holistic approach to the issue.
According to him, the holistic approach will help to tackle issues of nutrition and food security.
“This is because if you don’t deal with the impacts of climate change, you will not know that it has affected food, water, and the environment.
“So together, these things are structured in such a way that everyone is involved, and all hands must be on deck for us to secure food security.”
The Country Director, Care International, Dr Hussaini Abdu, said that one major way to respond to climate change was to ensure that high levels of investments and mobilisation on the issue were carried out.
Abdu noted that there was need for a more coordinated response to the situation, with the private sector as a key player.
Africa faces knowledge gaps that hinder engagements in the global energy transition, even as countries set ambitious net-zero targets and major oil companies shift toward cleaner energy.
A session at the Africa Climate Academy
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), a policy think tank, believes the continent needs fresh perspectives on the risks of oil dependence and the opportunities of the energy transition for inclusive growth and development.
“It is time for us to think how we can be part of the economic transformation from renewable energy, despite the challenges with climate change,” said Benjamin Boakye, ACEP Executive Director.
He was addressing the inaugural cohort of the Africa Climate Academy, an educational platform designed to reshape perceptions, build knowledge, foster collaboration, and empower advocacy for a sustainable future.
The Academy brought together policymakers, media professionals, civil society leaders, and academics to acquire the knowledge and tools to address Africa’s climate and energy challenges and drive sustainable action.
The primary goal of the energy transition is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but a just transition will need Africa to be at the forefront of implementation.
Voices for Africa to go for nuclear energy have been strong, emphasising that it’s cheaper and the option for industrialisation.
Benjamin Boakye, however, believes “the argument that we cannot industrialise with renewable energy is being challenged due to improving technology to ease access to solar, among others”.
Failure of the Paris Agreement
Climate change is affecting every inhabited region across the globe, with human influence contributing to many observed changes in weather and climate extremes.
Human-induced climate change has contributed to increases in agricultural and ecological droughts in some regions due to evapotranspiration increases.
Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Ghana and Vice Chair of IPCC Working Group I, during a session, unpacked the evidence from the IPCC about the reality of climate change.
“The impact of climate change is affecting our environment and has the potential to destroy our very existence. It is affecting our habitat, the air we breathe, water we drink, the food we eat,” she said.
Global temperatures have already risen 1.36°C as of 2023 and will probably rise a further 3°, or even up to 4.5-5° by 2100.
Regional temperatures are rising; cold days, nights and frost have become rarer; hot days, nights and heatwaves are more frequent; extreme rainfall and flooding events are more frequent; extreme droughts and massive wildfires are more common; and in rural communities, forests and farmland are impacted, making crops and food scarce and expensive for all.
According to Prof, Klutse, there is a failure of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change and international commitments to emission reductions.
Assessments of current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) suggest that these reductions, even if fully implemented, are unlikely to limit global temperature increases to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
“We’re slowly being boiled in a pot, but we’re not being ambitious in solutions to climate change,” observed the scientist. “We should not go beyond the tipping point. We need to ambitiously remove fossil fuels to control carbon dioxide emissions”.
Collection Action
Some extreme weather events observed over the past decade would have been extremely unlikely to occur without human influence on the climate system.
Dr. Daniel Tutu Benefoh, Acting Director of the Climate Change Unit at Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana, noted that the resource rich part of Africa has the most climate vulnerable people, hence it is important that climate change is carried to the belly of development and keep the conversation there.
He facilitated a session on Integrating Climate Change into Planning Frameworks, covering strategies for mainstreaming climate considerations, fostering inclusivity, monitoring progress, and overcoming implementation challenges.
The Africa Climate Academy is designed to transform the continent’s approach to climate action and shape the future of energy in Africa.
Dr Charles Gyamfi Ofori, Policy Lead, Climate Change and Energy Transition at ACEP, emphasised that the energy transition is real and presents several opportunities.
But he says, “we have to be intentional in assessing the benefits,” adding that “continued investment, R&D and policy support is relevant for Africa”.
A new report commissioned by the governments of Colombia, Kenya, France and Germany lays bare the devastating effect of debt burdens for many vulnerable low-income countries.
Debt and climate change
The Expert Review on Debt, Nature and Climate reveals the extent to which unsustainable debt burdens, loss of in nature, and escalating climate change are compounding one another in a hugely destructive “triple crisis”.
Countries most exposed to climate change and nature loss are increasingly having to borrow to fund disaster response and recovery and climate adaptation. But environmental shocks and stresses then constrain economic growth and public revenues, reducing their ability to service debt, and raising the interest rates they face.
This then further damages a country’s ability to invest in climate- and nature-positive development, and this vicious circle means there is no addressing the climate crisis without addressing the debt crisis.
A “virtuous circle” of environmentally sustainable and inclusive growth is possible, the report argues, but only if strong domestic policy is matched by international financial support.
The report shows how the COVID-19 pandemic, fuel and food price inflation, a strengthening US dollar and soaring interest rates have left many countries at high risk of “debt distress” – being unable to pay their debts – at the same time as extreme weather events have become more frequent and severe.
The report shows how the “Debt Sustainability Frameworks” used by the World Bank and IMF to assess the affordability of sovereign debt fail properly to consider the links between debt, climate and nature loss. It makes a series of recommendations for their reform.
The Expert Review was established to catalyse a response to the triple crisis. This interim report provides a diagnosis of the scale of the issues in the hope of establishing greater international collaboration towards solutions. The final report, to be published in Spring 2025, will provide a series of recommendations on how debt can be made more sustainable, both fiscally and environmentally.
Vera Songwe, former UN Under-Secretary General and Expert Review Co-Chair, said: “Many low- and middle-income countries are facing a ‘triple crisis’ not of their own making, with high global interest rates compounding increasingly severe climate impacts and nature loss. Unless the international community collectively takes measures to address this, countries are not going to be able to pursue the climate-resilient, low-carbon and nature-positive growth which they need – and of which they are capable.”
Moritz Kraemer, former Global Chief Ratings Officer of S&P Global and Expert Review Co-Chair, said: “The increasing economic impact of climate change and nature loss make it critical for the IMF and the World Bank to revise the way they assess the sustainability of countries’ debt. We hope that our report will help them do this.”
Ali Mohamed, Special Envoy for Climate Change, Executive office of the President of Kenya & Chair of African Group of Climate Negotiators, said: “This interim report highlights the inescapable reality that we cannot address the climate crisis without tackling the growing burden of debt. Vulnerable nations are caught in a cycle of borrowing to recover from climate disasters, further straining their economies.
“It’s time for the global community to come together, not just to restructure debt, but to recognise that investments in nature and climate resilience are fundamental to long-term economic stability. Our goal is to turn this vicious cycle into a virtuous one, where sustainable investments lead to prosperity and resilience, rather than debt distress.”
The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report 2024 has delivered a stark reminder that the world is still far from meeting its climate commitments.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres
The report, released on Thursday, October 24, highlights the widening gap between climate rhetoric and reality as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reach 57.1 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (GtCO₂) in 2023 – a record high that undermines the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
Addressing a press conference while releasing the report, titled “No More Hot Air …please,” United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, issued a warning to the world. With current greenhouse gas emissions at record highs, Guterres said that humanity is “teetering on a planetary tightrope,” with catastrophic consequences looming unless countries act decisively to close the emissions gap.
“Either leaders bridge the emissions gap, or we plunge headlong into climate disaster – with the poorest and most vulnerable suffering the most,” Guterres said during a video address from the report’s launch event in Nairobi.
According to the Emissions Gap Report 2024, global greenhouse gas emissions rose 1.3 percent in 2023 to their highest levels in history. At the current pace, the world is on track for a 3.1°C temperature rise by the end of the century – well above the limits set by the Paris Agreement.
Guterres emphasised that limiting global warming to 1.5°C remains technically feasible, but only if emissions fall by 9 percent annually until 2030. Without swift intervention, the UN chief warned of more frequent and extreme weather events.
“Record emissions mean record sea temperatures, supercharging monster hurricanes; record heat is turning forests into tinderboxes and cities into saunas; record rains are resulting in biblical floods,” he said.
Guterres termed the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, as a pivotal moment for global climate policy. The Secretary-General outlined two major areas where urgent progress is essential. One, he said, is National Climate Action Plans (NDCs).
“COP29 starts the clock for countries to deliver new national climate action plans – NDCs – by next year,” Guterres said.
Governments are expected to align these plans with the 1.5°C target by driving down emissions across all sectors and phasing out fossil fuels swiftly and equitably.
Guterres urged countries to commit to reversing deforestation and accelerating the deployment of renewable energy. Another area, according to the Secretary General, that merits immediate concern is climate finance.
Guterres said that the success of the clean energy transition depends heavily on financial support for developing countries, which are already struggling with climate-induced disasters.
“COP29 must agree to a new finance goal that unlocks the trillions of dollars they need and provides confidence it will be delivered,” he said.
The Secretary-General urged significant increases in concessional public financing, along with cutting-edge techniques like levies on fossil fuel extraction. He also urged reforms in multilateral development banks to enhance their role in climate financing.
The Secretary-General emphasised that climate action is not just a matter of environmental responsibility but also of economic foresight. He stressed that the cost of inaction far exceeds the cost of action.
As the largest emitters, G20 nations, responsible for 80 percent of global emissions, must take the lead in closing the emissions gap. Guterres challenged the wealthiest countries to act first. “I urge first-movers to come forward. We need leadership now more than ever,” he said.
Guterres echoed the UNEP report’s urgent message that “people and the planet cannot afford more hot air.” The time for empty promises has passed, and concrete steps are required to meet the climate goals. “Today’s Emissions Gap report is clear: we’re playing with fire, but there can be no more playing for time. We’re out of time,” he said.
The latest Emissions Gap Report 2024 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has sounded a dire alarm on the disconnect between political commitments and the reality of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
In stark language, the report urges governments to close the widening gap between rhetoric and action.
“The transformation to net-zero economies must happen, and the sooner this global transformation begins, the better. Every fraction of a degree avoided counts in terms of lives saved, economies protected, damages avoided, biodiversity conserved, and the ability to rapidly bring down any temperature overshoot,” reads the report.
UNEP warned that the current trajectory leaves the world on a path toward 2.6°C warming this century, far beyond the Paris Agreement targets. The report calls for a “quantum leap” in ambition and urgent action from governments, particularly ahead of the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) due in early 2025.
Here are some highlights:
G20 Nations Hold the Key to Global Emission Reductions
The report has highlighted that G20 countries, responsible for 77 percent of global emissions, must take the lead in closing the emissions gap. While these countries have set net-zero goals, their current policies fall short of aligning with the necessary emission reductions. Without significant improvements, the G20 is projected to miss its NDC targets for 2030 by at least 1 GtCO₂e.
Required Cuts: 42 percent Reduction by 2030 for 1.5°C Target
To achieve the 1.5°C pathway, global emissions must decrease by 42 percent by 2030 compared to 2019 levels – equivalent to an annual reduction of 7.5 percent. The report highlights the severe consequences of delayed action, warning that any further postponement would necessitate doubling the rate of emissions cuts after 2030.
Sectoral Solutions: Renewables and Reforestation Offer Hope
The report has identified solar and wind energy as key contributors to bridging the emissions gap. Together, these technologies could deliver 27 percent of the total emission reduction potential by 2030. Forest-related measures, including reforestation and reducing deforestation, offer another 20% potential. However, achieving these targets requires massive increases in investment – at least six times the current levels – and rapid deployment of policies across sectors.
NDCs and Climate Finance: Critical Areas for Focus
It has also stressed the importance of the upcoming NDC submissions. According to the report, these commitments, due before February 2025, must reflect higher ambitions, concrete plans, and robust financial backing to make meaningful progress toward net-zero emissions. Developing countries, in particular, require international support and reformed financial systems to meet their climate goals.
Urgency and Cooperation are Paramount
UNEP has underlined the need for a whole-of-government approach and stronger public-private partnerships to accelerate progress. “We are running out of time,” the report warns. “The transformation to net-zero economies is inevitable, and the sooner we act, the more lives, ecosystems, and economies we can save.”
The report has identified the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, as a crucial time for nations to align their policies with 1.5°C pathways. Without immediate, ambitious actions, UNEP cautions that 2°C – once the backup target – could soon become unreachable.
“With the clock ticking down to 2030 and 2035, the message is unequivocal: ambition without action is meaningless. Governments must move from pledges to policies and ensure that commitments are backed by robust implementation plans,” says the report.
Nations must collectively commit to cutting 42 per cent off annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 57 per cent by 2035 in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – and back this up with rapid action – or the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal will be gone within a few years, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, Inger Andersen. Photo credit: Eric Bridiers
Updated NDCs are to be submitted early next year ahead of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil. UNEP’s “Emissions Gap Report 2024: No more hot air … please!” finds that a failure to increase ambition in these new NDCs and start delivering immediately would put the world on course for a temperature increase of 2.6-3.1°C over the course of this century. This would bring debilitating impacts to people, planet and economies.
The 2.6°C scenario is based on the full implementation of current unconditional and conditional NDCs. Implementing only current unconditional NDCs would lead to 2.8°C of warming. Continuing with current policies only would lead to 3.1°C of warming. Under these scenarios – which all operate on a probability of over 66 per cent – temperatures would continue to rise into the next century. Adding additional net-zero pledges to full implementation of unconditional and conditional NDCs could limit global warming to 1.9°C, but there is currently low confidence in the implementation of these net-zero pledges.
“The emissions gap is not an abstract notion,” said António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, in a video message on the report. “There is a direct link between increasing emissions and increasingly frequent and intense climate disasters. Around the world, people are paying a terrible price. Record emissions mean record sea temperatures supercharging monster hurricanes; record heat is turning forests into tinder boxes and cities into saunas; record rains are resulting in biblical floods.
“Today’s Emissions Gap report is clear: we’re playing with fire; but there can be no more playing for time. We’re out of time. Closing the emissions gap means closing the ambition gap, the implementation gap, and the finance gap. Starting at COP29.”
The report also looks at what it would take to get on track to limiting global warming to below 2°C. For this pathway, emissions must fall 28 per cent by 2030 and 37 per cent from 2019 levels by 2035 – the new milestone year to be included in the next NDCs.
“Climate crunch time is here. We need global mobilisation on a scale and pace never seen before – starting right now, before the next round of climate pledges – or the 1.5°C goal will soon be dead and well below 2°C will take its place in the intensive care unit,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “I urge every nation: no more hot air, please. Use the upcoming COP29 talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, to increase action now, set the stage for stronger NDCs, and then go all-out to get on a 1.5°C pathway.
“Even if the world overshoots 1.5°C – and the chances of this happening are increasing every day – we must keep striving for a net-zero, sustainable and prosperous world. Every fraction of a degree avoided counts in terms of lives saved, economies protected, damages avoided, biodiversity conserved and the ability to rapidly bring down any temperature overshoot.”
The consequences of delayed action are also highlighted by the report. The cuts required are relative to 2019 levels, but greenhouse gas emissions have since grown to a record high of 57.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023. While this makes a marginal difference to the overall cuts required from 2019-2030, the delay in action means that 7.5 per cent must be shaved off emissions every year until 2035 for 1.5°C, and 4 per cent for 2°C. The size of the annual cuts required will increase with every year’s delay.
1.5°C still technically possible, but massive effort needed
The report shows that there is technical potential for emissions cuts in 2030 up to 31 gigatons of CO2 equivalent – which is around 52 per cent of emissions in 2023 – and 41 gigatons in 2035. This would bridge the gap to 1.5°C in both years, at a cost below US$200 per ton of CO2 equivalent.
Increased deployment of solar photovoltaic technologies and wind energy could deliver 27 per cent of the total reduction potential in 2030 and 38 per cent in 2035. Action on forests could deliver around 20 per cent of the potential in both years. Other strong options include efficiency measures, electrification and fuel switching in the buildings, transport and industry sectors.
This potential illustrates it is possible to meet the COP28 targets of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030, doubling the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030, transitioning away from fossil fuels, and conserving, protecting and restoring nature and ecosystems.
However, delivering on even some of this potential will require unprecedented international mobilisation and a whole-of-government approach, focusing on measures that maximise socioeconomic and environmental co-benefits and minimise trade-offs.
A minimum six-fold increase in mitigation investment is needed for net-zero – backed by reform of the global financial architecture, strong private sector action and international cooperation. This is affordable: the estimated incremental investment for net-zero is US$0.9-2.1 trillion per year from 2021 to 2050 – investments that would bring returns in avoided costs from climate change, air pollution, damage to nature and human health impacts. For context, the global economy and financial markets are worth US$110 trillion per year.
The G20 members, responsible for the bulk of total emissions, must do the heavy lifting. However, this group is still off track to meet even current NDCs. The largest-emitting members will need to take the lead by dramatically increasing action and ambition now and in the new pledges.
G20 members, minus the African Union, accounted for 77 per cent of emissions in 2023. The addition of the African Union as a permanent G20 member, which more than doubles the number of countries represented from 44 to 99, brings the share up by only 5 per cent to 82 per cent – highlighting the need for differentiated responsibilities between nations. Stronger international support and enhanced climate finance will be essential to ensure that climate and development goals can be realized fairly across G20 members and globally.
Good NDC design crucial
The report also lays out how to ensure the updated NDCs are well-designed, specific and transparent so they can meet any new targets put in place. NDCs must include all gases listed in the Kyoto Protocol, cover all sectors, set specific targets, be explicit about conditional and unconditional elements and provide transparency around how the submission reflects a fair share of effort and the highest possible ambition.
They must also detail how national sustainable development goals can be achieved at the same time as efforts to reduce emissions, and include detailed implementation plans with mechanisms for review and accountability. For emerging market and developing economies, NDCs should include details on the international support and finance they need.
In a reaction to the development, Andreas Sieber, Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns, 350.org, says: “The emissions gap report is yet another clear warning about what needs to be done and fast. Last year at COP28, nations agreed to transition away from fossil fuels. The report makes it crystal clear that governments must translate this decision into action in their national climate pledges if they are serious about the just energy transition.
“When we talk about climate pledges, we are talking about more than just arbitrary, empty words. We’re talking about how plans to move away from dirty fossil fuels and transition to renewable energy fairly can create opportunities for communities around the world to thrive.”
The member representing Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Mr. Rodney Ambaiowei, has appealed to host communities to protect oil and gas infrastructures in their domain against vandals.
Mr. Rodney Ambaiowei handing over the relief materials
Ambaiowei made the appeal on Monday, October 21, 2024, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, while handling over relief materials to four communities affected by an oil spill in Tebidaba and Ogoinbiri pipelines.
The communities are Olugboboro, Olugbobiri, Tebitaba and Okonriama, which are hosts to oil facilities recently acquired by Oando from Nigerian Agip Oil Company.
The relief materials provided include a truckload of food items comprising garri, rice, spaghetti, vegetable oil, tomato paste, iodised salt, seasoning cubes and beverages.
Other items are truck load of plastic buckets, blankets, mosquito nets, toilet soap and detergent.
The lawmaker said that the relief materials were provided by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMÀ).
Ambaiowei, who facilitated the intervention, said there was the need for host communities to protect oil facilities because oil was one the mainstay of the economy.
“I want to advice my constituent, to please endeavour as much as you can to protect the pipelines, because the more we protect the pipelines for spillage not to occur, more money will come to the coffers of the federal and state governments to provide democracy dividends,” Ambaiowei said.
He also urged community leaders to enlighten their subjects not to destroy pipelines in their domain.
The lawmaker stated that the palliatives distributed were to ameliorate the sufferings of the communities whose environment had been polluted thereby hindering means of livelihood.
“For people that their means of livelihood are affected, these relief materials will be useful support to the victims,’’ Ambaiowei said.
He also tasked community leaders to share the palliatives equitably to all affected households in their communities.
Ambaiowei used the opportunity to commend the Director-General of NEMA and the management of the agency for their prompt response to the plight of the communities.
Speaking earlier, the Zonal Coordinator, NEMA, South-South Zone, Port Harcourt, Mr. Adebiyi Razaq said that when NEMA received the report of the spillage, the agency went into action and visited the site.
He noted that since the people’s means of livelihood had been adversely affected, there was need for intervention to offer succour to them.
Razaq also appealed to the communities to be on the alert and inform appropriate authorities swiftly whenever there was problem.
Dr Simeon Ayogo, Director of Information and ICT in the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and the representative of Southern Ijaw LGA in the board of the agency, decried spillage.
Ayogo promised that the agency would ensure that the relief materials were delivered to the beneficiaries.
Mr. Basil Kenbo, community leader and the Technical Adviser to Bayelsa Governor on Federal Projects and Programmes coordination, who spoke on behalf of the four communities, commended the lawmaker and NEMA for the relief materials.
Climate change is increasingly influencing fire behaviour worldwide and intensifying fire smoke, endangering public health from air pollution caused by fires.
Fire fighters battle a forest fire
These are the results of two new climate change impact attribution studies, both published in Nature Climate Change, with involvement of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research PIK.
The first study finds 15.8 percent higher global burned areas over the period 2003 to 2019 due to climate change, intensifying fire activity especially in Australia, South America, Western North America and Siberia. These increasing fire dynamics offset the decrease in burned area due to land-use changes and increasing population density.
Building on this, the second study examines how climate change is linked to a global increase in deaths from fire-related air pollution. Climate change increased these deaths from 669 annually in the 1960s to over 12,500 in the 2010s.
“Our study demonstrates that when fires do occur, the influence of climate change with drier and warmer weather conditions is increasingly significant,” explains Chantelle Burton, researcher at the Met Office Hadley Centre and joint lead-author of the first study.
In the paper, the researchers map the influence of climate change and socio-economic factors on global and regional ‘burned area’ from wildfires in forests, savannahs etc. Using a comprehensive ensemble of global fire-vegetation models, they show that climate change has increased the global burned area by 15.8 percent from 2003 to 2019 compared to a situation without climate change, with hotspots in Australia, South America, Western North America and Siberia – major fire-prone regions.
For the same period, they illustrate that climate change made months with above-average burned areas more likely. Yet, overall, global total burned area is decreasing as natural lands are converted for human uses, such as agriculture, which has reduced available areas for fires by about 19 percent over the same period. While these trends currently offset each other, the researchers find that the effect of climate change on fires is increasing over time, as the climate continues to warm.
Air pollution from fires poses a health risk to the population
The second study assesses the global impact of climate change on air pollution from fires and associated health risks over the past 60 years. The team of researchers finds that fire-related deaths from air pollution have risen from 46,401 annually in the 1960s to 98,748 in the 2010s. Among those, 669 annually in the 1960s to over 12,500 in the 2010s can be attributed to climate change, according to the scientists.
“This indicates that climate change is increasingly posing a threat to public health, driven by more fire smoke even affecting densely populated areas,” explains Chae Yeon Park, researcher at the Japanese National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and lead author of this study.
Fire smoke contains extremely small particles. These particles are small enough to enter the respiratory system and pose significant health risks causing pulmonary and respiratory diseases. Regions like South America, Australia and Europe experienced the most significant increases in fire mortality attributed to climate change, coinciding with hotter, drier conditions caused by global warming. While decreasing humidity and rising temperatures are increasing fire risks, the researchers also observed that in some areas, such as South Asia, increasing humidity led to fewer deaths from fires that are due to climate change.
“It’s crucial to understand that the impact of smoke from fires extends beyond those living directly in the affected areas – it also significantly affects people living in cities,” concludes Christopher Reyer, PIK researcher and co-author of the study. “While cities might not face immediate fatalities from wildfires, our study confirms that smoke exposure can lead to serious public health consequences. Thus, it is vital to reduce emissions and enhance fire management strategies, to minimize the impacts of fires on ecosystems, economies, and public health across the globe.”
The COP29 Presidency on Monday, October 21, 2024, published the final texts of nine Declarations and Pledges as part of its Action Agenda for the upcoming UN climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan this November. These documents provide pathways for all global actors to come together and commit to enhanced ambition across key climate priorities.
Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President-Designate
The COP29 Presidency’s Action Agenda, first outlined in an open letter to Parties and Constituencies in September, is a comprehensive set of initiatives designed to complement the formal UNFCCC negotiation process. While not part of the official negotiations, these Declarations and Pledges aim to catalyse action and ambition across all sectors of society.
With the final texts now published, government and non-government stakeholders have the opportunity to endorse these documents, which will be formally launched at the COP29 climate summit in November.
The texts, finalised following a period of public consultation, include:
COP29 Truce Appeal
The appeal for a COP Truce, modelled on the Olympic Truce, will highlight the importance of peace and climate action. It will aim to remind all nations of the interplay between conflict and climate change and emphasise the imperative of finding collective solutions to protect the most vulnerable.
COP29 Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge
The outcome Pledge will aim to increase global energy storage capacity six times above 2022 levels, reaching 1,500 gigawatts by 2030. To enhance energy grids, endorsers will also commit to enhance grid capacity through a global grid deployment goal of adding or refurbishing 25 million kilometres of grids by 2030, recognising analysis from the IEA on the need to add or refurbish an additional 65 million kilometres by 2040 to align with net-zero emissions by 2050.
COP29 Green Energy Zones and Corridors Pledge
The outcome Pledge will commit to green energy zones and corridors, including targets to promote investment, stimulate economic growth, develop, modernise and expand infrastructure, and foster regional cooperation.
COP29 Hydrogen Declaration
The outcome Declaration will unlock the potential of a global market for clean hydrogen and its derivatives with guiding principles and priorities, to address regulatory, technological, financing, and standardisation barriers.
COP29 Declaration on Green Digital Action
The outcome Declaration aims to accelerate climate-positive digitalisation and emission reductions in the Information and Communication Technology sector and enhance accessibility of green digital technologies.
COP29 Declaration on Reducing Methane from Organic Waste
The outcome Declaration will streamline work towards 1.5-aligned waste sector commitments in national climate policy documents with quantified targets to reduce methane in waste and food systems.
COP29 Multisectoral Actions Pathways (MAP) Declaration to Resilient and Healthy Cities
The outcome Declaration will seek to enhance multisectoral cooperation to address climate challenges in cities and an initiative to create coherence in all urban climate efforts and catalyse urban climate finance.
COP29 Declaration on Enhanced Action in Tourism
The outcome Declaration will include sectoral targets for tourism in NDCs and promote sustainable practices by reducing emissions and increasing resilience in the sector. A further initiative with outcomes to enhance transparency in the sector and provide frameworks for sustainable food systems in tourism.
COP29 Declaration on Water for Climate Action
The outcome Declaration will call upon stakeholders to take integrated approaches when combating the causes and impacts of climate change on water basins and water-related ecosystems, strengthen regional and international cooperation, integrated water-related mitigation and adaptation measures in national climate policies. The Declaration will launch the Baku Dialogue on Water for Climate Action to enhance COP-to-COP continuity and coherence in the field.
The COP29 Truce Appeal is said to have already gained significant traction, with support from 127 countries and nearly 1,100 non-state actors. It calls for a pause in conflicts during the COP29 period to reduce emissions from military activities and promote global peace.
In line with the COP29 Presidency’s two-pillar plan for the year, the Declarations and Pledges aim to enhance ambition across all climate pillars. They present opportunities for governments to incorporate sectoral targets into national climate plans and for stakeholders to agree on principles to strengthen collective climate efforts.
Alongside the Declarations and Pledges, the COP29 Presidency will release a programme of Presidency-hosted events for the UN climate summit. These sessions will bring together relevant stakeholders for focused discussions on thematic items and serve as platforms to launch the various declarations.
COP29 President-Designate, Mukhtar Babayev, said: “These Declarations and Pledges are vital tools to drive progress on climate action. They send strong market signals, help direct financial flows, and foster a sense of shared responsibility. I call on all parties and non-state actors to endorse these documents and help build momentum ahead of COP29. While signing these pledges alone will not deliver the changes we need, they play a significant role in supporting the COP29 Presidency’s vision to enhance ambition and enable action.”
He added, “The final texts reflect valuable input from a wide range of stakeholders, demonstrating the power of inclusive and transparent processes in addressing the climate crisis. We thank our partners for their collaboration throughout this process. We are particularly encouraged by the early support for the COP Truce Appeal, which highlights the interconnectedness of climate action and global peace.”
These initiatives are designed to complement, not replace, the critical work of the formal UNFCCC negotiations. They provide additional avenues for commitment and action, particularly for non-state actors who play a crucial role in the global response to climate change.
The Presidency encourages all stakeholders to review the final texts and consider endorsing these important climate initiatives, which collectively aim to accelerate progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement.
With political will, Global North countries could deliver on $20 billion per year by 2025 and at least $30 billion per year by 2030 that is essential for accelerating implementation towards achieving the 2030 global biodiversity targets and 2050 goals.
COP16 President Susana Mohamed at the opening ceremony, Photo credit: CBD
This was the submission of a group of campaigners operating under aegis of the Climate Action Network International, even as the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (or UN Biodiversity Conference) commenced on Monday, October 21, 2024.
They insist that, against this backdrop, structural economic and political conditions underlying drivers of biodiversity loss and constraining government action, like financial system transformation, debt and tax justice, need to be addressed.
They stressed that finance is the big focus at this round of crucial UN biodiversity talks taking place in Cali, Colombia over the next two weeks.
“A pivotal moment for advancing global efforts on biodiversity, climate and social justice goals, it’s the first Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties (CBD COP16) since the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted in 2022 following a series of delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to CAN, a set of demands released to mark the CBD COP16 emphasises the need for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to be transformed into ambitious national-level implementation.
“At a time of multiple converging and mutually reinforcing crises, it is critical that national biodiversity and climate plans are aligned, integrate a human-rights based approach and do not rely on dangerous approaches and distractions. The voices and needs of Indigenous Peoples, environmental defenders and marginalised communities must be heard and recognised, and their rights guaranteed, with the official agenda for the biodiversity negotiations reflecting this,” added the group.
It added that the Cali talks need to send a strong political signal showing the strengthening of joint climate, biodiversity and rights ambition.
“This should entail increased cooperation across the three Rio Conventions to maximise synergies and minimise trade-offs, as healthy ecosystems are the life support for all of humanity and play a fundamental role in tackling climate change.”
Argentinian campaigner Catalina Gonda, and one of Climate Action Network’s representatives at the biodiversity talks, said: “There is growing concern here that the level of ambition will fall far short of global biodiversity targets. Only a handful of countries, which are signed up to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, have revised their action plans. At a time of catastrophic natural loss across the globe, which is accelerating the climate crisis, it is more than alarming that countries are risking pushing us to the brink, particularly people in frontline and marginalised communities.”
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for closing the estimated $700 billion annual biodiversity funding gap through the following steps: reforming harmful incentives by at least $500 billion per year by 2030; increasing the level of financial resources from “all sources” to at least $200 billion per year by 2030; and mobilising international biodiversity finance from developed to developing countries to at least $20 billion annually by 2025 and $30 billion by 2030.
“The level of ambition demonstrated at COP16 hinges on how successfully rich nations demonstrate progress on the most imminent target of mobilising $20 billion annually by 2025 for developing countries. However, we know this is far from enough, and we need transformational approaches to address the root causes that keep extractivism in place, such as reforming harmful incentive schemes, preventing tax avoidance, cancelling debt in Global South countries to free up funds, and rethinking austerity measures,” said Gonda.
