The Founder of GreenAid Africa, Dr Tabi Joda, has advised Nigerian leaders to address climate change issues which are threatening the wellbeing of the citizens.
Dr Peter Tarfa, Director, Department of Climate Change (DCC) in the Federal Ministry of Environment
He gave the advice at a one-day sensitisation programme on “The Role of Persons with Disability in the Fight against Climate Change in Nigeria’’ in Kaduna on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.
Joda noted that Nigerian leaders had, for a long time, been participating in roundtable discussions on climate change but they had yet to initiate any pragmatic strategy to tackle climate change issues.
The ecologist said that, since 2012, Nigeria started experiencing devastating disasters such as floods, fire outbreaks and landslides.
“These incidents have amplified the urgency in understanding that we are living in danger; a danger posed by climate change and we need to understand that there are problems right in front of us.
“The media call the incidents natural disasters but I insist that no disaster is natural.
“If the disasters are natural, that means something is driving them – human activities. And so, what are those human activities driving these disasters?” he asked.
He bemoaned the dearth of policy frameworks to tackle climate-driven disasters.
“We are quick to plunder our forests, causing lots of deforestation which result in desertification and land degradation; fuelling erosion and affecting our agricultural production systems.
“The vast open degraded lands are creating new weather variability, leading to uncertain weather conditions which are creating windstorms, destroying homes and communities.
“This also drives excessive weather activities, causing flooding, earthquakes and different kinds of disasters that threaten human existence.
“If we look around our communities, there are streets without gutters; even the streets with gutters are inundated with plastic bottles and bags.
“When rain falls, the waterways are all full and cannot channel water straight into the lowlands, thereby causing flood in homes.
“And you say these disasters are natural? No, they are not,’’ he added.
Joda called on persons with disability to start advocacy campaign on climate change, stressing that they were part of those who suffered most from the consequences of climate change.
The National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has warned heavy-duty engine operators, generator repairers, roadside oil dispensers and automobile mechanic workshops against indiscriminate disposal of used oil.
Director-General, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Sir Peter Idabor
Mr Peter Idabor, the Director-General of the agency, gave the warning on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 in Calabar, Cross River State, during an Outreach Community Programme on Management of spent oil.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised for community dwellers, household users of generator oil, manufacturing industries, service stations, motor oil retailers among others.
Idabor, who was represented by Mr Charles Atebo, Director of Legal Services, NOSDRA, said it was important for users of spent oil to be aware of harmful effects of mishandling and mismanaging spent oil.
According to him, the aim of the workshop is to sensitise stakeholders on the phases of spent oil management with emphasis on spent oil generation, storage, transportation, recycling and disposal.
He explained that the agency was saddled with the responsibility of regulating and managing all oily wastes, oily or organic sludge and spent catalyst in the nation.
“The objectives of this programme are to create a sustainable interface with all stakeholders; communities, household users of generator oil, manufacturing industries, service stations, motor oil retailers, auto-mechanics among others.
“It is also to educate stakeholders on the deleterious consequences of mismanaging spent oil and to solicit stakeholders’ engagement and commitment for the project.
“The programme in itself is a bold initiative and given its importance. We intend to replicate this outreach in all the state of the federation,’’ he said.
Speaking, Mr Itaya Asuquo, Commissioner for Petroleum in Cross River State, said that the state has over 35 petroleum tank farms.
Asuquo added that the amount of spillage and pollution passing through the Calabar-Channel was high and could be dangerous to inland water.
“Something should be done by the Federal Government with a view to compensate the state.
“The state should be compensated because of the current spillage and pollution resulting from the operations in the tank farms,’’ he said.
Mr Mike Eraye, the state Commissioner for Environment, said that the activities of the various tank farms in Calabar metropolis had negatively affected the inland water.
“The people of Cross River are largely affected by oil exploration activities and this has badly affected our inland water,’’ he said.
Eraye, however, lauded the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, for placing premium on issues of environment in the state.
He said that the State Ministry of Environment was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Environment to ensure that the challenges were addressed effectively.
The Chairman, Traders Association, Gwagwalada Area Council, FCT, Mr Ifeanyi Ikpacha, has called on traders in the market to guard against indiscriminate dumping of waste in the area.
Officials of one of the AEPB waste evacuation contractors, on duty in Garki Area of Abuja
Ikpacha made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gwagwalada, FCT, on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.
He said the advice became necessary considering the harmful effects of refuse to health as well as ensuring environmental cleanliness and the well-being of the people.
He said dumping of refuse in the market and other places indiscriminately could be a breeding ground for mosquitoes and rodents which would lead to communicable diseases.
“I want to use this medium to appeal to the traders in the market and the general public to avoid indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the drains and along the roads.
“The association has also been sensitising the traders and residents on the dangers of indiscriminate disposal of refuse.
“We tell them to make the unkempt shops and environment clean in enhancing environmental cleanliness and promote a healthy living.
“Residents should try as much as possible to keep their environment clean; it is the responsibility of everybody to complement government’s efforts in this regard.’’
The chairman advised traders to always keep their dustbins tight and cover them at all times as debris from uncovered dustbins might drop into the gutters.
He also urged the traders to clean the gutters and canals in their immediate environment for the sake of their health and the health of the nation.
“The sensitisation is also to help the traders take a proactive step to curtail unhealthy habits.
“They should consider its health implications on human lives and also know that indiscriminate dumping of refuse can increase flooding in the city as well,’’ he said.
He, however, warned the traders to always dispose their wastes in designated places for easy evacuation by cleaning contractors.
An ecologist, Mr Habib Omotosho, has called on waste management agencies across the country to ensure prompt evacuation of waste to prevent the citizens from contracting diseases.
Lagos waste PSP operators at work
Omotosho, the National Coordinator, Environmental Advancement Initiative, an NGO, gave the advice in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.
“There is need for quick evacuation of waste, particularly during the rainy season, because uncleared garbage lying around in a neighbourhood usually attracts flies, rats and other vectors of disease which spread diseases.
“This leads to unhygienic conditions and a rise in the health problems in the area,” he added.
Omotosho attributed several illnesses afflicting the people to the lack of proper waste management channels in the country, saying that the development was also responsible for some environmental hazards.
“If waste, such as human excreta, liquid and solid waste from households and communities, is not properly managed, it can cause serious health hazards and lead to the spread of infectious diseases.
“In Nigeria, solid waste disposal sites are found on the outskirts of urban areas.
“However, these areas become sources of contamination to the people, particularly children, due to the breeding and proliferation of flies, mosquitoes, and rodents at the sites,’’ he said.
He underscored the need for the government to initiate good waste disposal procedures so as to safeguard the health of the people and their environment.
Lava flowing from giant rips in the earth on the flank of Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano threatens highways.
A lava flow moves on Makamae Street in Leilani Estates on May 6
The threat raises the possibility that officials may order thousands more people to evacuate before escape routes are cut off on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.
Lava from a huge new fissure tore through farmland toward a coastal dirt road that is one of the last exit routes for some 2,000 residents in the southeast area of Hawaii.
More lava-belching cracks are expected to open among homes and countryside some 25 miles (40 km) east of Kilauea’s smoking summit.
This will possibly block one of the last exit routes, Highway 132.
Fountains of magma spouted “lava bombs” more than 100 feet (30 meters) into the air.
The molten rock travelled east-southeast toward the coastal road – Highway 137 – the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.
Mass evacuations will be triggered if either highway is hit by lava, said Hawaii National Guard spokesman Jeff Hickman.
“There’s a lot of worst-case scenario and roads getting blocked is one of them,” said Hickman.
Hickman stood on Highway 137, in the potential path of the lava flow, some two miles (3 km) away.
Dozens of homes have been destroyed since eruptions began 10 days ago.
Officials have ordered the evacuations of nearly 2,000 residents in the lower Puna district of the Big Island, home to around 187,000 people.
The American Red Cross said 500 people sought refuge in its shelters on Sunday night because of worsening volcanic activity.
Two more fissures opened in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 19.
“It’s optimistic to think that this is the last fissure we’re going to see,” said Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Deputy Scientist-In-Charge Steve Brantley.
A similar seismic event in 1955 lasted 88 days, he said.
Unnerved by near-constant small earthquakes and emissions of toxic sulfur dioxide gas, Rob Guzman and his husband Bob Kirk left their home in Kalapana Seaview Estates while they still could.
“We just need the local government to calm down the panic that some of these 2,000 people are feeling that today, we’re going to be trapped with no way out,” said Guzman.
They left behind a banana farm and rental properties to go stay with friends.
The Hawaii Fire Department issued a “condition red” alert on Monday because fissures in the southeast area of the Lanipuna Gardens area were issuing high levels of sulphur dioxide.
“Condition RED means immediate danger to health so take action to limit further exposure.
“Severe conditions may exist such as choking and inability to breathe,” the department said in the alert.
While residents deal with noxious gas and lava on the ground, the U.S. Geological Survey is concerned that pent-up steam could cause a violent explosive eruption at the volcano crater.
Such steam launches a 20,000-foot (6,100-meter) plume that could spread debris over 12 miles (19 km).
Scientists had expected such explosions by the middle of this month as Kilauea’s lava lake fell below the water table.
The possibility exists, however, that water may not be entering the crater as feared, and gas and steam may be safely venting, scientists said.
“So far those explosions have not occurred and I think the key here is that the vent system is an open one.
”Therefore pressure is not being built or developed down at the top of the lava column,” Brantley told a conference call.
If Paris was historic in carving a global climate deal, Katowice will define the political urgency for climate action.
A session during the Bonn conference
Negotiations at the just ended United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, focused on the Paris Agreement Work Programme, under which countries are designing the guidelines that will move the climate pact from concepts to actions.
The Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, at the concluding session, expressed concern at the lack of urgency in moving the negotiations forward.
“It is time to look at the bigger picture, see the severe impacts that climate change is having across the world, and rise to the challenge,” said Group Chair, Gebru Jember Endalew.
He expects steady progress be made throughout 2018 on all issues so that poor and vulnerable countries can engage effectively.
“A last-minute rush at COP24 risks leaving developing countries behind,” he said.
The Paris Rulebook
The Rulebook spells guidelines on how to put the Paris Agreement into practice.
There is a call for a fair, robust and transparent Rulebook that inspires confidence among countries to step up and commit to enhanced national climate targets by 2020.
They are essential for determining whether total world emissions are declining fast enough to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. These include boosting adaptation and limiting the global temperature increase to well below 2°C, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C.
“I am satisfied that some progress was made here in Bonn. But many voices are underlining the urgency of advancing more rapidly on finalizing the operational guidelines. The package being negotiated is highly technical and complex. We need to put it in place so that the world can monitor progress on climate action,” said Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change.
Progress on Agriculture
Recognising the urgency of addressing interests in the agriculture sector, the Bonn conference made a significant advance on the “Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture” by adopting a road-map for the next two-and-a-half years.
Farmers are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as prolonged droughts and shifting rainfall patterns, and agriculture is an important source of emissions.
This road-map responds to the world’s farming community of more than 1 billion people and to the 800 million people who live in food-insecure circumstances, mainly in developing countries. It addresses a range of issues including the socio-economic and food-security dimensions of climate change, assessments of adaptation in agriculture, co-benefits and resilience, and livestock management.
But not with Finance
Without advances in the talks over the commitment of future financial support from rich countries to developing nations, who are already facing devastating climate impacts, it became difficult for other areas of the negotiations to progress.
LDC Group Chair, Gebru Jember Endalew, stated: “Finance is key to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. In the face of climate change, poor and vulnerable countries are forced to address loss and damage and adapt to a changing climate, all while striving to lift their people out of poverty without repeating the mistakes of an economy built on fossil fuels. This is not possible without predictable and sustainable support.”
Civil society also expressed some dissatisfaction with the finance dialogue.
“The radio silence on money has sown fears among poor countries that their wealthier counterparts are not serious about honouring their promises. This funding is not just a bargaining chip, it is essential for delivering the national plans that make up the Paris Agreement,” said Mohamed Adow, International Climate Lead, Christian Aid.
“For the Paris Agreement to be a success, we need the Katowice COP to be a success. And for the Katowice COP to be a success we need assurances that sources of funding will be coming.”
The Talanoa Dialogue
The Fijian Presidency of COP23 launched the Talanoa Dialogue to spur an outcome for enhanced ambition at the end of this year at COP24.
The first global conversation about efforts to combat climate change was witnessed on Sunday, May 6, at the 2018 Bonn Climate Talks.
The dialogue wrote history when countries and non-Party stakeholders including cities, businesses, investors and regions engaged in interactive story-telling for the first time.
The dialogue witnessed some 250 participants sharing more than 700 stories of climate struggle and inspiration, providing fresh ideas and renewed determination to raise ambition.
Seven groups, known as “Talanoas”, took part in the informal Talanoa tradition of sharing stories to find solutions for the common good. Participants discussed three central questions: Where are we? Where do we want to go? How do we get there?
The Dialogue has the goal of taking stock of collective efforts towards progress on the Paris Agreement’s long-term mitigation goal. It will also inform the preparation of parties’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the second round of which are expected in 2020.
“Now is the time for action. Now is the time to commit to making the decisions the world must make. We must complete the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement on time. And we must ensure that the Talanoa Dialogue leads to more ambition in our climate action plans,” said Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji and President of COP23.
Talanoa inspires discussion between countries not as negotiating blocs but as one of people to people. But it is important that this is translated into a clear political process.
The Polish Presidency must take up the baton from the Fiji Presidency and work with all countries towards a political outcome for stronger national targets by 2020.
Political Action in Katowice
All input received to date and up to 29 October 2018 will feed into the Talanoa Dialogue’s second but more political phase at COP24.
To be meaningful, the Talanoa Dialogue “must deliver concrete outcomes that drive an increase in ambition and support to put us on track to achieving the 1.5 degree temperature goal set in Paris, guided by equity and science,” said Mr. Endalew.
Talks resume in Bangkok from September 3-8 where negotiators will pick up “informal notes” forwarded by this session. They will attempt to turn these notes and various inputs from countries into the basis for a negotiating text ahead of COP24 in Katowice, Poland.
“The science is clear: we need to get into higher gear to reach Paris goals and we need to have the courage to go beyond traditional politics. Meeting in the middle is no option this time,” said Marcel Beukeboom, Climate Envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
A stronger political leadership remains critical to achieve the major milestones envisaged for COP24 in Katowice, Poland.
The UN Climate Change talks are an integral part of a broader, worldwide debate on climate change.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.
The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global average temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
The ultimate objective of all agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.
“The time for stories has long since passed,” said Meena Raman of Third World Network. “We live in a world with over 1℃ warming and the devastation is already severe. We cannot allow for that warming to go beyond 1.5℃ and we need a political process to prevent that.”
An Eastern Africa regional workshop on e-waste management kicked off on Monday, May 14, 2018 in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to discuss effective electronic waste management.
E-waste
The three-day event is organised by the East African Communications Organisation (EACO), the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) and an environmental organisation, Enviroserve Rwanda.
Participants include policymakers, environmental experts, telecommunication companies and other interested parties from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi.
“The private sector needs to be involved in the e-waste management as far as the environmental protection is concerned,’’ said Faustin Munyazikwiye, the Deputy Director General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), at the opening of the workshop.
The participants would seek to promote a multi-stakeholder collaboration on e-waste and provide sustainable ways to manage such waste in the region, according to Ally Yahaya Simba, Executive Secretary of EACO.
A statement issued to the media by RURA said the workshop would evaluate the status of the regional strategy on e-waste management.
E-waste is already a serious problem in many countries around the world, RURA said in the statement.
“Not only does e-waste cause significant damage to our natural environment, but it also severely threatens the health and well-being of people,’’ RURA stated.
Experts say there is need to advance electronic and electrical waste management and support strategies to protect more than 150 million citizens of East African Community member countries from the dangers of e-waste.
National planning, finance and markets are receiving on-the-ground support from UN Climate Change Regional Collaboration Centres (RCCs) and their diverse partners working towards implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
On the margins of the climate talks that concluded in Bonn, Germany on Thursday, May 10, 2018, delegates and observers learned about several regional initiatives, including the NDC Partnership’s cooperation with RCC Panama and its engagement with 71 countries and some 19 organisations and institutions to further the goals of the Paris Agreement.
In 2015 in Paris, countries committed to limiting global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius and to work towards the safer target of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Countries submit and are expected to periodically enhance documents describing their national climate action plans (Nationally Determined Contributions, or “NDCs”) to achieving the goals of the agreement.
The purpose of the NDC Partnership is to “mobilise support and achieve ambitious climate goals while achieving sustainable development,” by facilitating information development and sharing, technical support and capacity-building, and sourcing of financial support, said Cayetano Casado, NDC Partnership specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean based at RCC Panama.
UN Climate Change established five RCCs with prominent partners to promote the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) on the ground in Lomé, Togo, for West Africa; Kampala, Uganda, for East Africa; Bangkok, Thailand, for Asia and the Pacific; Panama City, Panama, for Latin America; and St. George’s, Grenada, serving the Caribbean. With the CDM, at their core, the RCCs now support a broad range to global climate action for implementing the Paris Agreement.
Under the CDM, projects in developing countries earn a saleable credit for each tonne of greenhouse gas they reduce or avoid. The incentive has led to the registration of more than 8,100 projects and programmes in 111 countries and the issuance of more than 1.9 billion CERs. Each CER is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide reduced or avoided.
Tackling climate change will take a great deal of resources, so green finance is a key focus of work in the RCCs, said Massamba Thioye, a manager at UN Climate Change who works to “facilitate developing countries’ access to green finance.”
“The Paris Agreement is a development agreement; it’s not just about emission reductions,” said Mr. Thioye. “Projects are there, and we know finance is available.”
Through the RCCs, Mr. Thioye works to encourage financiers to align their lending with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and he helps build capacity in developing countries to access finance through projects that can show more attractive “risk and return.”
The “green finance framework initiative” has begun in Africa, with a framework in place in Zimbabwe, and is on its way to Latin-America and Caribbean and Asia, via planned Green Investment Catalyst Roundtables.
Others are looking at carbon pricing and market approaches to incentivize emissions reductions and investment, among them K. Suresh, Director of the Climate Change Programme Department in Singapore’s National Environment Agency.
As Chair of the Working Group on Climate Change of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Mr. Suresh leads ASEAN’s collaboration with RCC Bangkok on the Collaborative Instruments for Ambitious Climate Action project, designed to explore and support market instruments capable of driving action at the national level while laying the foundation for broader cooperation in the form of a possible regional carbon market.
Measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) is the first step in a country’s move to carbon pricing and use of market approaches, said, Mr. Suresh.
Those at the event in Bonn also learned details of the West African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance from Sandra Greiner, Lead Consultant at the advisory company and think tank Climate Focus. The Alliance fosters participation of West African delegates in the UN Climate Change process, promotes access to market mechanisms and climate finance, and will pilot the transition of CDM-related capacities and activities in the context of the Paris Agreement.
“RCC Lomé has from the beginning been an invaluable partner, contributing expertise,” said Ms. Greiner.
Badacar Sarr, General Manager of ENERTEC-SARL, based in Dakar, Sengal, provided a briefing on the West African South-South Network on MRV and Transparency.
“Our vision is to have operational MRV systems by 2020 in the ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] countries engaged in this initiative,” said Mr. Sarr. To date, 14 countries have joined the initiative and have or will benefit from knowledge sharing, best-practices workshops on MRV and transparency, and capacity-building.
The RCCs support national climate action through capacity-building, technical assistance and strategic networking – sourcing know-how and resources to drive clean development.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has received a green light from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to import and use an experimental Ebola vaccine in the country, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, told newsmen on Monday, May 14, 2018.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Photo credit: AFP / FABRICE COFFRINI / Getty Images
“We have agreement, registration, plus import permit, everything formally agreed already,” Tedros said. “All is ready now to really use it,” he said, adding that the Congolese government deserved praise for its response to the outbreak.
Earlier, the WHO confirmed 19 deaths in DRC following an outbreak of Ebola between April 4 and May 13.
The WHO also confirmed 39 suspected cases.
It said 393 people who identified as contacts of Ebola patients were being followed up.
Information about the outbreak in Bikoro, Iboko and Wangata health zones in Equateur province was still limited, the WHO said in a statement.
At present the outbreak did not meet the criteria for declaring a “public health event of international
concern”, which would trigger the formation of an emergency WHO committee.
The WHO said it has obtained 4,000 doses of Ebola vaccine and is preparing for deployment in the DRC, its Africa
director said on Sunday.
“We’re working on the deployment of these materials, especially readying the cold chain,” WHO Africa Director Matshidiso Moeti told Reuters by telephone.
“The start date of the vaccinations will depend on this deployment.”
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, May 14, 2018 launched the N9 billion Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme (HVIS) rehabilitation project in Auyo Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
President Muhammadu Buhari
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project will be executed under the Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria (TRIMING) programme, which is supported by the World Bank.
Even though the president did not speak at the event, NAN learnt that TRIMING is the special intervention programme of the Federal Government, aimed at promoting sustainable development of irrigated agriculture in the country.
The contract for the HVIS project was awarded to CGC-YSEJ Joint Ventures in 2018 to execute the rehabilitation of existing gravity irrigation area, involving about 5,346 hectares, and expansion of about 778 hectares as well as the rehabilitation of the barrage.
The cost of the project is N9,391,038,925 and it has a three-year completion period.
NAN reports that the key components of the project include the rehabilitation of Hadejia Barrage and Headworks, with 26.2km embankment and water storage capacity of 11.4 million cubic metres.
It also involves the rehabilitation of the 30km Feeder Canal and North Main Canal, the expansion of the 32.8km South Main Canal and the rehabilitation of the Main Drain and Drainage Buffer.
The project, which was initiated around 1981 and 1982, was later abandoned due to poor funding.
