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Substantial climate adaptation fund open to Nigeria, others

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Substantial climate adaptation fund open to Nigeria, others

A noteable amount of funding has been set aside for Nigeria and other African countries to implement their climate adaptation projects in key areas such as food production, building resilient cities and accelerating renewable energy development.

Chairperson of GEF, Naoko Ishii. She says African countries can access the organisation's adaptation fund
Chairperson of GEF, Naoko Ishii. She says African countries can access the organisation’s adaptation fund

Known as “Opportunity of the Commons”, the fund which is managed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), aims at assisting poor and developing nations to move at the same pace with their developed counterpart in addressing challenges posed by climate change and subsequently ensuring healthy economies.

Chairperson of GEF, Naoko Ishii, said in a presentation on Saturday that the organisation was focusing attention on African countries because of the huge opportunities that abound on the continent.

She spoke during an orientation course for the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) Fellows to the UN climate talks (COP22) holding in Marrakech, Morocco.

“We support partnerships at local, national and regional levels around integrated solutions in areas like energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable cities, land degradation, deforestation, food security and resilience. The newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognise that the health of the global commons is essential for a thriving world. A strong climate agreement backed by action on the ground will help us achieve the SDGs. But, with the underlying drivers of degradation still at play, our efforts must only intensify,” she said.

According to her, part of the criteria for accessing the investment fund include the execution of projects that add value to the lives of greater majority of the masses and the applying organisation should be the aggregate of major stakeholders in the industry from manufacturers to consumers.

On how to access the foundation, Ishii said the GEF works directly with relevant government agencies and prominent bodies in the private sector. The organisation, which was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle the planet’s most pressing environmental problems, is said to have provided $14.6 billion in grants and mobilised an additional $74.6 billion in financing for more than 4,000 projects.

“About two thirds of overall GEF financing can be considered climate related. This funding draws on more than the GEF’s dedicated climate change mitigation and adaptation funding windows to include a range of investments in forests, land and water, all with significant climate benefits. All in all, the GEF will be able to make about $3 billion in climate finance available during 2014-2018 across the entire spectrum of projects and programmes it is providing funding for.”

“The GEF’s recent experiences suggest that deployment of targeted, innovative financial instruments has a significant potential for mobilising private finance. Since GEF-5, a suite of 11 of such projects has mobilised $6.3 million from the private sector for each $1 million from a GEF grant, significantly higher than what typical GEF climate change mitigation projects mobilise. A recent example is the GEF’s provision of $4.5 million as Class A shares to the $150 million AFDB-led Africa Renewable Equity Fund, which targets small scale renewable energy projects across Africa that will enable investments worth approximately $0.5 billion.”

In another presentation, Asher Minns, Head of Communications, Europe Futurearth Research for Global Sustainability, said the total Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by nations required has so far fallen short of meeting the Paris Agreement target as the pledges could only reduce earth warming to about 3 degrees centigrade, as against the 1.5 degrees centigrade proposed by the treaty as minimum temperature to still sustain life on earth. Minns said the way forward was for all nations to aggressively pursue the building of more resilient environment of decarbonisation.

Fifteen EJN fellows from developing countries were trained on the effective coverage of the COP22 in Morocco. A team of EJN staff, led by James Fahn (who heads the EJN), coordinated the orientation training.

By Innocent Onoh

Nigeria well represented at tobacco COP7, say delegates

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Nigeria well represented at tobacco COP7, say delegates

Despite initial hiccups, the Nigerian delegation to the Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) that ended on Saturday in New Delhi, India have expressed satisfaction with the country’s outing.

An event during the Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO- FCTC) held in India
An event during the Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO- FCTC) held in India

The delegates, who were in India from November 7-12 2016, had officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Justice, Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Ministry of Finance, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and a civil society representative.

Head of Delegation, Professor Christiana Ukoli, who is chair, National Tobacco Control Committee (NATOCC), said that the treaty talks were tough but had been very successful in advancing strong mechanisms for implementation of the WHO-FCTC in-country.

“The Nigerian delegation recognised the fact that we represent not only the millions of people who suffer from tobacco-related illnesses but also those the industry targets to conscript into smoking. We have represented Nigeria well and look forward to strengthening the global battle to roll back the tobacco menace,” Ukoli said.

Akinbode Oluwafemi, deputy executive director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), who was also member of the team, said that the Afro region took very strong positions that all nations including Nigeria will implement back home. Nigeria will forge ahead among the committee of nations that have signed, ratified and domesticated the WHO-FCTC, he added.

Oluwafemi said, “We anticipate that the tobacco industry will continue to be a clog in the wheel of progress by trying to infiltrate the talks but we were determined to move along stronger just like every other African party that attended the talks. We expect that, in subsequent meetings, Nigeria will as usual present a strong and united front for strong and effective tobacco regulation in our country.”

Mrs. Elsie Ofili of the Tobacco Products Control Desk, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), said: “The Nigerian team remained focused on the issues throughout the talks. The SON looks forward to implementing its roles to ensure Nigeria’s standards are in sync with the recommendations of the FCTC.”

The meeting in New Delhi had about 180 Parties in attendance. Parties took some of the most authoritative steps since the treaty’s adoption as countries advanced Article 19 – a provision to hold the tobacco industry civilly and criminally liable for its abuses. Litigation against tobacco corporations will compel the industry to pay for the healthcare costs it has caused to countries around the world.

Nigeria passed the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 and is currently at the stage of developing regulations for its effective regulation.

FAO, World Bank, AfDB pledge support for ocean economies

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FAO, World Bank, AfDB pledge support for ocean economies

A special Oceans Action Event at the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech (COP22) has brought together over 400 high-level participants from around the world to advance oceans and climate change issues and to pledge concrete actions in support of the objectives of Sustainable Development Goal number 14, which is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Oceans are fundamental to sustaining life on Earth
Oceans are fundamental to sustaining life on Earth

The global ocean is fundamental to sustaining life on Earth. It is a major carbon sink; it absorbs heat, and produces half the oxygen we breathe. It sustains the lives and livelihoods of the coastal and island communities who call it home, and who rely on its bounty to meet their nutritional needs.

The important role oceans play was recognised at the 43rd Session of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Nairobi, Kenya earlier this year, which decided to prepare a special, scientific report on climate change and the oceans.

But while oceans are key to mitigating climate change, a warming planet also places them, and the services they provide, at great risk. Climate variability and change, habitat degradation and ocean acidification all pose additional risks to the conservation and sustainable use of our oceans, and to the well-being of dependent coastal and island communities.

At Saturday’s event in Marrakech, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced the African Package for Climate-Resilient Ocean Economies. This ambitious package of technical and financial assistance will support ocean economies in Africa, and build greater resilience of coastal areas to climate change, tailoring approaches based on the countries’ specific priorities and objectives. The initiative will mobilise $500-900 million and implement programmes linked to climate change adaptation and mitigation over the period 2017-2020.

The Kingdom of Morocco announced its Blue Belt Initiative aimed at building the resilience of coastal communities and promoting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in keeping with SDG14 expectations. Focus areas will include integrated coastal monitoring systems, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture throughout the entire value chain. Solutions for adaptation and contributions to curbing greenhouse gas are proposed as part of a priority roadmap for implementation. The initiative is supported by an investment plan and capacity building programme of $60 million over the period 2017-2020, building on the Blue Growth initiative launched at COP 21 in Paris.

COP22 Ocean Action partners released the Strategic Action Roadmap on Oceans and Climate: 2016 to 2021, which provides a vision for action regarding oceans and climate in the next five years, addressing six ocean and climate issue areas: the central role of oceans in regulating climate, mitigation, adaptation, displacement, financing, and capacity development.

“These ambitious programmes aimed at strengthening the resilience of African coastal communities are critical to meeting the challenges and opportunities of climate change – especially for vulnerable Small Island Development States,” according to Maria Helena Semedo, FAO’s Deputy Director-General for Natural Resources. “African coastal communities are some of the most affected by climate change. FAO is fully engaged and ready to be at the heart of these significant developments to work alongside countries and communities to reduce their vulnerabilities, build their resilience, and maximize opportunities emerging from climate change.”

“The World Bank is pleased to be a part of the international mobilisation of financing in response to the Mauritius Communiqué. The package presented today could make a significant contribution to meeting the adaptation needs of African countries as they develop their ocean economies. We plan to ramp up our own concessional financing in this area and look forward to working with our partners to increase the effectiveness of overall development assistance,” said Laura Tuck, World Bank Group Vice President for Sustainable Development.

Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain, Global Ocean Forum, noted: “The Global Strategic Action Initiative on Oceans and Climate (involving Parties, IGOs, NGOs, academic institutions, private sector groups, and local authorities from all world regions) will implement actions identified in the Roadmap to safeguard the health of the oceans and the wellbeing of coastal and island populations, reporting on progress at the yearly COPs.”

The full day of discussions addressed numerous challenges faced by oceans under climate change scenarios. Sessions addressed challenges to food security and resilience, adaptation challenges and solutions, country mitigation efforts, access to finance and capacity building, and science solutions to moving forward to achieve SDG 14.

COP7: Nations adopt landmark tobacco control decisions

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COP7: Nations adopt landmark tobacco control decisions

After one week of heated negotiations and intrigues, governments representing over 90 percent of the world’s population who attended Seventh Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP7) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO- FCTC) that ended on Saturday in New Delhi, India adopted policies that will protect public health over the narrow interests of the tobacco industry.

The FCTC COP7 in India has adopted landmark tobacco control decisions
The FCTC COP7 in India has adopted landmark tobacco control decisions

These include tools to hold Big Tobacco legally liable for the harms of its products, recover healthcare costs, facilitate access to justice for victims of tobacco-related disease, and safeguard public health policymaking from the industry at the national level.

Governments unanimously adopted the suite of public health measures over the objections of the tobacco industry. Throughout the negotiations to the treaty, formally the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the industry tried to undermine the talks via government delegations, industry front groups, lobbying, and other means. Despite these tactics, governments adopted decisions, like advancements on legal liability that could provide precedent for holding other industries accountable for the environmental and public health harms they cause.

“The tobacco industry is the single largest barrier to tobacco control policies globally – and these negotiations were no exception,” said John Stewart, deputy campaigns director at Corporate Accountability International. “We applaud the delegates that stood up to the industry and rejected their rhetoric. It is thanks to them that governments have now adopted some of the strongest measures yet to protect millions of people’s lives.”

At the negotiations which held 7-12 November 2016, governments agreed to expand the expertise and case studies available to file legal and civil suits against Big Tobacco. The decision, which advances Article 19 of the global tobacco treaty, opens the door for governments to sue the industry and recoup millions of dollars for the health care costs associated with tobacco use. It could also provide precedents for people to pursue legal liability for other industries that affect public health and the environment, like the fossil fuel industry. To date, a handful of countries have utilised the principles contained in Article 19. For instance, Canadian smokers recently won a $15 billion payout from the industry, after an historic 17-year legal suit.

“At these negotiations, governments said ‘enough is enough’ when it comes to tobacco industry interference in their public health policies,” said Philip Jakpor, Nigeria spokesperson of Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT). “Together, they advanced policies that will push Big Tobacco out of the way, and let public officials do their jobs: saving people’s lives.”

“For years, the tobacco industry has intimidated countries with threats of legal suits for their common-sense public health laws,” said Hellen Neima, tobacco control advocate from Uganda. “At these negotiations, governments set the stage for the kinds of legal challenges that have the potential to bankrupt the tobacco industry in the years to come.”

Governments also advanced policies to protect public health policymaking from the tobacco industry. The decision, which advances the backbone of the global tobacco treaty known as Article 5.3, will establish a centralised knowledge hub for research and expertise on Big Tobacco’s attempts to water-down policies related to tobacco control. It directly addresses the industry’s long history of interference in public health. For instance, last year, a British American Tobacco whistleblower revealed that the corporation had bribed an FCTC official to represent its interests at negotiations for the Illicit Trade Protocol.

Other outcomes of the COP included:

  • Ensuring that the FCTC Secretariat joins the UN treaty on Business and Human Rights as an observer;
  • Advancements to the Illicit Trade Protocol and protections against the industry’s use of trade and investment partnerships to undermine public health laws; and,
  • Identifying and advancing means to strengthen implementation of the treaty at the national level.

Video: Nutrition in children

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Video: Nutrition in children

How Africa’s agriculture sector can benefit from climate finance, by NEPAD

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How Africa’s agriculture sector can benefit from climate finance, by NEPAD

The African Union Commission’s implementing Agency, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), has said that strong political will is a key ingredient to pushing the continent’s agriculture agenda at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiating table.

NEPAD Director of Programmes, Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong
NEPAD Director of Programmes, Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong

In line with Africa’s theme at COP 22, “Africa in Action”, NEPAD Director of Programmes, Estherine Lisinge-Fotabong, said high level political engagements would be required to support the negotiating team to achieve Africa’s major objective of pushing agricultural adaptation in the main agenda of the COP processes and be able to access climate financing.

“Strong political will is required to push agriculture to the top of Africa’s agenda at the negotiating table,” she said during a side event at COP 22. “Agriculture’s role to African countries’ implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions has to be well articulated at the highest level and let it benefit from climate finance; because without money, nothing will move.”

While Agriculture does not have a strong presence in the Paris Agreement, 98% of African countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) have an agricultural adaptation component.

The discussions over the years have centred on treating agriculture as a mitigation component, but the continent, whose majority population derives livelihoods from agriculture and other natural resource-based industries, sees agriculture as a key adaptation driver in the face of climate change.

“The potential for Africa’s agriculture is high because there is still a lot of room for innovation and new technologies to be employed – all it requires is some policy coherence in all national strategies and money to support the largely agriculture-driven NDCs as we have seen from the analysis which we did,” said Mark Frik of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).

One key component which has been a topic of debate in agriculture is the involvement of youths. The accusation is that young people, who are the majority in Africa, are not interested in engaging in agriculture. One of the reasons cited is lack of financial capital in a sector which is largely rainfall-driven in Africa.

But Nkiruka Naemego, member of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC), urged stakeholders to seek for solutions to the identified challenges that are keeping youths from agriculture, regarded as the continent’s lifeblood for economic transformation.

“AYICC has published a book showcasing youths’ involvement in agriculture and also tabulates their concerns on issues such as climate finance which is key to Africa’s agricultural adaptation,” said Nkiruka, even as she highlighted the need to engage and support youth participation in climate smart agricultural systems.

And this was a key question that NEPAD’s Fotabong brought to the attention of the discussion, and wants addressed at the highest level. “A research by the Norwegians in Zambia showed that conservation farming has raised the production profile of the smallholder farmers, but why is not becoming business as usual?” asked Fotabong rhetorically by answering herself that the challenge is finance.

However, the answer could lie in the work of the Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance spearheaded by NEPAD targeting to reach 25 million African farm households by 2025.

Courtesy: PAMACC News Agency

Climate resilience: Africa urged to prioritise water resource management

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Climate resilience: Africa urged to prioritise water resource management

Africa’s vulnerability to climate change as well as its water woes came to the fore once again at the ongoing Marrakech climate talks which entered its fifth day on Saturday.

Maria Goretti Kitutu, Ugandan Minister of State for Water. Africa’s vulnerability to climate change has been a cause for concern.
Maria Goretti Kitutu, Ugandan Minister of State for Water. Africa’s vulnerability to climate change has been a cause for concern.

According to reports, climate change could lead to economic cost of $40 billion per year, equivalent to 2.7% of GDP in Africa by 2025 just as Africa’s immediate adaptation needs are in the excess of $1-2 billion per year while climate change investments required are in the region of $12-28 billion per year.

Experts at the side event which centred on water resource management as a cornerstone for building climate resilience, reckoned that nearly all impacts of climate change in Africa appear in water-related phenomena such as droughts, floods and sea level rise.

Acknowledging that climate change is already adding extra burden to Africa’s existing challenges with regards to the risks and cost of water, the panel of experts which included Water Ministers from Morocco and Uganda, and water professionals from the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) underscored the need for Africa to mainstream water into climate resilience building initiatives, support more effective and efficient use of water, and build capacity to attract predictable and fast-tracked financing mechanisms.

The Moroccan Water Minister, Charafat Afailal, believes that water is a key factor in human development. “Water is not only a problem but it is part of the solution,” she said.

According to the host minister, only integrated and sustainable water management can help Africa meet the challenges related to water availability, extreme weather events and uncertainty about the resource.

She further recommended that water be recognised as the “first victim” of climate change and to deepen an action agenda for water.

Maria Goretti Kitutu, Ugandan Minister of State for Water, declared her country’s support for the “Water for Africa” initiative which was launched recently at the COP.

Driven by the Moroccan government with the support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Water for Africa initiative aspires to render justice to the continent through the adoption of a specific action plan that will mobilise different international political, financial and institutional partners to improve water and sanitation services and management for those most affected by climate change.

Kitutu pledged the support of Uganda for the initiative while calling on other African member states to follow suit and rededicate themselves to implementing several of such commitments that dot the continent’s landscape.

Guang Z. Chen, Senior Director, Water Global Practice at the World Group and GWP’s Alex Similabwi, highlighted the imperatives of integrated water resource management in Africa’s march towards climate resilience. According to Chen, Africa as the least urbanised region in the world cannot get on the urbanisation train without the efficient management and utilisation of its abundant water resources.

U.S. reinforces Africa power commitment with $11m

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U.S. reinforces Africa power commitment with $11m

The government of the United States of America has reinforced its focal commitment to achieving the lofty objectives of the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) with an additional funding of $11 million.

Amadou Hott, AfDB’s Vice President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth. He lauded the US government’s power Africa
Amadou Hott, AfDB’s Vice President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth. He lauded the US government’s power Africa

At a signing ceremony which held on Saturday within the precincts of the U.S. Centre Pavilion at the ongoing 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Marrakech, Morocco, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Power Africa initiative provided a second tranche of funding of $11 million towards fulfilling its overall commitment of $20 million to the African Development Bank-led Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa.

Saluting the U.S. government’s commitment to SEFA, Amadou Hott, AfDB’s Vice President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, remarked that the second tranche would expand the important work already underway in components 1 and 3 of SEFA that support project preparation and enabling environment reforms.

“This demonstration of donor coordination through pooled resources serves as a model and signals to the international community our joint level of commitment to these crucial goals of generation and access,” Hott says.

The AfDB Vice President who has vast experience in structuring finance for power and energy projects with a passion for solving Africa’s power and energy need especially in renewable energy and balanced energy mix, likened the signing ceremony as a boost for the bank’s New Deal on Energy for Africa, which is aimed at helping the continent to achieve universal electricity access by 2025 with a strong focus on encouraging clean and renewable energy solutions.

Andrew M. Herscowitz of Power Africa, who moderated the event and signed on behalf of the US government, expressed satisfaction with the SEFA-driven mechanisms which have succeeded in increasing access to small and medium-scale renewable energy generation and energy efficiency as well as providing project preparation grants to attain bankability status.

According to Herscowitz, “Power Africa has already injected a first payment of $5 million into SEFA which directly supports the AfDB’s New Deal on Energy for Africa that ensures universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global mix.”

Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, Lida Fitts; Chris Hornor, Founder and CEO, PowerHive; and Kevin Connolly of the Affordable Access Initiatives, who participated at the signing ceremony, lauded the U.S. government-led partnership with SEFA, which aims to add 30,000 MW of cleaner and more efficient generation capacity.

Fitts added that an addition of 60 million new home and business connections would unlock the energy sector potential through policy reforms and removal of barriers that impede sustainable energy development in sub-Saharan Africa.

While Power Africa offers renewable energy developers the combined resources of 12 U.S. government agencies, the World Bank Group, the AfDB, the Governments of Canada, the EU, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as partner African governments and more than 120 private sector partners, the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) is a multi-donor effort developed with an initial pledge between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of Denmark in 2011.

Subsequently, the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy pledged further contributions, bringing the total fund capitalisation to an equivalent of $95 million by the end of 2015. SEFA promotes African ownership, inclusiveness and a comprehensive approach to implementation in the 44 African countries that have joined the Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

It provides guidance to African governments and energy stakeholders, delivers technical assistance, fosters networking and communication, and contributes towards finance mobilisation. The SEFA goals are developed through a multi-stakeholder process that brings together government actors, development partners, private sector and civil society.

Buhari to ratify Paris Agreement next week, says Jibril

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Buhari to ratify Paris Agreement next week, says Jibril

True to his promise made last September during the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, President Muhammadu Buhari is set to ratify the Paris Agreement.

Ibrahim Usman Jibril, the Environment Minister of State. He disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari will be attending the COP22
Ibrahim Usman Jibril, the Environment Minister of State. He disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari will be attending the COP22

The Nigerian president had promised after signing the gobal climate pact at a side event during the UNGA71 that he would ratify the treaty during the UN climate change talks (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco.

Ibrahim Usman Jibril, the Environment Minister of State, confirmed on Wednesday in Marrakech that President Buhari would be in the Moroccan city next week.

He said: “Just about two weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council approved the ratification of the Paris Agreement and Mr President, by the grace of God, will be coming for this COP22 next week. And one of the reasons why he will be coming is to ratify the Paris Agreement which was approved by the Federal Executive Council in Nigeria.”

He flayed views held by certain quarters that, coming to the COP, Nigeria seemed unprepared, in the light of the fact that, among other issues, the climate treaty was yet to be ratified.

He stated: “That is not true. You are fully aware that President Muhhamadu Buhari was in New York during the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) where, during a side event, he signed the Paris Agreement. And, just about two weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council approved the ratification of that Paris Agreement and Mr President, by the grace of God, next week will be coming for this COP22. And one of the reasons why he will be coming is to ratify the Paris Agreement which was approved by the Federal Executive Council in Nigeria.

“We did not rush to do the signing and ratification because we wanted to do a stakeholder consultation, wherein we did a series of meetings with NGOs, legislators and numerous stakeholders to make sure that we carried everybody along so that people will get to know exactly what this issue is all about. We needed to do things that are of interest to Nigerians, and that is exactly what we did. So we look at this event as a very important one.”

He disclosed that, following international appeals and campaigns, considerable progress had been made regarding the shrinking Lake Chad basin, which Nigeria shares with sevral neighbouring countries.

His words: “After the UNGA, the big boost after the President canvassed relentlessly for intervention is tha the German authorities accepted to intervene by way of funding recharging the Lake Chad. You need to realise that climate change has an effect in conflicts. We know the drying up of the Lake Chad and, as means of livelihood, what it means for it to drying to millions of people who depend on it. So getting external funding for the Lake Chad was key and we have to commend the President for this development.

“So, we have to clean the Northeast even after the Boko Haram insurgency has been completely eliminated. We must have to find a way to clear the explosive divices left behind by the insurgents, as well as find a way to ressetle the internall dispalsed persons (IDPs) . There so many people all over the country who are seriously vulnerable and are exposed to all sorts of hardships. This is of serious concern to us. It is about the socio-economic and environmental concerns. Remember, for more than five years, these people have not been able to access their farms.

“So we just have to get them back in such a way that they have to getback to their farms, they have to get back to their means of livelihood and we have to address the widows, the children that are elft with their parents. The trauma is something that is cross-cutting. The Ministry of Environment is at the fore-front and we are collaborating with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, and other Federal Government agencies and departments in the recovery of the Lake Chad region.

“We travel across the whole country and there is no part of Nigeria that we don’t have environmental problems. So, coming to COP22 and the issue of climate change is something significant to us.”

World Alliance for Clean Technologies launched at COP22

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World Alliance for Clean Technologies launched at COP22

The Solar Impulse Foundation launched the World Alliance for Clean Technologies on Friday in Marrakech as a legacy to the first ever solar flight around the world. Its goal is to federate the main actors in the field of clean technologies, in order to create synergies, promote profitable solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental and health challenges, and give credible advice to governments.

Solar Impulse and crew after flying 40,000km without fuel last July
Solar Impulse and crew after flying 40,000km without fuel last July

Less than four months after the landing of the first ever solar flight around the world, accomplished by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, the Solar Impulse Foundation, via the launch, shifts to a second phase in the realisation of Bertrand Piccard’s vision that clean technologies can accomplish impossible goals and offer tangible solutions to solve many of the challenges facing global society today as well as reach the objectives of the Climate Action Agenda.

The Alliance’s overarching ambition is to globally advance the cause of clean technologies, which it defines as “any practical solution that allows bridging the gap between ecology and economy. They are not limited to the production of renewable energy, but encompass technologies, systems, know-hows or processes that protect the environment, improve health, increase energy efficiency or save natural resources, while creating jobs, generating profit and sustaining growth”.

“We need to embrace clean technologies, not because they are ‘eco-logical,’ but because they are ‘logical’,” said Bertrand Piccard, Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation. “Even if climate change didn’t exist, energy efficient technologies would make sense to create jobs, generate profit and boost economic development, while also reducing CO2 emissions and protecting natural resources.”

Until now, there was no such organisation, gathering the clean technologies stakeholders around the world; hence the Alliance will bring together start-ups, companies, institutions and organisations producing, implementing or supporting the use of clean technologies. Together, the members will share experience and create synergies in order to improve the overall value chain and demonstrate concrete solutions to support governments, corporations and institutions in reaching their environmental and health targets, advising them depending on their specific situation.

Commenting on the launch of the Alliance, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “The Solar Impulse flight showed the world that it is possible to push the limits of technology in order to build the foundation for a sustainable future. By harnessing this and other innovative technologies, we can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Patricia Espinosa, stated: “Initiatives like the World Alliance for Clean Technologies are exactly what we need to further enable investors, governments, cities and citizens to harvest the rich variety of clean technologies that already exist or are under development.

“We need the best and brightest minds – from the North and the South – to deliver clean technologies that can collectively accomplish the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and all the Sustainable Development Goals to catalyse a healthy and prosperous future for all.”

Richard Northcote, Chief Sustainability Officer at Covestro, shared: “We are delighted to continue our relationship with Solar Impulse though the World Alliance for Clean Technologies. Our contribution to the Solar Impulse project proved that we have the technology to make the world a brighter place and through this alliance we intend to accelerate the implementation of these technologies to tackle the challenges society faces while generating business growth.”

The Solar Impulse Foundation offers to the Alliance its administrative support, as well as the media, political and institutional relations developed during the round-the-world solar flight. The Alliance is funded thanks to partners such as Covestro, Solvay and Nestlé Research, among others, as well as private donors.

As Bertrand Piccard said upon the final landing in Abu Dhabi, “If an airplane can fly around the world without a drop of fuel, clean technologies can undoubtedly be implemented on the ground to make a cleaner, more efficient and richer world.”

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