The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has published a detailed assessment of the implications of using climate geoengineering to limit global warming. Approaches considered include the large-scale removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, as assumed in nearly all climate models that limit the increase in mean global temperature to below 2°C.
CBD Executive Secretary, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias
“A rapid transition to a low-carbon economy is the priority to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and in turn reduce the adverse impacts of climate change, including impacts on biodiversity,” said CBD Executive Secretary, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, in the foreword of the new report.
“However, given the current atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, their long atmospheric residence times and the relatively limited action to date to reduce future emissions, the use of geoengineering techniques has been suggested and is being explored as a potential additional means to limit the magnitude of climate change.”
The report, CBD Technical Series 84: Update on climate geoengineering in relation to the Convention on Biological Diversity: Potential impacts and regulatory framework, was prepared with support from the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Twenty-seven key messages are presented, relating to the effectiveness, potential impacts, and current governance mechanisms for both greenhouse gas removal (‘negative emissions’) and sunlight reflection methods (‘solar radiation management’), with focus on possible environmental consequences.
“Mitigation and geoengineering are often considered as two very different policy responses to climate change, with the first being desirable and the second undesirable,” said Phillip Williamson (NERC and the University of East Anglia), the report’s lead author. “Yet definitions overlap, and both would now seem necessary to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, entering into force in early November.”
A key requirement of the Agreement is to balance the global sources and removals of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century, with implicit need for active extraction of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Most of the low emission scenarios developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assume a major expansion of bioenergy linked to carbon capture and storage. The CBD report concludes that the feasibility, effectiveness and impacts of that method, and other carbon removal techniques, are highly uncertain, and that their potential consequences for biodiversity warrant further scientific attention.
The regulatory framework for geoengineering is reviewed in the report by Ralph Bodle (Ecologic Institute, Berlin). As noted previously by the CBD, the report emphasised the need for science-based, global, transparent and effective governance for geoengineering, particularly for activities with potential to cause significant adverse transboundary effects, and those deployed in areas beyond national jurisdiction and in the atmosphere.
The Federal Republic of Germany, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is providing funding support for two workshops on Climate Risk Insurance and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment – for the transition to a green economy in Nigeria. These forums are being facilitated by a Lagos-based non-governmental organisation, the Community Conservation and Development Initiatives (CCDI).
Flooded parts of Lokoja in Kogi State in 2012. One of the forums explored how far banks and insurance companies can include into their corporate strategies environmental sustainability commitments, responsibilities and initiatives that can contribute to climate resilience
In 2015, CCDI organised a project under the Environmental Governance Programme of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Nigeria, Finance for Climate Resilience. The project was to generate knowledge on suitable financial tools to be used by the insurance and finance industry to ensure environmentally responsible investments by the private sector and to disseminate information to targeted stakeholders. The aims and objectives included finding out how far banks and insurance companies can include into their corporate strategies environmental sustainability commitments, responsibilities and initiatives that can contribute to climate resilience. A research analysis of sustainability initiatives available to guide the Nigerian financial sector was undertaken along with other activities with the insurance and banking sector.
The study was not able to identify any green insurance products being offered by Nigerian companies. Sub-Saharan Africa has a small share of the global insurance market but huge potentials and wide ranging opportunities for positive impacts exist.
The Bali Action Plan, which was agreed by Parties to the UNFCCC in Bali, Indonesia, in 2007 as the basis for developing a new international agreement on climate change, states that adaptation requires consideration of “risk management and risk reduction strategies, including risk sharing and transfer mechanisms such as insurance”, as well as “disaster reduction strategies”.
Climate Risk Insurance
At this workshop on Climate Risk Insurance, held at the Westwood Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday, 29th September, 2016, His Excellency, Ingo Herbert, German Consul-General in Lagos in his opening remarks, cited the good relations between Nigeria and Germany, and the willingness of his government to facilitate knowledge sharing in the area of climate change and ancillary sustainable development. The lead paper On Climate Risk Insurance – Experiences from other countries and their application to Nigeria, was presented by Thomas Wiechers, an economist from the German International Development Agency, GIZ, in Eschborn, a city near the financial metropolis of Frankfurt-am-Main.
Contextually, some key considerations and questions emerged as areas of focused discussion at this first workshop on Climate Risk Insurance, after the presentations. For instance, if the nature of climate-induced risks and hazards in Nigeria, is primarily from hydro-meteorological hazards as stated in the presentation by Joseph Alozie, Director, Climate, at the Nigeria Meteorological Services (NIMET) in Abuja, the organisation bears nationwide responsibility for their authentication through early warning systems, research and documentation of scales in vulnerability and societal resilience to current weather patterns and variations, and to longer term projected climate change impacts.
The audience queried the nature of collaboration achieved by the different government agencies in Nigeria, such as NIMET, the environment and agriculture ministries, and their affiliated research institutes, as well as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and further how much they worked and exchanged information with the insurance and business sectors, farmers, forestry departments, environmental managers, and other related multiple stakeholders. Precisely, what forms of cohesion are envisaged in Nigeria between the public and private sectors in risk reduction and climate insurance, including the sharing of information? What international assistance and partnerships are expected in the process?
How can insurance-related mechanisms contribute to the fortification of resilience, particularly of low income groups to absorb loss and recover from disaster impacts in Nigeria? Who can get insured against climate-induced, environmental hazards? Specifically, which risk-transfer tools are compatible with Nigeria’s ecology, social geography and economy configuration? India practices a weather-based crop insurance scheme to protect farmers against drought.
What roles will be played by environmental and urban planning, climate and agricultural policy (federal and state governments), financial investments, education, engagement of the media and art, to raise awareness, individual behaviour and attitudes in the reduction of ecological footprint and disaster risks?
In addition, what specific role, if any, does climate risk insurance play in the transition to a green economy?
In consideration of environmental ethics and corporate social responsibility, how does the Nigerian insurance industry see itself, considering that insurance is first and foremost a pure business: the more premium payments from clients attracted, the better? At the same time insurers want to minimise their risks of having to pay for the damages, and therefore will logically advocate at national and international level for an increased climate change adaptation and mitigation. Some risks from climate change may also be so high that the premium is not affordable (e.g. flood victims in Louisiana, USA where most of the houses had not been insured because of the huge insurance premium).
Will insurance help Nigeria reduce climate-induced risks? It appeared that this was not a question to be answered in one sentence, apart from assurances from the presenters that once the linkages between the management of ecological systems, agricultural and industrial expansion, and the intensification of infrastructure construction, demography, climate change vulnerability, insurance and poverty levels were recognised, expertise, knowledge and skills would grow in the country.
In Nigeria, the development of agriculture, forestry and fisheries sits within a system affected both by climate and the political economy, mostly because the farming system is rain-fed. A priority could be finding ways to develop climate information to improve farming practices. Nigeria can build up its resilience from early warning systems, but equally through development of better crop varieties adaptable to extreme climate variability.
Unclear remained the roles played by regulatory bodies in climate risk insurance, and why in Nigeria the most vulnerable are the least insurable?
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment
The second workshop supported by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in Nigeria. This event holds on the 1st November, 2016. Since becoming a sovereign nation in 1960, Nigeria has acceded to a series of multilateral environmental agreements, with little local commitment to translating conference paper-work and signatures into practicalities on the ground at home. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Nigeria had the highest rate of deforestation in the world in 2005. The country is presently among the lowest power generation countries in the world, and surprisingly far lower than many African countries, despite a status as one of the world’s largest oil producers.
In addition to ecologic and economic factors, the health indicators for Nigeria, scripted in National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP) 2010-2015, are among the worst in the world. Nigeria shoulders 10% of the global disease burden. The life expectancy at birth is 47 years (National Demographic and Health Survey, NDHS). There are large variations of infant and child mortality across population sub-groups. In addition to impacts on our natural resource base, Nigerians may experience increased exposure to infectious diseases and water- and food-borne illness, according to the then Minister of Environment (December 2011), Hadiza Ibrahim Mailafia, within the National Plan of Action on Climate Change for Nigeria (NASPA-CCN) 2012.
President Buhari’s signing of the Paris Agreement recently, on 22nd September, 2016, and his declaration that the impacts of climate change would be reversed in Nigeria, suggest that the nation’s economic growth must henceforth be driven by a suite of policies and governance mechanisms targeted at reducing carbon and ecological footprints. In principle, a low carbon economy appears to be desirable, but how exactly will Nigeria go about it, particularly as a comprehensive government blueprint of sequential plans of action on the subject is still non-existent? This perspective makes it difficult to re-invigorate international commitments on multilateral environmental and climate change agreements at the national level.
Are Nigerian businesses and their supportive banks, for example, committed to any forms of corporate environmental and social responsibilities? Do financial houses demand transparent and impeccable environmental and social impact assessments prior to making loans and other forms of financial support available to those construction companies clearing forests, draining wetlands and dredging coastal marine ecosystems? Green economies need green forests. Who will clean up the lagoon at Lagos? The diffuse themes of this workshop are therefore coalesced and encapsulated in the simple question: How will environmental and social impact assessments, and ancillary land use regulations in Nigeria deliver the climate compatible development of a green economy? It raises wide but fundamental questions of baseline and situation analysis, innovations, projections and needs assessments; what has been, and what should be; diagnostic guidance and prognostic philosophy.
In a landmark decision for both the environment and human health, 1 January 2020 has been set as the implementation date for a significant reduction in the sulphur content of the fuel oil used by ships.
The IMO, during the 70th session of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in London, agreed to implement a global sulphur cap of 0.50% m/m (mass/mass) in 2020.
The decision to implement a global sulphur cap of 0.50% m/m (mass/mass) in 2020 was taken by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the regulatory authority for international shipping, during its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), meeting for its 70th session in London.
It represents a significant cut from the 3.5% m/m global limit currently in place and demonstrates a clear commitment by IMO to ensuring shipping meets its environmental obligations.
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim welcomed the decision which he said reflected the organisation’s determination to ensure that international shipping remains the most environmentally sound mode of transport.
“The reductions in sulphur oxide emissions resulting from the lower global sulphur cap are expected to have a significant beneficial impact on the environment and on human health, particularly that of people living in port cities and coastal communities, beyond the existing emission control areas,” Mr. Lim said.
Further work to ensure effective implementation of the 2020 global sulphur cap will continue in the Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR).
Regulations governing sulphur oxide emissions from ships are included in Annex VI to the International Convention for the prevention of Pollution from ships (MARPOL Convention). Annex VI sets progressive stricter regulations in order to control emissions from ships, including sulphur oxides (SOx) and nitrous oxides (NOx) – which present major risks to both the environment and human health.
The date of 2020 was agreed in amendments adopted in 2008. When those amendments were adopted, it was also agreed that a review should be undertaken by 2018 in order to assess whether sufficient compliant fuel oil would be available to meet the 2020 date. If not, the date could be deferred to 2025. That review was completed in 2016 and submitted to MEPC 70. The review concluded that sufficient compliant fuel oil would be available to meet the fuel oil requirements.
Under the new global cap, ships will have to use fuel oil on board with a sulphur content of no more than 0.50% m/m, against the current limit of 3.50%, which has been in effect since 1 January 2012. The interpretation of “fuel oil used on board” includes use in main and auxiliary engines and boilers. Exemptions are provided for situations involving the safety of the ship or saving life at sea, or if a ship or its equipment is damaged.
Ships can meet the requirement by using low-sulphur compliant fuel oil. An increasing number of ships are also using gas as a fuel as when ignited it leads to negligible sulphur oxide emissions. This has been recognised in the development by IMO of the International Code for Ships using Gases and other Low Flashpoint Fuels (the IGF Code), which was adopted in 2015. Another alternative fuel is methanol which is being used on some short sea services.
Ships may also meet the SOx emission requirements by using approved equivalent methods, such as exhaust gas cleaning systems or “scrubbers”, which “clean” the emissions before they are released into the atmosphere. In this case, the equivalent arrangement must be approved by the ship’s Administration (the flag State).
The new global cap will not change the limits in SOx Emission Control Areas (ECAS) established by IMO, which since 1 January 2015 has been 0.10% m/m. The ECAs established under MARPOL Annex VI for SOx are: the Baltic Sea area; the North Sea area; the North American area (covering designated coastal areas off the United States and Canada); and the United States Caribbean Sea area (around Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands).
Twenty-four countries and the European Union agreed on Friday to create the world’s largest marine park in the Antarctic Ocean, covering a massive 1.55 million square km (600,000 square miles) of ocean.
Antarctic Ocean
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, meeting in Hobart, Australia, said the Ross Sea marine park would be protected from commercial fishing for 35 years.
The Ross Sea is seen as one of the world’s most ecologically important oceans.
The sanctuary will cover more than 12 percent of the Southern Ocean, which is home to more than 10,000 species including most of the world’s penguins, whales, seabirds, colossal squid and Antarctic tooth fish.
Fishing will be banned completely in 1.1 million square km (425,000 square miles) of the Ross Sea, while areas designated as research zones will allow for some fishing for krill and sawfish.
Scientists and activists described the agreement as a historic milestone in global efforts to protect marine diversity.
“The Ross Sea Region MPA will safeguard one of the last unspoiled ocean wilderness areas on the planet – home to unparalleled marine biodiversity and thriving communities of penguins, seals, whales, seabirds, and fish,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement, referring to the marine park authority.
Scientists said the marine park would also allow a greater understanding of the impact of climate change.
Russia agreed to the proposal, after blocking conservation proposals on five previous occasions.
The 25-member commission, which includes Russia, China, the United States and the European Union, requires unanimous support for decisions.
“They all have diverse economic, political interests and to get them all to align – especially in the context of there are divergent economic interests – is quite a challenge,” Evan Bloom, director at the U.S. Department of State and leader of the U.S. delegation, told Reuters.
Ahead of the International Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade scheduled to hold next month in Vietnam, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has commenced a campaign against the poaching of the rhinoceros, an animal species characterised by its large size, herbivorous diet and thick protective skin.
The West African black rhino. The WWF wants to show the Vietnamese government the world cares about rhinos
Often abbreviated to rhino, it is believed that nearly 1,400 were slaughtered across Africa last year. However, Vietnam is regarded as the world’s largest market for rhino horns. In most cases, poachers kill rhinos and cut off their horns for illegal wildlife trade.
By weight, rhino horns cost as much as gold on the black market.
WWF is seeking signatories to a petition, which the group says over 100,000 supporters have already signed. WWF will present the entreaty to the Vietnamese government to “show we won’t stand for illegal rhino horn trade.”
Sara Thomas, the WWF Manager, Online Advocacy, says: “The rhino-poaching crisis erupted in 2006 when a rumour began circulating in Vietnam that rhino horn cures cancer. It doesn’t. From there, it quickly became even more in demand as a status symbol when rhino horn began to be gifted to show wealth and power.
She adds that poaching of rhinos in Africa continues unabated, despite intense efforts by many African governments to combat it.
“World Wildlife Fund officials from around the globe will be in Vietnam in November, when the country hosts the critical International Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade. We want to show the Vietnamese government the world cares about rhinos.”
An important milestone on the road to controlling greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping has been achieved with the adoption of new mandatory requirements by the industry’s regulatory authority, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Shipping
Under the new requirements, ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above will have to collect consumption data for each type of fuel oil they use, as well as other, additional, specified data including proxies for transport work. These ships account for approximately 85% of CO2 emissions from international shipping. The data collected will provide a firm basis on which future decisions on additional measures, over and above those already adopted by IMO, can be made.
The requirements were adopted by the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee, (MEPC) meeting in London for its 70th session (24-28 October). IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said the new requirements sent a clear signal that IMO was ready to build on the existing technical and operational measures for ship energy efficiency.
“The data collection system will equip IMO with concrete data to help it make the right decisions, as well as enhancing its credentials as the best placed and competent forum for regulating international shipping,” Mr Lim said.
The new mandatory data collection system is intended to be the first in a three-step approach in which analysis of the data collected would provide the basis for an objective, transparent and inclusive policy debate in the MEPC. This would allow a decision to be made on whether any further measures are needed to enhance energy efficiency and address greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping. If so, proposed policy options would then be considered.
The MEPC also approved a roadmap (2017 through to 2023) for developing a “Comprehensive IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships”, which foresees an initial GHG strategy to be adopted in 2018.
It contains a list of activities, including further IMO GHG studies, with relevant timelines and provides for alignment of those new activities with the ongoing work by the MEPC on the three-step approach to ship energy efficiency improvements mentioned above. This alignment provides a way forward to the adoption of a revised strategy in 2023 to include short-, mid-, and long-term further measures, as required.
Under the roadmap, and to provide long-term vision for the shipping sector, the MEPC has to address a number of important questions, such as what role should the international shipping sector have in supporting the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The Committee also agreed to hold an intersessional working group meeting on reduction of GHG emissions from ships. It is planned that the first intersessional meeting (subject to approval by the IMO Council) would be held back-to-back with MEPC 71, which is scheduled to meet in mid-2017.
In 2011, IMO became the first international body to adopt mandatory energy-efficiency measures for an entire industry sector with a suite of technical and operational requirements for new and existing vessels that entered into force in 2013. By 2025 all new ships built will be 30% more energy efficient than those built in 2014.
Under the new data collection system, aggregated data will be reported to a ship’s flag State after the end of each calendar year. The flag State, having determined that the data has been reported in accordance with the requirements, will issue a Statement of Compliance to the ship. Flag States will be required to subsequently transfer this data to the IMO Ship Fuel Consumption Database.
The IMO Secretariat would be required to produce an annual report to IMO’s MEPC, summarising the data collected. Data would be anonymised so individual ship data would not be recognised.
The MEPC adopted the mandatory requirements as amendments to chapter 4 of annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). They are expected to enter into force on 1 March 2018, under the tacit acceptance procedure. They add new Regulation 22A on Collection and reporting of ship fuel oil consumption data and new appendices covering Information to be submitted to the IMO Ship Fuel Oil Consumption Database and form of the Statement of Compliance, which would be issued to the ship once the relevant data had been reported. Other regulations are amended to cater for the new requirement, including those related to certificates, surveys and port State control.
Stressing the global context of this latest breakthrough, Mr Lim said, “IMO will inform the next Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is to meet in Marrakech, Morocco, next month, on the tangible progress made, proving to the world that IMO continues to lead in delivering on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping.”
The 22nd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 7 to 18 November 2016. The COP20 in Lima was tagged the COP of negotiations of a universal climate change agreement, COP21 in Paris last year was a COP of Agreement while COP 22 in Morocco has been tagged the COP of Implementation.
Marrakech, Morocco will host COP22 in November 2016. The COP has been tagged the COP of Implementation
Taking critical decisions to ensure the implementation of the Paris Agreement is the major endeavour at COP22 in Morocco. Last year, the African Development Bank support contributed significantly to ensuring that Africa’s concerns were addressed in the Paris Agreement. The Bank has also committed to triple its climate change finance to about $5 billion per year and to provide $12 billion on renewable energy investments by 2020. In consistence with the New Deal on Energy for Africa that provides a good entry point for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and given that COP22 is a key milestone for the implementation of that Agreement, it is important that Africa is fully on board, while ensuring linkages with the Bank’s High Fives.
“To make the Paris Agreement a real-world success story we need more than a historic political agreement, we need practical climate action to ‘decouple GDP from GHG’ – or economic growth from greenhouse gases” – as former UN climate chief Christiana Figurers put it during a lecture at Climate-KIC partner the Grantham Institute.
Fours ways Marrakesh is going to help achieve that.
Going from National to Global Action Plans is very important: In the run-up to Paris, countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Now, they are preparing their first climate action plans (NDCs) – dropping the ‘Intended’ from the title – which will be updated every five years and should represent an increase in ambition. This is the often cited ‘ratcheting’ mechanism built into the Paris Agreement. In Marrakech, countries will hope to agree on how the stock-taking exercise should work every five years, and how they can make sure it will indeed ratchet up the level of ambition around the world.
The action plans outline the post-2020 climate actions of each country and contain details such as emission-reduction targets and how governments plan to make those happen. A range of policies, including those addressing the aviation and maritime sectors (which are missing from the Paris Agreement), need to be drawn up and implemented to create what is often called the “enabling environment” for the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Making Measuring Progress Transparent will keep the commitment: Perhaps even more important, are the ways we monitor and verify the amounts of carbon emission reductions reported by countries. There is currently no common methodology to monitor the national commitments, which hinders the transparency of the Paris Agreement’s implementation. Information matters. If countries understand their emission profile they can target the most problematic areas first.
Then, comparability of national action plans open the door to understanding about which policies work best and why, which will lead to the exchange of best practices – resulting in more efficient action globally. The EU is a strong proponent of such a common approach. This year we expect significant progress on working out the details of a harmonised verification process. Marrakech will be a key milestone to ensure we understand our progress towards the common goal of curbing climate change.
Involving the Business Sector is very important: The development of low-carbon technologies, and making better use of existing ones by making them accessible to all, is crucial in the fight against climate change. In Paris, we’ve seen the world’s billionaires making a stand and the Paris Agreement itself have recognized this too: now is the time to invest. Strengthening technology cooperation between countries will promote economic growth and sustainable development. There have been international efforts in this direction already, such as the UNFCCC’s Technology Mechanism and the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTC-N), but it desperately needs scaling up.
Innovative, green technology in all sectors of industry should also make their way to the national economies of developing countries – generating higher rates of productivity, and growth throughout the whole value chain. The world needs to step up efficient match-making between the technology needs of countries and the solutions available around the world. What’s absolutely crucial is that we involve the business sector in this, which ultimately produces the goods and technologies we use. Marrakesh should bring clarity to how this process of global technology transfer will be organized from now on.
Empowering Developing Countries to Take Action: Last, but not least it is fundamental that all countries can develop efficient climate change policies, and have the means to implement them. You’ll hear the term “capacity building” a lot in this context. There are huge differences between developing, emerging and developed countries. Capacity building aims to ensure that governments and civil servants in all countries have the skills and knowledge to implement the Paris Agreement through national policies.
The Paris Agreement makes provisions to support this, with the details to be worked out this year. The EU has made this action a priority in its post-COP21 assessment and a number of other initiatives deliver important programmes to support this worldwide. Already, the UN’s CTC-N has been supporting developing countries with the development of specific climate policy programmes, but there is a consensus that this needs to be scaled up massively. But the public sector by itself, no matter how smart their policies are, will not be enough to make the transition to the zero-carbon economy.
Entrepreneurial education, support for an emerging start-up culture and the encouragement of cross-sector action will empower people who want to take action and make a difference. This is something that international innovation networks and partnerships like Climate-KIC already do on a daily basis. In Marrakesh, a lot of time will be spent on trying to broaden the definition of capacity building to make sure everyone can act on climate change, no matter where they are.
In conclusion, we need a wide range of breakthrough innovations to transform how we live, what we consume, and how we do business while creating new economic growth and jobs. We need to change the system, and we need to do it everywhere on the planet.
City officials have shut down hundreds of public drinking fountains in Chicago, Illinois after tests detected excessive levels of lead in the water – another example of how the potentially harmful metal remains a threat in homes, schools and other settings around the country.
A water fountain in Chicago. Photo credit: iStockphoto
The ongoing crisis in Flint, Michigan, in which a city of nearly 100,000 people was exposed to high levels of lead in the water, has prompted other communities to test for the toxic substance in recent months. Among those was the Chicago Park District, which said it began testing thousands of public fountains in the spring.
The agency found that 445 of the city’s 1,891 outdoor fountains – or nearly a quarter – showed lead levels higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “action level” of 15 parts per billion. In addition, 14 of 544 indoor fountains and sinks exceeded the federal standard.
Some fountains displayed startling amounts of lead in the water. Two fountains in the Avalon Park area registered 1,800 parts per billion and 1,200 parts per billion, according to data released by the city. Another fountain in Grant Park also registered 1,200 parts per billion – 80 times the level considered permissible by the EPA.
Officials said all fountains and sinks that tested for high lead levels have been disabled.
“Ensuring the health and safety of all park patrons and staff is a top priority of the Park District,” the agency’s spokeswoman, Jessica Maxey-Faulkner, said in a statement, adding that the “fountains will undergo further testing, and will be removed, repaired or replaced, as necessary.”
The Park District modeled its effort after testing undertaken by Chicago schools, which also found issues with lead in the water at some schools. Earlier this year, the head of the public school system in Chicago pledged to do “whatever it takes” to rectify lead problems after risky levels of lead were detected in dozens of buildings.
About 40,000 children attend summer day camps at the city’s parks, and thousands more attend programs at the parks throughout the school year, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Public health officials agree that there is no “safe” level of lead in the body. The substance can be particularly damaging to young children, contributing to permanent learning disabilities, behavioral problems and, at higher levels, a number of diseases.
Lynn Goldman, dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University and a former EPA regulator, said Chicago’s findings underscore a lack of adequate testing for lead around the country. Under current rules, cities are required to test only a small number of samples from homes to check the municipal water supply for lead. But no requirements exist for routine tests in schools or other public settings, such as parks.
“This is a national problem,” Goldman said. “What this highlights for me is that it really needs to be a requirement by the (EPA) that all cities and schools test these public drinking water fountains.”
She applauded Chicago for proactively shutting down fountains with high lead levels, but she said there’s no guarantee the same problem won’t crop up again, because the tests offer only a snapshot of the water at any given time. In addition, she said Chicago is hardly the only city where the public water sources are potentially hazardous, as lead pipes and fixtures remain ubiquitous in communities across the country.
Goldman said it’s unlikely that taking a sip from a single fountain would seriously affect a person’s health. But she noted that for some people, such as the homeless, public fountains are a primary water source. And when it comes to children, it could be yet another contributor of lead in their environment.
ExxonMobil Corporation has announced the significant discovery of crude on the Owowo field, offshore Nigeria, with a potential recoverable resource of between 500 million and 1 billion barrels of oil.
Stephen M. Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company
“We are encouraged by the results and will work with our partners and the government on future development plans,” said Stephen M. Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company.
The well was drilled by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater Ventures) Limited and proved additional resource in deeper reservoirs.
The Owowo-3 well, which was spud on Sept. 23, encountered about 460 feet (140 metres) of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir. It extends the resource discovered by the Owowo-2 well, which encountered about 515 feet (157 metres) of oil-bearing sandstone reservoir.
Owowo-3 was safely drilled to 10,410 feet (3,173 metres) in 1,890 feet (576 metres) of water. The Owowo field spans portions of the contract areas of Oil Prospecting License 223 (OPL 223) and Oil Mining License 139 (OML 139) in which ExxonMobil holds 27 percent interest.
Joint venture partners include Chevron Nigeria Deepwater G Limited (27 percent interest), Total E&P Nigeria Limited (18 percent interest), Nexen Petroleum Deepwater Nigeria Limited (18 percent interest), and the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company Limited (10 percent interest).
The Lagos State Government will not relent in its effort at making the state the safest place to live in by providing a safe environment, the Commissioner for The Environment, Babatunde Adejare has said.
Dr Babatunde Adejare, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment. The Lassa Fever campaign entails Operation Kill Rats, Make More Money. Photo credit: theeconomyng.com
Adejare made the assertion at the official flag-off of the Lagos State Market Deratisation Programme, aimed at ridding the state of the Lassa Fever vector at Obalende market on Thursday.
The government is collaborating with Phosguard Fumigants, an NGO, to promote the programme through “Kill rats, make more money in Lagos’’. Under the programme, the residents are encouraged to kill rats in their environs which the programme implementers, Phosguard will buy at a yet-to-be determined price for proper disposal.
The commissioner said the government was resolved to make Lagos State one of the safest places in spite of its increasing population.
“As a bourgeoning global urban agglomeration with a population of over 22 million people and daily waste generation of 13,000 metric tons, Lagos requires proactive environmental management to control pest and by extension diseases.
“Lagos is a mega city with the highest population which is still growing though in terms of landmass it is the smallest state in the country. According to a UN report, our nation still ranks among the countries with the highest number of infant mortality, hence we need to look inward to know how we can control this. In lieu of this, we are looking at how we can free Lagos from diseases, pestilence and infestations. We talk about mosquito control, pest control and other dangerous animals in our society. The administration of Gov. Akinwumi Ambode is committed to ensuring that we have the safest place to live in not minding anywhere we are in Lagos,” he said.
Adejare said that to provide a safe environment for the people, vector control remains the ideal strategy. “The mega structure of the state has, however, provided the opportunity for transmission of pathogens between animal species and humans which are heightened by the unprecedented increase in the movement of people. No doubt, the alluring feature of our state exposes it to a number of threats that if unchecked can spell doom for the wellbeing of the residents in general.
“The environmental and health hazards that vectors present to our people can therefore not be ignored. Therefore, to protect the population from epidemics, such as Lassa fever, vector control remains the way out. Vector control is a means of eradicating mammals, birds and other arthropods collectively called vectors which transmit disease pathogens,” he said.
Adejare said that the government was using the most environmental friendly vector control intervention with no known side effect.
“To take advantage of the many benefits of vector control, less illness, safety of homes, building and markets, the government is delivering effective deratisation through the use of tested technology. It is noteworthy that all over the world vector management has grown to become an economy on its own; we wish to take advantage of the enormous economic opportunities.
“Therefore, as beneficiaries of this initiative, it is our responsibility to cooperate with the agents of government going round to rid our markets of rodents and other disease vectors. The vector control programme is in line with our goal of regenerating the environment to make it liveable for all and for certain, we all have a role to play in the proper sanitation,’’ he said.
The sole administrator of Ikoyi/Obalende Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr Goke Ona-Olawale, lauded the government for the initiative and pledged the council’s cooperation for its success.
“We are lucky to have the flag-off of such an epoch initiative starting with our council. Obliviously, this council has so many important features to qualify it as first. Most of the past presidents of the country lived in this community and we are also privileged to have two main barracks, Dodan and the Police barracks sited here.
“We will ensure that all hands are on deck to ensure the success of the programme aimed at providing a safe environment for us all to live in. The people have also pledged to give the government the necessary support because this is a programme that will directly benefit them and they are well aware,” he said.
The Iyaloja of Obalende, Jokotade Logun, thanked the state government for its efforts at providing a safe environment for the market women and also pledged their support.
“This is a good thing coming to us, it shows that we have a government that is fully committed to our welfare and we will not disappoint, we will provide the necessary support. For our markets to be free of filth, we have also evolved a plan within ourselves to compliment the government efforts, and I have the backing of our members toward achieving it.
“We have been discussing about how we can improve on the sanitation within the markets and now that government has taken a bold step at helping us, we will also make sure we do not disappoint,” she said.
NAN reports that the government has provided two Toyota Hilux vans and other logistics for the hitch-free implementation of the programme. Also, the field officers from Phosguard Fumigants demonstrated how to bait for the rodents and evacuation of the dead rats. (NAN)
