Prominent research and development agencies have formed an intra – African collaboration in an effort to fund, conduct and facilitate research projects that will effectively target the continent’s shared challenges in the area of maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH).
Prof Glenda Gray, South African Medical Research Council president
Estimates show that more than half of the global maternal deaths and more than three-quarters of neonatal deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Although South Africa has in the past decade made some progress in reducing maternal and child mortality, the levels remain unacceptably high. The leading causes of death in children below five years in South Africa include HIV/AIDS, diarrhoeal disease, lower respiratory infections, birth asphyxia, and injuries.
“We encourage cross-border projects that are designed to tackle the continent’s shared maternal health challenges,” says President and CEO of the SAMRC, Professor Glenda Gray. “These should enable the development of management and analytical tools as well as intervention packages that will effectively change the tide in maternal and child mortality on the African continent.”
The partnership between the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), the African Academy of Sciences and the NEPAD Agency’s Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA) will work to create local and global partnerships and accelerate knowledge generation on the African continent.
It will fund Grand Challenges Africa Round 1 Innovations Seed Grants (ISG) through its Grand Challenges South Africa scheme to support innovators based in South African universities, public research organisations and nonprofit organisations.
Successful applicants will be awarded up to $100,000 as part of the first round of the Grand Challenges Africa Innovation Grants, which was launched in November 2016 under the Grand Challenges Africa scheme. The Grand Challenges Africa Innovation Grants will run for the next five years and comprise of the Grand Challenges Africa Innovation Seed Grants (GCA-ISG) and provide funding for scaling up innovations.
“We are pleased to be partnering with the SAMRC to expand the GC Africa Innovation Grants,” said Grand Challenges Africa Programme Manager Dr Evelyn Gitau. “The partnership allows for more innovators to be funded in the first round of the grants ensuring a stronger and concerted effort to find solutions for Africa’s challenges, particularly to improve the survival and health of mothers, their newborns and young children.”
As the global economy moves towards implementation of its new climate goals, the world’s largest purchasing organisations are using their buying clout to drive down emissions across their supply chains.
Paul Simpson, chief executive officer at CDP. The CDP report reveals that reductions equivalent to 434 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – more than France’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2014 – were achieved by suppliers worldwide in 2016
A report prepared by CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) titled: “The Missing link: Harnessing the power of purchasing for a sustainable future” and written in partnership with BSR and the Carbon Trust, reveals that reductions equivalent to 434 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – more than France’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2014 – were achieved by suppliers worldwide in 2016.
The reductions were disclosed to CDP, the not-for-profit global environmental data platform, at the request of 89 of the world’s largest purchasing organisations, including BMW, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and Walmart. These 89 big buyers wield a combined purchasing power of $2.7 trillion.
The Paris Agreement on climate change, now in international law, requires global GHG emissions to be reduced to net zero well before the end of the century. With supply chains responsible for on average four times a company’s direct emissions, they are a critical focus area for global corporations seeking to avoid the risks and capitalise on the opportunities presented by the low-carbon transition.
The new report – which includes commentary from McKinsey & Company – also reveals the names of the 29 companies awarded a position on CDP’s first ever supplier engagement leader board. Selected from over 3,300 companies that were assessed, they are recognised as leaders for their work with suppliers to reduce emissions and lower climate-related risks in the supply chain.
They include:
Braskem S/A: The Brazilian petrochemical company runs targeted workshops with its suppliers, which provide training and technical support on identifying opportunities to reduce emissions and lower costs. Nearly 44% of emissions outside Braskem’s direct control (scope 3) are now reported to the company.
Hewlett-Packard: The American IT company has helped its suppliers avoid 800,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions and save more than US$65 million through development of energy-saving action plans targeting local efficiency improvements.
Royal Philips: The Dutch technology company identifies so-called ‘risk suppliers’ that it targets for participation in its numerous supplier sustainability programs. It has also developed a tool to help suppliers with less experience in disclosure to quantify their carbon emissions.
Dexter Galvin, Head of Supply Chain, CDP, said: “We congratulate the 29 leading companies that are using their buying clout to drive change across their supply chains. Companies have a critical role to play in delivering on the Paris Agreement, and as well as setting their own house in order, it is essential they turn their attention to the risks and opportunities outsourced to their supply chain.”
“By harnessing their purchasing power, big buyers have the potential to deliver the large-scale, rapid change that is needed and lead the way towards our sustainable future.”
Nicola Kimm, Head of Sustainability, Philips Lighting, said: “We are delighted to be recognised as global leaders for our work driving down emissions and improving efficiency in our supply chain. Lower emissions in the supply chain isn’t just about helping the environment, it’s a business imperative which boosts our competitive advantage and builds our resilience for a low carbon future.”
The report, which analyses climate and water-related data disclosed by more than 4,300 companies, also indicates that the sustainability commitments and practices of leading organisations are not being replicated at scale downwards through the supply chain. Despite a 20% increase since 2015 in the number of big buyers requesting climate and water-related data from their suppliers, this is not translating into downstream action, with only 22% of responding companies currently engaging with their own suppliers on carbon emissions and 16% engaging with their suppliers on water use.
Common barriers to engagement include companies’ lack of experience in calculating and managing their own emissions, a perceived lack of leverage over business partners, costs associated with managing an engagement programme and an absence of mandatory requirements from customers or regulation.
Where companies are proactively engaging with their suppliers, they face a serious lack of transparency, with nearly half (47%) of suppliers not responding to their customers’ requests for climate and water-related disclosure.
The data also reveal that suppliers are failing to capitalise on the myriad opportunities presented by the low-carbon transition. While they reported a combined $12.4 billion in savings from emissions reduction projects, fewer than half (47%) have set climate targets and just 34% reported achieving a decrease in emissions in the past year. Only one quarter of respondents are realising climate opportunities by enabling their own suppliers to reduce emissions, or growing revenue through sales of low-carbon products or services.
Tara Norton, Managing Director, BSR, said: “Large buyers have a tremendous opportunity to catalyse supplier climate action, both through addressing the drivers of inaction and by elevating and rewarding those suppliers that demonstrate leadership. This year’s report provides practical insights on how buyers can partner with suppliers for mutual benefit, including facilitating access to tools and resources that enable emissions reductions, providing incentives for good performance, and supporting suppliers to improve climate risk management, including setting science-based targets.”
The report contains a four-part framework, developed by the Carbon Trust, for companies to catalyse change within their supply chains. The framework sets out the journey to cascading sustainability throughout the supply chain, from understanding the risks and opportunities, to planning and taking action to embed sustainability within procurement processes.
Tom Delay, Chief Executive, Carbon Trust, said: “Supply chain is the next frontier in sustainability. Managing the environmental impact of your own operations is expected behaviour. But the greatest opportunities for reductions are typically outside of direct operational control, in the supply chain. While some are showing what can be done today, the majority do not yet have a clear understanding of how to measure their impact or find the value in working with suppliers. Large public and private sector organisations can deliver change at the scale and speed required to address the challenges of climate change and resource scarcity. We hope that our insight and the examples from the leaders engaged with CDP help to accelerate the shift to a more sustainable, low carbon economy.”
Mayardit FM in South Sudan runs entirely on solar power. Some of the engineers from the station recently traveled to the UK to share their skills and knowledge with the wider radio community, at Radio TechCon. Ann Charles of Internews reports about the station and the experience of the engineers at the conference
“Solar has worked very well in Turalei,” said Issa Kassimu, The Radio Community’s electrical engineer, “and with the right design, it can work here, too!”
Issa Kassimu addresses the Radio TechCon audience. Photo credit: Vincent Lo/Radio Today
Issa was addressing Radio TechCon, the UK radio industry’s annual technical and engineering conference. Nearly 150 attendees listened as Issa described his project converting Mayardit FM, a station in Turalei, South Sudan, to 100% solar power.
As of March 2016, the station has been running exclusively on sunshine, with broadcast hours extended from eight to 16 hours a day. So far, it has had no downtime.
“The sun charges the batteries,” explained Issa. “The batteries then give power to the station’s equipment and transmitter. If the batteries are full, the sun powers the equipment directly. When there is no sun, the batteries take over.”
“We can run for 24 hours with no sun,” he added.
Solar panels at Mayardit FM. Photo credit: Internews
There is little grid electricity in South Sudan, which means that stations have to rely on expensive generator power. As is typical for stations in the country, Mayardit FM had long faced challenges related to high fuel costs, unpredictable fuel availability, and intensive maintenance. Sometimes the station would be off-air for several days.
Issa’s project created the first 100% solar-powered station in The Radio Community, a network of community radio stations across South Sudan supported by Internews and funded by USAID.
“The annual running costs are significantly cheaper,” Issa explained to the audience. “When there was fighting elsewhere in the country, we were able to stay on the air, as we didn’t have an interruption in the fuel supply.”
As South Sudan is near to the Equator, it seems an obvious location for an experiment in solar power.
However, Issa was keen to explain that solar can be used anywhere in the world – so long as stations plan the right design.
“Even in a country like the UK where it rains a lot of the time, it is still possible,” he informed the audience.
“You need to calculate every piece of equipment which might be used, and include some headroom. Don’t forget the necessary things like a kettle – you will still need to drink tea, as it is cold here!” he joked.
“You can also opt for a hybrid system, where you use half solar and half grid or generator power,” said Issa. “Solar is for everyone!”
It is not the first time that The Radio Community has been represented at TechCon. Last year, Senior Broadcast Engineer Steven Lemmy and Eye Radio Studio Manager James Kwaje spoke at the conference about the difficulties faced by broadcast engineers in the world’s newest nation.
Once again, the contribution from South Sudan was considered a conference highlight. One delegate remarked, “I remember seeing the talk last year about how hard it is to stay on air with the heat, fighting and problems with electricity supply. It’s wonderful to see that the creative engineers have returned with a way to solve the energy problem.”
As well as giving a presentation, Issa and Steven were able to hear talks on the future of radio from British academics and broadcasters, including the BBC. They also visited the BBC World Service, and conducted factory acceptance testing on the new playout system for The Radio Community.
Internews released an in-depth report on the solar-powered transmission, co-authored by Issa. As well as the background to the project, it includes technical specifications, costings, and a section on user-centered design. There is also a detailed “how-to” manual, which can be used by anyone interested in designing a solar system and weighing its feasibility for their own radio station.
As part of Germany’s G20 Presidency, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is advancing the ‘GreenInvest’ dialogue platform in order to engage developing countries in the mainstreaming and mobilisation of green finance.
Participants at the first GreenInvest consultation held in Singapore on 9 and 10 January 2017
A first consultation of developing countries under the GreenInvest platform was held in Singapore on 9 and 10 January 2017 with participants from some 25 developing countries.
BMZ’s Parliamentary State Secretary, Thomas Silberhorn, said: “Within the German development cooperation, we are placing a strong emphasis on supporting our partners in building local financial systems and framework conditions to mobilise and shift private investments towards a sustainable future. GreenInvest is an excellent vehicle to advance our joint understanding and set the stage for scaled-up action on green finance.”
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been selected to develop and manage GreenInvest, building on its extended experience in advancing sustainable finance. UNEP’s co-Director of the Inquiry into Design Options for a Sustainable Financial System, Simon Zadek, said, “UN Environment welcomes the opportunity through its involvement in GreenInvest to highlight the innovations by, and accelerate the flow of green finance in developing countries.”
GreenInvest during Germany’s G20 Presidency
GreenInvest seeks to ensure that developing countries will have a voice in the evolution of green finance initiatives and practices across the global financial system. It is based on an initiative launched during Mexico’s G20 Presidency in 2012 and will feed into the newly established Sustainability Working Group under Germany’s G20 Presidency.
The three themes that GreenInvest will focus on are: Greening foreign direct investment (FDI); the role of financial technology (‘fintech’) in advancing green finance; and enabling developing countries to effectively participate in international cooperation to accelerate green finance.
That the Federal Government hiked the import duty on tobacco is no doubt cheery news. The wider implication of the policy, announced by Finance Minister, Ms. Kemi Adeosun, is that imported tobacco products flooding the country would no longer be cheap and, on the long run, not easily accessible to the class of society that the tobacco industry wants to addict.
According to scientists, tobacco smoking is dangerous to health
While announcing the new rates, the minister had listed other products that would also be subject to the upward cost adjustment that will follow. They include rice, cassava, sugarcane, salt and categories of products identified as “luxury”.
Pundits would however insist that, without corresponding special levies and high excise on locally-produced tobacco products, the purpose of the initiative is dead on arrival.
This argument emanates from the belief that the ministries of finance and health may not have worked in harmony to ensure that while the nation generates revenue to pay salaries and implement capital projects, the health of the citizenry is not jeopardised. In unveiling a policy that could best be described as a revolving door, the government seems to have opened a wider door which indigenous tobacco firms have jumped into.
Evidence abounds that price increases on cigarettes effectively reduce demand and this on the long run induces cessation and initiation of tobacco use. This can however be achieved if price and tax measures are implemented holistically.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) which says that about six million deaths occur annually from tobacco consumption has consistently told governments that advertising bans and smoke-free public places discourage potential and even existing smokers. It asserts however that tax policies have proven to be the most potent initiative in this regard.
Some of the recommended taxes are excise taxes, value added taxes (VAT) or general sales taxes and import duties. Of these, it states that tobacco-product excise taxes are most important for achieving the health objective of reduced tobacco consumption since they are uniquely applied to tobacco products and raise their prices relative to the prices of other goods and services.
It is in this light that the call by public health for the immediate introduction of special levies and taxes on indigenous products in Nigeria would seem very appropriate and sensible if the government indeed prioritises health of its citizens over revenue.
This is particularly true when viewed from the prism that most of the tobacco products sold in Nigeria emanate from multinational companies that have relocated from their former bases in Europe where civilised laws have been introduced to significantly curb their reach for the lungs of citizens.
Unfortunately, in Nigeria and indeed across Africa, they have been welcomed with open arms and no form of regulation hence they see the continent as very “friendly”.
Their perception of “friendly” could however be interpreted without mistake to mean weak laws, public officials that are compromise-able, and a huge untapped market in the youth population. Nigeria, with a population of over 170 million people, most of whom are youths, therefore presents such a market.
It is anticipated that the Nigerian government would review the recently-announced hike in import duty on such a lethal product by extending it to cover indigenous tobacco products that are primed to cause more harm, increase the health burden and further decimate a population already reeling from a growing cancer epidemic.
Revenues from tobacco taxes would go a long way in assisting government fund public health schemes. In the United States it is believed that every state that has significantly increased its cigarette tax has enjoyed substantial increases in revenue. The average state cigarette tax in US is $1.69 per pack, with rates varying widely from 17 cents in Missouri to $4.35 in the city of New York.
For Nigeria, this should be a lesson as, on the long run, the multiplier effects would include a cleaner environment and a healthier citizenry.
By Okiemute Henry (public health advocate based in Warri, Delta State)
Corporate climate action is crucial to help governments achieve their central objective under the Paris Climate Change Agreement, which is to limit the global average temperature rise to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
TJ DiCaprio (left), participating in the Momentum for Change: Climate Friendly Investments session at COP22, during which she also highlighted the launch of the latest Microsoft carbon program white paper, “Beyond carbon neutral: Expanding beyond our carbon neutral operations to accelerate global and local good.”
Microsoft has developed what is considered a trail-blazing emission reduction scheme which is exemplary for other companies. The innovation was showcased at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco last November.
The company is a Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activity award winner for its carbon programme to reduce carbon emissions, and country delegates at COP22 had the opportunity to learn about the Microsoft internal carbon fee and how other companies and organisations could adopt its model to help reduce the emissions necessary for countries to achieve their “NDCs”.
NDCs are “Nationally Determined Contributions” – national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement that cover both reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change.
Since implementing its carbon fee in July 2012, Microsoft has reduced its emissions by more than 9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO2e), invested in more than 14 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of green power, and has had a positive impact on more than 7 million people through carbon offset community project investments.
As TJ DiCaprio, Senior Director of Environmental Sustainability at Microsoft and the chief architect behind the company’s carbon fee, explains, “The fee has helped establish a culture of sustainability in our company: sustainability is now an expectation of our leadership for how we operate our datacenters and facilities.”
Microsoft introduced its carbon fee when it made a company-wide commitment to operate in a net carbon neutral way. The fee holds Microsoft internal business groups financially accountable for the carbon emissions associated with their operations. Through the fee, Microsoft generates the funds to pay for the cost of carbon neutrality. In addition, the fee is the tool by which the company works towards four desired outcomes, or goals, of its carbon programme, which is to:
Internalise the external cost of emissions, by making the company’s carbon impact understandable in business language.
Transform the culture of the company, by establishing an expectation for environmental and climate responsibility.
Catalyse and accelerate climate-neutral innovation, by investing carbon fee funds into internal and external climate-neutral projects.
Support the transition to a low-carbon economy, by prioritising investments that empower communities globally in the response to climate change.
Using these outcomes as a guide, Microsoft invests its carbon fee fund through four categories. First, the company dedicates a significant portion to renewable energy, helping to expand the renewable energy market worldwide. Second, it invests in carbon offset community projects – in particular in the areas where it operates data centres – to offset its emissions while supporting sustainable development. Third, it uses the fund to drive internal and external climate-related energy and technology innovation through a programme of Climate Grants. And finally, the company sets aside a portion for “track-and-report” projects, helping to ensure transparency and accountability through its carbon programme.
Microsoft designed its carbon fee model to be simple and easy for other organisations to replicate. The company has published several white papers describing its goals and providing detailed guidance for other organisations interested in using the model. Ms. DiCaprio has also participated in numerous speaking engagements and forums – including four sessions at COP22 – to share the company’s best practices.
“At Microsoft, we are committed to taking significant action to tackle climate change,” said Ms. DiCaprio. “We do this in part by carefully investing our carbon fee fund into carbon-neutral projects that will accelerate energy and technology innovation. We also do it by operating carbon neutral and running our business as efficiently as possible. And we do it by sharing the lessons we have learned over the years to help others benefit from our experience.”
The rise in prices of cooking gas and kerosene is creating a demand for charcoal, whose price is likewise escalating – a development that translates to an increase in the felling of trees, a raw material for charcoal.
Charcoal
The negativity in the use of charcoal surmounts the temporal alternative it serves in cooking. Felling of trees for production of charcoal is usually carried out without recourse to planting many more trees to replace the felled ones. This practice leads to deforestation which is a clear and present danger in the face of ever increasing risks of climate change.
For the past three weeks, cooking gas, which has been embraced by many in Benue State as a substitute to kerosene, has become a scarce commodity. The scarcity is said to be caused by the halt in production of gas in the country, thereby leaving only one avenue for its procurement through importation, a situation that looks to have skyrocketed the price. A 12.5 kg of cooking gas which went for N4,000 jumped to N5,000. Meanwhile, kerosene too went for as high as N270-N300 at filling stations and N350-N400 per litre at black market selling points.
To this end, many homes turned their focus to charcoal for cooking, which also shot the price up from N1,200 to N1,800 then to N2,000 per bag.
Away from the pricing mechanism which is hard to control, especially for cooking gas as it was recently confirmed by Secretary Petroleum Products Monitoring and Price Regulating Committee, Benue State, Mr Titus Dyaaiyol, in a monitored interview on radio not to be within their purview, there is need for the price of gas to reduce and be within reach of the common man. Invariably, if the price of cooking gas becomes affordable, more people will use it and desist from the use of charcoal with its harmful antecedents.
Charcoal is generally known as a dark or black form of carbon obtained by usually heating wood in an enclosed space without air. This charcoal is thereby used as fuel in cooking.
Not too long ago, many states such as Benue had forest reserves overlooked by the government, communities or certain families but all that is now in the past as scores of forest trees have been felled without replacement. In place of most forests in these areas are farmlands and homes.
In this regard, the expansionist need superseded the need of these forest owners in reserving the forests. They saw more gain in either felling the trees for timber, charcoal or simply expanding farmlands or homesteads.
As earlier stated, the rising cost of petroleum products such as kerosene and gas as well as the high cost of operating electric cookers obviously gave rise to Nigerians embracing the use of charcoal in locally made charcoal stoves popularly known as “Abacha Stove” since the mid-90s. These stoves have a hollow base where charcoal is stoked and lit. It usually takes a while for the embers to properly light but, once they do, they burn steadily. This process is said to cook food faster and better. Whether the aforementioned assertion is true or not, the use of charcoal in the long run attracts many environmental ills.
Charcoal making process is considerably easier and cheaper with little investment, hence, the rush by the private sector and locals into its production from the available resource in the environment. Most definitely, the cost of using charcoal may augur well for the community but the overall cost in terms of environmental damage cannot be overemphasised. Although, its use plays a major role in our economy and energy sector as an ideal fuel, charcoal is nevertheless a form of “dirty fuel.”
Suffice it to stress that charcoal is an in-efficient fuel to produce, and is un-clean. In comparison, charcoal stoves which are usually out-door used, in as much as they are more efficient to use than firewood stoves, still lag behind kerosene, electric and gas stoves.
In essence, the high use of charcoal according to experts results in the high consumption of wood which in turn results to more emission of CO2 (carbon dioxide) and CO (carbon monoxide). The question is how to produce sustainable basis charcoal without causing deforestation and create a neural carbon cycle. There is no gain saying the fact that deforestation comes with loss of wildlife and other environmental degradation ills such as desertification.
This booming charcoal business which is fueled by the poverty in the rural areas and sustained by the exploding population among the urban middle class and poor who find it cheaper to use charcoal in place of soaring kerosene and cooking gas price is not helping matters with climate change adaptation in Benue State. This brings to the fore the need for the National Environmental Standards Regulatory and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) under the Federal Ministry of Environment to step up its regulatory role of protecting forest resources as stipulated by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife and Flora (CITES). The Benue State Government too needs to step up its regulating of felling of trees and encourage aggressive tree planting to curb desertification effects.
If mitigating moves are not put in place by appropriate authorities in checking the charcoal business, our forests would soon disappear and do away with the traditional role of trees providing living things oxygen in the course of photosynthesis. More so, this anomaly coupled with other human activities is responsible for far reaching impacts of global warming and climate change.
To buttress this point, experts assert that only five percent of the country’s forest resource is standing, as those felled have not been replenished, as it ought to. Little wonder, governments usually organise tree planting events year in, year out but do not put properly managed and supervised machinery in place to sustain the growth of the trees.
By and large, as a matter of urgency, the introduction of clean and efficient cooking stoves among the Nigerian populace, especially the local ones, which will cut down about 80 percent of the use of fuel, will spur the country on the way to sustainable development and a cleaner and more environment friendly cooking practice.
The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea announced on Monday, 23 January that it has submitted its interest to join the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2017.
Gabriel Mbaga Obiang, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea
Gabriel Mbaga Obiang, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, reportedly travelled to Vienna on January 20 to meet with OPEC officials and present the Government of Equatorial Guinea’s offer to become the 14th member of the cartel. With 32.5 million barrels per day of output projected this year, OPEC is the world’s largest organisation of oil producers. The Minister’s trip to Vienna follows the Fourth Africa-Arab Summit, which hosted last November several OPEC members in Malabo, under the patronage of President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
“For decades, Equatorial Guinea has achieved a sterling track record as a dependable supplier of petroleum to consumers in all corners of the world. We firmly believe that Equatorial Guinea’s interests are fully aligned with those of OPEC in serving the best interests of the industry, Africa and the global economy,” said the Minister.
On December 10, 2016, Equatorial Guinea agreed to join 10 other non-OPEC countries to reduce 558,000 barrels per day of total oil production in 2017. Equatorial Guinea’s share of the cut is 12,000 barrels per day. Even through a two-year sustained slump in oil prices, Equatorial Guinea has maintained liquid output levels at a competitive level.
“There is a consensus amongst producers that an oversupply of oil has been dragging down the price of the barrel,” the Minister said. “Equatorial Guinea is doing its part to ensure stability in the market and that the industry continues to invest in exploring and developing our resources.”
Equatorial Guinea is the third largest oil and gas producer in sub-Saharan Africa. Its $10.6 billion of annual oil and gas exports account for 95 percent of the country’s total exports, with shipments sold every day to China, India, Japan, Korea and many other countries. The country has remained committed to investing in the entire energy supply chain through landmark projects such as the Bioko Oil Terminal, the Fortuna Floating Liquefied Natural Gas project, the Riaba Fertilisers plant, compressed natural gas and LNG.
Equatorial Guinea is currently hosting its latest oil and gas licensing round, EG Ronda, putting on offer all of open acreage not currently operated or under direct negotiation. Equatorial Guinea has made 114 oil and gas discoveries to date with a drilling success rate of 42 percent.
Senegal’s Abdoulaye Bathily is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) candidate hoping to take over from Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma when she steps down as Chairperson of the African Union Commission later this month. Bathily, who was at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) last November in Marrakech, Morocco, unveils his “Project for the African Union”
Dr. Abdoulaye Bathily
Meet the AU Chairperson candidate – Abdoulaye Bathily, whose campaign slogan reads: Let’s make this an African Union of the people.
“I intend to contribute to the rebirth of Africa in order to fulfil the founding fathers’ dream of a continent that is united, peaceful and empowered socially, politically, economically and culturally,” he says.
“The African Union has an important mandate, which consists of continuing to play a crucial role in steering the continent towards the Africa we want,” he adds, as he articulates the key objectives in his programme to fulfil Agenda 2063.
If elected, he reveals, he intends to build on the collective vision and aspirations of Africa’s people; to move beyond an African Union of States to an African Union of people; to reaffirm the leadership of the AU in global affairs; to facilitate regional and continental integration; to optimise collective resources and to build an effective and efficient AU Commission.
The prospective head of the AU lists restoring citizens’ trust in the AU among his top priorities as he defends the interests of the continent on the global scene.
“I want to encourage intra-African mobility of citizens, trade and investment in the making of a new, bold, and forward-looking African world, confidently powered by the innovative energies of its women, men, youth and children,” he says.
In his quest to transform the organisation from an African Union of States to “an African Union of the people” he hopes to see the continent (finally) being allocated a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. He is also a strong advocate of the principle of African solutions to African challenges and, as a peace mediator and peace builder, Bathily has participated in several conflicts and crisis management missions in Africa, including Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Niger, Madagascar, Guinea and Central Africa.
The pan-Africanist, with more than 50 years of social, political, cultural and academic experience and a vast network across the continent and internationally, says that he is committed to bringing to the AUC “a combination of in-depth knowledge of the entire continent, a proven capacity to relate to all contexts and challenges and a clear vision and strategy.”
With PhDs in History and Human Sciences, Bathily has held senior political roles, most recently as Senior Minister in the Office of the President of Senegal. He is also a former Deputy-Speaker of the National Assembly. On the diplomatic front, Bathily has served as Special Envoy to the Chairman of the AU and he is currently the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Central Africa and Head of UN Regional Office for Central Africa.
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in this treatise published in Gulf News, describes the next two years as key in cementing global response to climate change
Patricia Espinosa convened her first COP in Marrakech, Morocco on November 2016 as Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
In 2015, close to 200 countries – backed by cities, regions, businesses and citizens – agreed to work together towards a low carbon, safer and sustainable future via the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
Less than 12 months later, this remarkable agreement came into force as country after country transformed their pledges into national policies.
But the time has come to step up and accelerate that action even more and there is one profound and fundamental reason why.
The signals from planet Earth are becoming even more worrisome: Greenhouse gas concentrations, which cause global warming, are still rising and in recent months have crossed some key thresholds. The year 2016, for example, has been confirmed as the warmest on record, warmer than 2015 by almost 0.2 degrees Celsius, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
The extent of Arctic sea ice – a key barometer of climate change – in December 2016 averaged 12.10 million square kilometres, the second lowest December extent in the satellite record, says the United States National Snow and Ice Data Centre. Seven countries in southern Africa have been experiencing serious drought and in Madagascar, an estimated one million people need food support after several years of failed rainfall. Summer temperatures in 2016 brought record heat to the Middle East. A site in Kuwait hit 54 degrees Celsius in July. The World Meteorological Organisation is investigating if that was the hottest temperature ever recorded in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Just a few reasons why, over the next two years, real action is needed to implement national plans and pledges with a sense of urgency so that every person can be confident that a sustainable future with the minimum damage possible is a real possibility for over seven billion people.
This is no less than a transformational change in the way humans produce and consume power and resources. The costs of failure are unthinkable. The rewards of success – in lives saved, livelihoods secured and scarcity avoided – are universal.
There are three broad and interlinked avenues of effort that will get this unprecedented global job done most efficiently and quickly. This includes national climate action by all countries across public and private sectors, intensive international cooperation and a comprehensive shift in public and private investment towards clean, renewable energy and resilient infrastructures.
At this year’s Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, I was most encouraged to note that the UAE is among the many nations passionately embracing this positive future. From new standards for air conditioning to cutting-edge technologies demonstrated in Masdar City, the UAE has put efficiency at the heart of its domestic energy strategy and has also provided extensive support and investment for renewable energy in other developing countries.
The UAE is also developing a cross-governmental approach led at a high level and seeking to decouple economic growth from rising emissions and other negative environmental impacts through policies and targets across seven key sectors.
This sends a most important message that only a truly national response to climate change will be effective if mirrored North and South, East and West.
Globally, the news is also encouraging. Almost all countries submitted intended national climate plans in support of the Paris Agreement and almost 120 have now turned those intentions into firm plans under the Agreement. In addition, the first very long-term emissions reduction plans have started to appear, so far from Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and the United States, in response to the Agreement’s recognition that clarity and direction over decades is required.
Global finance flows for climate action continue to rise and should reasonably soon reach one $1 trillion (Dh3.67 trillion) per year. That is still not enough, though.
Approaching the scale required is underlined by the latest news from China alone, which said it will invest the equivalent of about $360 billion into renewable power by 2020, creating more than 13 million jobs.
Last November’s climate change conference in Marrakech, Morocco, also highlighted the growing alignment of government and “non-party stakeholder” action.
For example, a club of subnational governments, the Under2 Coalition, who have committed to reduce their emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050, announced their membership has grown to 165. It represents a third of the global economy and a population of around one billion people across North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
The Climate Vulnerable Forum of more than 40 nations issued a Marrakech Vision, committing themselves to ambitious aims, including 100 per cent renewable energy between 2030 and 2050.
International climate change negotiations under the United Nations, which this year will be hosted in Bonn, Germany, under the Presidency of Fiji, also need to make significant progress. Governments have indicated a fast-track date of 2018 for completion of the Paris Agreement’s international rule book.
Think of it as the operating manual to deliver a transparent global accounting of emissions reduction, provision for climate finance, technology development and transfer and adaptation needs. The details of the task are complex, but the principle is simple: Transparency builds trust that countries are delivering on their pledges which, in turn, generate the confidence for all countries to increase their own action on climate change to the best of their abilities.
In summary, the necessary pledges, plans and finance are growing across all levels of government, civil society and business.
As we begin 2017, the tipping points into a truly sustainable future look closer than ever so that, by the end of 2018, the foundations for the full transformation will be complete and unbreakable.
