The city of Katowice was on Thursday, June 1, 2017 announced by the Government of Poland as the venue for the 2018 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC), or “COP24”.
Polish Environment Minister, Prof. Jan Szysko,with Patricia Espinosa, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, announces the venue of COP14, which holds in Poland for the third time in 10 years
Poland was chosen as the upcoming President by the Eastern European Group, whose turn it is to host the conference following Asia-Pacific in 2017.
Several potential locations were considered by the Polish authorities as the host city for the event – which will be the fourth time that Poland has presided over a UN climate change conference.
Two previous Conferences of the Parties (COPs) were held in Poland – COP14 in Poznań, in 2008, and COP19 in Warsaw, in 2013. Poland also presided over COP5 in Bonn in 1999.
Polish Environment Minister Prof. Jan Szysko on Thursday chose the occasion of a visit to Poland by Patricia Espinosa, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, to announce that the southwestern city of Katowice has been given the green light.
Ms. Espinosa said: “I would to like to thank the Government of Poland for agreeing to host COP24 as part of the Eastern European Group and look forward to working with Minister Jan Szysko and his team to make the conference a success on all fronts.”
“2018 will be another important year for international climate diplomacy as nations move forward to implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement – indeed 2018 is when governments are expected to reach some key milestones,” she said.
“These range from finalising the guidelines for fully operationalising the agreement to taking stock of how countries are doing collectively in terms of being on track to realise Paris’s aims and ambitions over the coming years and decades,” added Ms. Espinosa.
Ms. Espinosa was on Thursday shown a research centre in Toruń where the Government of Poland is scientifically monitoring how forests absorb carbon. Forest protection is a key part of efforts to address climate change.
“Better managing, conserving and expanding of forests is going to play a crucial role in meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Indeed, we will need to see transitions across all sectors and all economies if the full potential of the Agreement is to be realised over the 21st century,” she added.
Ms. Espinosa said she looked forward to joining with the people of Poland to realise a successful conference that pushes forward the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
The Government of Slovakia on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 deposited its instrument of ratification, thereby becoming the 54th future Party to the Minamata Convention.
Andrej Kiska, President of Slovakia
This is coming about a week after the twin island nation of St Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 and making it the 53rd Party to the global treaty on Mercury.
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 United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 invited ministers, Chief officers, directors and expert officers to discuss the content of the draft plan for Kalobeyei Refugee Resettlement in Kenya, including potential issues and development projects leading up to implementing the settlement development.
Turkana County Chief Planner presenting the draft Advisory Local Physical Development Plan for the Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement in Kenya
Mr. Mark Ewoi Ewesit, Chief Officer from The Ministry of Lands, Shelter and Urban Development, and Mr. Yo Ito, representative from the Government of Japan, opened the workshop, highlighting the collaborative efforts between the UN-Habitat, the County Government and refugee and host communities and the importance of urban strategies requesting specific regulations to allow for a comprehensive, integrated and sustainable settlement development.
In 2016, supported by the Government of Japan, UN-Habitat had joined in the implementation of Kalobeyei Integrated Socio-Economic Development Programme (KISEDP), the Turkana-based initiative chaired by UNHCR, which seeks to facilitate collaboration and coordination between the Kenyan Government, UN agencies, development actors, private sector and civil society to build sustainable services and economic opportunities in Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement.
Given the circumstances of continuous influx of refugees, Turkana County sought alternative approach to hosting refugees that can leverage the opportunities related to refugee settlements ability to stimulate sustainable growth. UN-Habitat in partnership with UNHCR, Turkana County Government and other partners prepared an integrated spatial plan for the Kalobeyei Settlement, aimed at demonstrating sustainable approaches to human settlement development.
The Spatial Plan, which has been formulated through a participatory process over a period of one year, is to be submitted to the County Government of Turkana, both as part of the collaboration process and also as part of the requisite plan approval process.
The Spatial Plan is setting the setting a spatial framework for coordinating programmes and projects for the other components/sub-components, towards the coordinated implementation under development and humanitarian interventions. The spatial plan has been developed based on a comprehensive socio-economic and mapping analysis conducted by UN-Habitat, as well as on a deeply participatory process involving refugee and host communities, local experts, international humanitarian and development organisations based on the ground and nevertheless continuous support and contribution from expert officers in different ministers in Turkana and the county legislature.
The workshop was structured in order to offer the ministries a clear presentation of the Spatial Plan guidelines and to ensure ownership of the County towards the Kalobeyei Settlement implementation. As Turkana natives are traditionally pastoralists, one of the main concerns was also the integration of locals into the new settlement, and to enhance their livelihoods in the growing economy. Further factors for consideration include greater emphasis on water provision, and provision of adequate technologies in terms of infrastructure and sanitation. The discussion approached also the relation between Kalobeyei Settlement and the Lodwar-Lokichogio Highway, which as part of a regional potential economic development scheme for future investment projects.
In terms of financial aspects, discussions on possible development directions were conducted with an emphasis on developing cost estimate that will be used as the entry point for promoting a financially and economic sustainable settlement. Potential partnership policies between the government and private sectors can also seek to enhance and capture development and construction costs, providing return of investments for both parties.
A session on the Kenyan legislative framework for community land and on the current land status of the settlement was also conducted. It focused on the current tenure of the settlement and on the possible scenarios to both protect the interests of the host community and ensure the long term sustainability of the settlement.
With acknowledgements to UN-Habitat expertise in urban planning and design, the Turkana County Government has expressed their confidence that once approved; the Spatial Plan can be implemented in lines with the County Development Plans, calling for UN-Habitat to support further social cohesion between refugee and host communities in Kalobeyei and neighboring settlements.
Honorary Members and staff of the Planning Committee of the County Assembly have previously conducted a validation of the draft Advisory Local Physical Development Plan for the Kalobeyei Refugee Settlement, promoting a positive overall feedback for the settlement development guidelines drafted by UN-Habitat. Experts from the UN-Habitat, key officers from the County Government are working towards achieving sustainable solutions for the settlement, and this workshop has set the basis for feasible implementation governed by the local authority.
GE’s Power Services business (NYSE: GE) and Songas have signed a multiyear service agreement (MYA) to upgrade equipment at Songas’ Ubungo Power Plant in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The Songas’ Ubungo Power Plant in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The MYA encompasses GE’s Fleet360* platform of total plant solutions, helping Songas ensure the long-term, reliable operation of its power plant. The upgrades will help Songas increase the efficiency and the plant’s capacity at the Ubungo plant by approximately 10 megawatts (MW). Today the power plant provides nearly 25 percent of the power in Tanzania.
“Songas owns six gas turbines, including 4 GE LM6000 gas turbines which it has been operating at Ubungo Power Plant since 2004,” said Nigel Whittaker, Managing Director, Songas Ltd. “Songas and GE have been working together for several years to ensure high performances of these turbines. Songas is very pleased about this new initiative with GE to help increase the efficiency and reliability of the plant throughout the duration of its agreement.”
Under the terms of the deal, GE will upgrade three of the four LM6000 gas turbines in the fleet from the LM6000PA to the LM 6000PC, expected to increase the output of the units from 38 megawatts (MW) to 43 MW each – and reaching output levels of up to 46 MW with GE’s optional SPRINT technology. The eight-year MYA, which also includes maintenance and repairs of the gas turbines, will help Songas to increase the efficiency of the Ubungo plant to around 41 percent – approximately a three percent improvement.
“As the Government of Tanzania continues to pursue the expansion of generation capacity and extend the capability of its power grid, upgrading existing power plants to improve operation and efficiency is a must,” said Elisee Sezan, general manager, GE Power Services for sub-Saharan Africa. “With GE’s tailored, Fleet360 solutions, we are able to help Songas take advantage of the country’s commercially available natural gas reserves to meet its increasing demand for available and reliable electricity. With this deal, we will help to better position the Ubungo plant to provide reliable, efficient power for the foreseeable future”.
According to a World Bank’s report, in Tanzania, less than 45 percent of the nearly 50-million-people are connected to the grid. The Government of Tanzania’s sector reform plan aims to expand power generation capacity by up to 10,000 MW by 2025, helping to meet increasing energy demands driven by an economy that is expected to continue to grow at a rate of seven percent annually in 2017 and 2018.
Aeroderivative gas turbines provide the ability to frequently and rapidly ramp up to meet load and demand fluctuations – a concern for power grids that rely heavily on renewable generation. They also offer the reliability and flexibility needed to bring power to people around the globe that otherwise may not be able to access it.
GE’s LM6000 aeroderivative technology provides great flexibility with up to 41% simple cycle efficiency (56% combined cycle), fast-start (as little as five minutes from cold iron), fast ramping, and ability to cost effectively cycle multiple times per day. The LM6000 family has more operating hours than any other aeroderivative gas turbine greater than 40 MW.
“This project, the latest in our 13-year history with Songas, demonstrates our commitment to working with customers to bring power to more people and to help improve the efficiency and reliability of electricity throughout Africa,” Sezan continued.
Recently, GE announced a landmark services deal in Algeria to help strengthen the power sector and advance the digital industrial transformation in Africa. This month, the company also announced an order from AE Energia to help provide fast, digital power in Angola, and it is supplying the power generation equipment for the Bridge Power plant project in Ghana. In addition, GE will set up an M&D (Monitoring and Diagnostic) centre in Ivory Coast that will provide the digital data and analytics service to improve the performance of GE equipment in the country.
Ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life below water), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has called for urgent action on climate change and marine plastic pollution to conserve the ocean and help ensure global food security, coastal protection and sustainable livelihoods.
Oceans are fundamental to sustaining life on Earth
The ocean is said to be under increasing onslaught from climate change. So far, it has absorbed 30 % of the anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and around 93 % of the added heat arising from human-driven changes to the atmosphere, say scientists. According to a 2016 IUCN report, marine species and ecosystems are already experiencing potentially irreversible damage, with changes in species growth, reproduction and distributions affecting their abundance and diversity.
Compounding these threats, the ocean is being increasingly choked by plastic pollution. A recent IUCN report revealed that tiny plastic particles from synthetic clothes and tyres are a bigger source of marine plastic pollution than plastic waste. Plastics suffocate or entangle marine mammals and fishes, causing severe injuries and deaths.
“A healthy ocean lies at the very heart of our ability to fight climate change, develop sustainably and simply – survive,” says Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. “And yet, we continue to take it for granted, pushing its destruction to the point of no return.
A rapid implementation of the Paris climate agreement and urgent action to reduce marine plastic pollution are needed if we want to save our seas, which are choking to death on our watch. This conference provides a much needed opportunity for us to turn the tide for the ocean, and shows that the world is waking up to the immense gravity and urgency of this challenge.”
Damage to marine environments has serious negative impacts on people, resulting in reduced fish stocks, loss of income through fisheries and tourism, outbreaks of diseases, more extreme weather events and the loss of coastal protection.
IUCN urges the international community to increase its targets on ocean protection from the current 10% to at least 30%. It calls on governments, civil society and business to protect and restore marine and coastal ecosystems as part of their efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. This will also help achieve other Sustainable Development Goals, including food security, and poverty reduction.
“We cannot aspire to effectively implement the 2030 sustainable development agenda without protecting our seas,” says Carl Gustaf Lundin, Director of IUCN’s Global Marine and Polar Programme. “Healthy coastal and marine ecosystems offer nature-based solutions to addressing some of the biggest challenges humanity faces today, such as climate change. Mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses, for example, act as natural carbon sinks and protect shorelines from flooding and erosion.”
According to IUCN, enhanced protection of areas beyond national jurisdiction is also urgently needed. Current fragmented legal frameworks leave marine ecosystems and species in those areas vulnerable to threats such as overfishing, and hinder the establishment of protected areas.
Negotiations are underway to address these legal gaps, and a meeting to develop a draft agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is scheduled to take place in July this year. IUCN calls for a rapid finalisation and adoption of an international legally-binding agreement under UNCLOS, for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
The UN conference to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 is taking place from June 5 to 9, 2017 in New York.
President Donald Trump is expected to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, three officials with knowledge of the decision said, making good on a campaign pledge but severely weakening the landmark 2015 climate change accord that committed nearly every nation to take action to curb the warming of the planet.
Donald Trump, US president
A senior White House official cautioned that the specific language of the president’s expected announcement was still in flux as at morning of Wednesday, May 31, 2017. The official said the withdrawal might be accompanied by legal caveats that will shape the impact of Mr. Trump’s decision.
And Mr. Trump has proved himself willing to shift direction up until the moment of a public announcement. He was set to meet Wednesday afternoon with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has advocated that the United States remain a part of the Paris accords and could continue to lobby the president to change his mind.
Even as reports surfaced about his decision, Mr. Trump posted on Twitter that he would make his intentions known soon.
Still, faced with advisers who pressed hard on both sides of the Paris question, Mr. Trump appears to have decided that a continued United States presence in the accord would harm the economy; hinder job creation in regions like Appalachia and the West, where his most ardent supporters live; and undermine his “America First” message.
Advisers pressing him to remain in the accord could still make their case to the boss. In the past, such appeals have worked. In April, Mr. Trump was set to announce a withdrawal from the Nafta free trade agreement, but at the last minute changed his mind after intense discussions with advisers and calls from the leaders of Canada and Mexico. Last week, a senior administration official said Mr. Trump would use a speech in Brussels to make an explicit endorsement of NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense provision, which states that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all. He didn’t.
The exit of the United States, the world’s largest economy and second-largest greenhouse gas polluter would not dissolve the 195-nation pact, which was legally ratified last year, but it could set off a cascade of events that would have profound effects on the planet. Other countries that reluctantly joined the agreement could now withdraw or soften their commitments to cutting planet-warming pollution.
“The actions of the United States are bound to have a ripple effect in other emerging economies that are just getting serious about climate change, such as India, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs at Princeton, and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations group that produces scientific reports designed to inform global policy makers.
Once the fallout settles, he added, “it is now far more likely that we will breach the danger limit of 3.6 degrees.” That is the average atmospheric temperature increase above which a future of extreme conditions is considered irrevocable.
The aim of the Paris agreement was to lower planet-warming emissions enough to avoid that threshold.
“We will see more extreme heat, damaging storms, coastal flooding and risks to food security,” Professor Oppenheimer said. “And that’s not the kind of world we want to live in.”
Foreign policy experts said the move could damage the United States’ credibility and weaken Mr. Trump’s efforts to negotiate issues far beyond climate change, like negotiating trade deals and combating terrorism.
“From a foreign policy perspective, it’s a colossal mistake — an abdication of American leadership” said R. Nicholas Burns, a retired career diplomat and the under secretary of state during the presidency of George W. Bush.
“The success of our foreign policy – in trade, military, any other kind of negotiation – depends on our credibility. I can’t think of anything more destructive to our credibility than this,” he added.
But Mr. Trump’s supporters, particularly coal state Republicans, cheered the move, celebrating it as a fulfillment of a signature campaign promise. Speaking to a crowd of oil rig workers last May, Mr. Trump vowed to “cancel” the agreement, and Stephen K. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist, has pushed the president to withdraw from the accord as part of an economic nationalism that has so far included pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral trade pact, and vowing to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Coal miners and coal company executives in states such as Kentucky and West Virginia have pushed for Mr. Trump to reverse all of President Barack Obama’s climate change policies, many of which are aimed at reducing the use of coal, which is seen as the largest contributor to climate change.
In a May 23 letter to Mr. Trump from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia and nine other state attorneys general, Mr. Morrisey wrote, “Withdrawing from the Paris agreement is an important and necessary step toward reversing the harmful energy policies and unlawful overreach of the Obama era.” He added, “The Paris Agreement is a symbol of the Obama administration’s ‘Washington knows best’ approach to governing.”
Although the administration has been debating for months its position on the Paris agreement, the sentiment for leaving the accord ultimately prevailed over the views of Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson and Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and close adviser, who had urged the president to keep a seat at the climate negotiating table.
Other countries have vowed to continue to carry out the terms of the Paris agreement, even without the United States.
President Xi Jinping of China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas polluter, has promised that his country would move ahead with steps to curb climate change, regardless of what happens in the United States.
During a telephone call in early May with President Emmanuel Macron of France, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mr. Xi told the newly elected French leader that China and France “should protect the achievements of global governance, including the Paris agreement.”
But the accord’s architects say the absence of the United States will inevitably weaken its chances of being enforced. For example, the United States has played a central role in pushing provisions that require robust and transparent oversight of how emissions are monitored, verified and reported.
Without the United States, there is likely to be far less pressure on major polluting countries and industries to accurately report their emissions. There have been major questions raised about the accuracy of China’s emissions reporting, in particular.
“We need to know: What are your emissions? Where are your emissions?” said Todd D. Stern, the lead climate negotiator during the Obama administration. “There needs to be transparent reporting on countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. If the U.S. is not part of that negotiation, that’s a loss for the world.”
By Michael D. Shear and Coral Davenport (The New York Times)
Highlighting the seriousness of the impact of climate change on the planet and its inhabitants, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 called for sustained action to meet the global challenge and to ensure a peaceful and sustainable future for all.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres addresses audience at New York University Stern School of Business. Photo credit: UN /Mark Garten
“The effects of climate change are dangerous and they are accelerating,” Secretary-General Guterres told a gathering of students, business leaders and academics at the New York University Stern School of Business.
“It is absolutely essential that the world implements the Paris Agreement (on climate change) – and that we fulfil that duty with increased ambition,” he underscored, recalling the ground-breaking agreement that entered into force last November.
The Agreement calls on countries to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future, and to adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change.
It also aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change and calls for scaled up financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity-building framework to support action by developing countries and the most vulnerable countries in line with their own national objectives.
Science ‘is beyond doubt’
Underlining that science behind climate change “is beyond doubt,” Mr. Guterres said:
“As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put it, ‘Human influence on the climate system is clear. The more we disrupt our climate, the more we risk severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts,’” he said, recalling that global temperatures have been rising, year after year, and that that last year was the hottest on record.
Furthermore, there are fears that the melt of sea ice and glaciers due to rising temperatures will have deep and far reaching impact: droughts and dry spells will last longer, while natural disasters like floods and hurricanes will be even more destructive.
Impacts of these catastrophic events, Mr. Guterres noted, would be felt in all corners of the world and in all sectors of the economy.
Informing of his intention to convene a dedicated climate summit in 2019 to reach the critical first review of implementation of the Paris Agreement, the UN chief called on all, including those who might hold divergent perspectives on climate change, to engage with him on the way forward.
Green business is good business
He also pointed to the opportunities that climate action can provide, such as through the creation of jobs and increased economic growth. It is thus, not surprising, that many private corporations, including major oil and gas companies have adopted climate action.
“They know that green business is good business. It is not just the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do,” he highlighted.
Five-point action plan
Laying out a five-point action plan to mobilise the world for climate action, the UN chief underscored that he would intensify political engagement with countries to increase efforts to limit temperature rise to well below 2 degree-Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degree-Celsius, the first point.
He also said that he would engage more with governments and major actors, including the coal, oil and gas industries, to accelerate the global transition to sustainable energy, and committed stronger support by the entire UN development system to Governments as they strive to meet climate commitments and achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially at the country level.
“That is where true change will be achieved,” he said.
The UN chief also said that he will work to with UN Member States mobilize national and international resources for adaptation, resilience, and the implementation of national climate action plans, and called for new and strengthened partnerships, including with the private sector and through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation.
Further in his remarks, the Secretary-General cautioned that failure to act on combatting climate change would in turn harm the countries themselves for their inaction.
“Those who fail to bet on the green economy will be living in a grey future (but) those who embrace green technologies will set the gold standard for economic leadership in the twenty-first century,” he said.
The building sector, which is responsible for global emissions roughly equivalent to that of China, must operate at “net zero carbon” by 2050 if global warming is to remain under two degrees Celsius, the limit enshrined in the Paris Agreement.
Terri Wills, CEO of the World Green Building Council
According to a new report by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), there are currently 500 net zero commercial buildings and 2,000 net zero homes around the globe (well under one per cent of all buildings worldwide), requiring a monumental and coordinated effort by businesses, governments and nongovernmental organisations to bring the building sector within striking distance of Paris Agreement targets.
“We need nothing short of a dramatic and ambitious transformation from a world of thousands of net zero buildings, to one of billions if we are to avoid the worst impacts of climate change,” said Terri Wills, CEO of the World Green Building Council. “Businesses, governments and NGOs hold the key to this transformation, but they must commit to aggressive action. It is possible to create a world in which every single building produces zero carbon emissions, but we must start today.”
The report defines ‘net zero buildings’ as highly energy-efficient buildings which generate or supply the energy they need to operate from renewable sources to achieve net zero carbon emissions, and lays out specific actions that the private sector, governments and NGOs can take to ensure all new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030 and that all existing buildings are renovated to operate at net zero carbon by 2050.
The International Energy Agency estimates that the current global building stock is 223 billion square meters, and will almost double to 415 billion square meters by 2050. According to the Global Alliance for Building and Construction, current renovation rates amount to less than one percent of the existing building stock each year. To achieve universal net zero carbon in the building sector by 2050, renovation rates must increase by 3 per cent every year starting in 2017, and must accelerate for every year of delay.
Net zero buildings not only help in the fight against climate change, but can create jobs, improve energy security, and lower energy costs, adds the report.
The World Green Building Council is working to ensure all buildings operate at net zero carbon emissions by 2050 through its Advancing Net Zero project. Ten Green Building Councils (GBCs) in some of the largest building markets such as India, the U.S. and Brazil, are introducing net zero building certification programmes in their countries. To date, Green Building Councils have collectively certified more than one billion square meters of green building space around the world – 10 times the size of Paris. These certifications have stimulated growth in the green building market.
Net Zero is sponsored by engineering firm Integral Group, international property and infrastructure group Lendlease, and the product manufacturer the ROCKWOOL Group.
Kevin Hydes, CEO at Integral Group, said: “Advancing Net Zero is the fundamental tool to accelerate us from a few zero carbon projects to widespread market adoption in the mainstream. Green Building Councils have a proven methodology and ability for transforming their regional markets around the globe and they must remain at the forefront of positive change and help us all take this next leap.”
Brian Long, Group Head of Sustainability & Safety at Lendlease, said: “As a sustainable developer, we recognise the importance of developing buildings which will benefit the environment for generations to come. Our successful delivery of developments like Barangaroo in Sydney and Elephant Park in London shows that by working in partnership, it is possible to deliver net zero developments which are commercially viable, have lower operating costs and deliver better health impacts.”
Jens Birgersson, CEO at ROCKWOOL Group, said: “Around 30 per cent of global carbon emissions originate from buildings. The potential for savings here is immense. If we are to reach the ambitious targets of the Paris Agreement we must increase the energy efficiency of our homes, offices and public spaces by supporting net zero targets in new build and renovation. I therefore applaud WorldGBC’s new report, which I am sure will help to accelerate momentum in this space.”
The Sustainability Academy marking the International Women’s day for Peace and Disarmament was held on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 by the Centre for Conflict and Gender Studies, University of Port Harcourt, in collaboration with Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).
Award to Rumuekpe Women Prayer Warriors
Women play critical roles in peace and conflict resolution at local, national and international levels. At the same time, women have been the unfortunate victims of crises arising from political and environmental wars. The marking of International Day was back grounded by a review of resource conflicts that women and communities contend with. Critical attention was also paid to ways by which the concept of Re-Source Democracy could be used in conflict resolution and especially in urging elimination of the abuse of nature’s gifts to humankind. The day was also used to recognise some women who have been outstanding amazons in conflict resolution.
The event had in attendance the Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Deans of Faculties, researchers, staff and students of the centre, representatives from non-governmental organisations and the Rumuekpe Women Prayer group.
According to the Director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, “there is no peace when women are deprived of their right to own and develop lands; when the environment is polluted and livelihoods are destroyed without responsibility and when citizens do not have a say as to what extractive activities are conducted in their communities even though there is no war.
“Re-source democracy helps us to reconnect to nature in a way will bring about elimination of conflicts, community involvement in re-source governance and ensure a sustainable use of re- sources in a manner that is fully in consonance with socio-cultural, religious and ethical dictates.”
Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, a lawyer and development consultant, spoke on Resource Control, Gender and Peace in the Niger Delta. She underscored the need for a new and urgent approach to resource governance in the region.
She said: “Our ecosystems have become weak and our environment is in a near crisis state. Though there have been several reviews and reforms not much has changed. The region still lacks access to basic amenities despite her possession of enormous resources. Inequitable distribution of wealth has resulted in conflicts and growing incidences of militancy, cultism, crime, violence, hate and unhealthy rivalries.”
According to Nkoyo, “an alternative and more sustainable approach is a nature focussed approach which estimates the proper place of resource exploitation and interprets resources through the prism of communities, species and peoples living in the region who have traditionally seen themselves as supervisors of what they own. Re-source democracy is about stewardship and less about control or regulator rights.”
She called for action not only against central governments but within the region, states, communities, and among groups of people.
Women were encouraged to participate in decisions that determine access to and enjoyment of nature’s resources as well as seeking ways to remove those obstacles erected by the politics of access and power as they are often caught in the cross fire of resource conflicts and are the major victims in impacted communities.
Another speaker at the event, Joy Akate Lale, looked at the relevance of giving equal opportunities to both the male and female children to access quality education.
“Education is a critical element for freeing our society from gender blind resource management and use. Most of the development sectors are still dominated by men but resource ownership from the gender perspective advocates for a situation whereby men and women have equal access to resources, whether tangible or intangible,” she stated.
In his submission, peace activist, Alyn Ware, stated that nuclear weapons play an important role in conflicts around the world and because the conflicts affect both men and women it is important that women are engaged in peace and disarmament initiatives. The fabrication and use of nuclear weapons pose severe threats to humanity. Cancers, malformation in children, environmental degradation, terrorism, war and poverty are some of the risks associated with nuclear arms.
Peace Awards
To highlight the roles played by women in peace building in the Niger Delta, HOMEF singled out two women and a group of women to be honoured for their roles. Those honoured were Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo (general peace efforts), Mrs Joy Akate Lale (for girlchild education) and the Women Prayer Warrior Group (peace building in Rumuekpe community).
Women of Rumuekpe Prayer Warior Group from Emuoha LGA in Rivers State were recognised for the roles they played in conflict resolution in their community between 2006 and 2010.
In the midst of serious violence that wracked Rumuekpe communities, the women mobilised themselves to intervene and ensure peace returned. They held a weekly prayer meeting in the community despite threats from cultists’ activities and went beyond prayers to mediating between warring groups.
In November 2010, they marched half naked to the Rivers State House of Assembly and to the Government House protesting against the activities of some key personalities in the local government in fuelling the crisis in their community.
Women form an integral part of the population and their input cannot be neglected in matters of resource governance, of peace and crisis management. They must continue to reject the culture of silence and confront actions that seek to delegitimise both their voice and contributions. The call for re-source democracy was seen as a vital bridge to connect the people to nature in ways that can sustain both the present and future generations.
A new case study by the United Nations-based Better Than Cash Alliance shows how agriculture non-profit organisation, One Acre Fund, in partnership with Citi Inclusive Finance, successfully digitised loan repayments for farmers in Kenya. This move, it was gathered, significantly boosted transparency and efficiency, driving economic opportunity and financial inclusion for thousands of smallholder farmers and their families.
A Kenyan smallholder farmer
One Acre Fund, supported by Citi, enabled farmers to easily make loan repayments via mobile money instead of cash, reducing the uncertainty, inefficiency, insecurity and high costs previously caused by cash transactions.
One Acre Fund can now reach more farmers with greater reliability, and staff can spend almost half as much time collecting payments in cash, using that extra time to help farmers increase their incomes through training and educational programmes. With One Acre Fund’s package of services, including training and inputs like seed and fertiliser, the average farmer participating in the programme earned nearly 50 percent more than peer farmers who do not participate.
Study findings include:
Increased participant satisfaction due to transparency and convenience.
Eighty-five percent decreased instances of repayment fraud.
Reduced processing time for each repayment from 12-16 days to 2-4 days; farmers now know immediately when their payment is received, eliminating the worry about whether it arrived.
Eighty percent decrease in repayment processing costs.
Forty-six percent of time reduced for staff working on collections, allowing for more time helping farmers improve agricultural practices.
Women farmers benefited especially, feeling safer about payment deliveries.
“Mobile repayments have allowed us to increase our efficiency and provide better service to farmers,” said Mike Warmington, the Director of Microfinance Partnerships at One Acre Fund. “We’re excited to be working at the forefront of this technology in the smallholder agriculture lending sector. In our experience, farmers were empowered to thrive in these communities. Clients receive immediate confirmation of payments as they happen, enabling them to better manage their businesses and family finances.”
“Citi’s footprint, track record in inclusive finance and transaction banking capabilities enable us to provide global support to leading social enterprises like One Acre Fund,” said Bob Annibale, Global Director, Citi Inclusive Finance. “Among other benefits, digitisation enables efficiency and security, and drives innovative and inclusive business models. Citi is proud to play a part in enabling One Acre Fund and other organisations like them to improve the livelihoods of farming communities.”
One Acre Fund is said to typify the benefits and impact that digital payments and inclusive digital financial infrastructure, as developed in Kenya, can bring to agricultural value chains, contributing to a more sustainable and productive agriculture sector, a cornerstone of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). These learnings, say officials, can easily translate to poor farming communities in other countries and One Acre Fund is working on plans to expand in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia in the future.
“For companies and nonprofit organisations who want to work in rural Africa, this success story is a must-read,” said Oswell Kahonde, Africa Regional Lead at the Better Than Cash Alliance. “Digital payments are essential to building sustainable business models and creating long-term impact. By enabling smallholder farmers to make and receive payments digitally, we are creating transparency and accountability which translates to numerous benefits and empowers people to take control of their finances.”
