7th IRENA :Over 150 countries gather in global environment of falling renewable energy costs and rising deployment to accelerate global energy transition
Over 1,000 delegates from 150 countries attend the opening of IRENA’s Seventh Assembly in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Government officials from more than 150 countries and leaders from international organisations, the private sector and civil society are gathering Saturday and Sunday (14 and 15 January, 2017) in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Seventh Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to chart a pathway to a sustainable energy future. The Assembly, the agency’s ultimate decision-making authority, brings together the international community to advance the global renewable energy agenda and make concrete steps to accelerate the global energy transition and a decarbonisation of the global energy mix.
“An unprecedented transformation of our energy system is underway. Plummeting costs and rapid innovation have spurred investments that are positioning renewable energy solutions at the centre of energy discussion today,” said IRENA Director-General, Adnan Z. Amin. “It is no longer a question of whether or if, but of how we can accelerate this change to move towards a global, sustainable and affordable low-carbon energy future.”
Taking place at the St. Regis Saadiyat Hotel in Abu Dhabi, following a day of preliminary meetings and discussions on Friday, 13 January, including the second IRENA Legislator’s Forum, the Seventh Assembly is focusing on IRENA’s strategic and programmatic direction to support countries accelerate deployment of renewable energy, and in doing so, meet climate goals, boost the economy, and increase energy access and security.
Highlights of this year’s Assembly include:
Two ministerial roundtables covering innovation in the power sector and catalysing off-grid renewable energy deployment for development;
Programmatic discussions on scaling-up private sector renewable energy uptake and driving energy sector decarbonisation through innovation; and,
The announcement of projects in developing countries receiving loans worth $44.5 million under the fourth round of the IRENA/Abu Dhabi Fund for Development Project Facility.
The Assembly is also featuring the launch of “REthinking Energy 2017”, which examines the latest trends in renewable energy and the dramatic changes in the energy sector in many countries.
“The speed and scale of the energy transformation calls for, more than any time before, a strengthening of global cooperation, through concrete action and initiatives, to grapple with the multiple changes and challenges ahead,” added Mr. Amin. “IRENA’s Assembly is the meeting point for such international cooperation, and the next two days will address a range of issues central to the energy transformation underway.”
The Assembly also marks the opening of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and preceeds the World Future Energy Summit (WFES), a global gathering of of energy leaders and decision makers. Throughout the week, IRENA will host and will participate in a series of events, covering topics ranging from the decarbonisation of energy systems to the scaling up of variable renewable power.
Indigenous peoples and local communities at the front lines of climate change will soon be able to exchange lessons learned and share their unique perspectives on reducing emissions, adapting, and building resilience through a new platform created by the Paris Agreement.
Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The platform will break fresh ground in 2017 by giving indigenous peoples and local communities an active role in shaping climate action, including a prominent role in the first open multi-stakeholder dialogue. Parties and accredited organisations can get involved by writing a submission of their ideas on the local communities and indigenous peoples’ platform by 31 March 2017.
The international climate policy arena has recognised the unique role that indigenous peoples and local communities play in exchanging knowledge, technologies, practices and efforts of local communities and indigenous peoples related to addressing and responding to climate change. Therefore, the UN Climate Secretariat is facilitating the operationalisation of a platform for the exchange of experiences and sharing of best practices on mitigation and adaptation in a holistic and integrated manner.
The newly established platform came into existence through the decision adopting the Paris Agreement in December 2015 at COP21. In the climate conference (COP22) held in Marrakech in November 2016, Parties decided to adopt an incremental and participatory approach to developing the local communities and indigenous peoples platform.
The platform is giving indigenous peoples and local communities an active role in shaping the process. A representative of the group will co-moderate the first open multi-stakeholder dialogue which will take place at the mid-year UN Climate Change Conference in May 2017 in Bonn to discuss ways to effectively operationalise the platform.
How to get involved
The UNFCCCis inviting parties and accredited organisations to share their ideas about the purpose, content, and structure of the local communities and indigenous peoples platform by 31 March 2017 here. They are asked to specify in the submission that it is provided in response to the call for submissions on ‘the local communities and indigenous people’s platform’.
Organisations are welcome to send the submissions to secretariat@unfccc.int. Parties are welcome to upload the submissions in the submission portal (SBSTA 46 & 2017).
The Athens International Airport in Greece has achieved carbon neutral status (Level 3+) in the Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
Aerial view of the Athens International Airport
It raises the number of carbon neutral airports across the world to 28, and with the bulk of them in Europe, ACI Europe is well on its way to achieving its goal of having 50 carbon neutral airports across the continent by 2030.
Niclas Svenningsen, who heads the Climate Neutral Now initiative at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, says: “The news that Athens International Airport has become carbon neutral through Airport Carbon Accreditation is a great way to kick off 2017.
“The ambitious efforts of a growing number of carbon neutral airports are testament to how seriously this industry is working on addressing its direct impact on climate change.
“With 25 European airports now carbon neutral, the airport industry is already halfway towards meeting its pledge at COP21. We look forward to more progress in the year ahead.”
Sweden’s Stockholm-Arlanda Airport became the world’s first carbon neutral airport in November 2009.
Across the four available levels of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, there are currently a total of 180 airports, working to address their CO2 emissions. These airports welcome 37.3% of global passenger traffic.
According to ACI, since its opening in 2001, Athens International Airport has had an ardent and ever-evolving environmental agenda.
Among other things, it was one of the first airports to invest in solar technology, building a €20 million photovoltaic park on the airport site, as a source of clean, sustainable power.
It was also among the early adopters who became accredited in the very first year of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme (2009), renewing and successfully upgrading its certification over the intervening years.
ACI Europe’s director general, Olivier Jankovec, enthuses: “I am delighted for Athens International Airport (AIA). Since its inception, AIA has been an ambitious and worthy addition to the European airport network – one that is always looking to innovate and push the boundaries of excellence in all aspects of airport management and efficiency.
“In that spirit, it was one of the earliest advocates of the need for a carbon standard for the airport industry and has been an active participant in the Airport Carbon Accreditation from the very outset.
“So, my heartfelt congratulations to all the team at AIA on their achievement of becoming carbon neutral – another of their ambitions realised!”
Dr Yiannis Paraschis, CEO of Athens International Airport, is understandably delighted by the achievement.
“By achieving carbon neutrality, Athens International Airport continues to tangibly demonstrate its commitment to the fight against climate change,” he says.
“We are proud to be among leading airports, not only as a major economic engine, but also through our reduced ecological footprint thanks to the environmental awareness and complementary efforts of our colleagues and partners across the airport community.
“Athens Airport managed to drastically reduce its carbon footprint, from 2005 through 2015, following a years-long effort to diminish energy consumption in its installations, through a number of interventions and investments in more efficient equipment among other actions.
“Additionally, we continue to plan additional energy and fuel saving measures, such as the certification of our energy management system as per ISO 50001, the continued modernisation of airport equipment, and the optimisation of operation of our energy systems.”
Prime Minister of Fiji,Voreqe Bainimarama, has set out key priorities for his country’s Presidency of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn in November (COP23), calling for steeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and to ramp up the finance developing countries need to green their economies and build resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change.
Voreqe Bainimarama,Prime Minister of Fiji
Addressing his country in a New Year message in January, he said he would work to “get the world to sit up and take notice” of the unprecedented threats that climate change is posing to his and other vulnerable countries.
Fiji and other small island Small Island Developing State are among the most vulnerable to extreme weather and rising sea levels. Fiji suffered major flooding and landslides from severe rains just last month. And early last year, tropical Cyclone Winston became the strongest to ever hit the country, killing dozens of people and rendering thousands more homeless.
In his address, the leader said: “As your Prime Minister, I will be guiding the deliberations of almost 200 countries as we gather in Bonn, Germany, in November to continue to seek a more decisive response on the part of the industrial nations. And to set aside funds to enable developing countries such as Fiji to adapt to the changes to their way of life that have been caused through no fault of our own. In the months before that, I will be travelling the world to forge a consensus on the best way forward. And we will be holding a very important Pre-COP high-level gathering here in Fiji in October before the main Bonn conference the following month.”
For Fiji, both climate action and the broader issue of oceans are particularly important this year. The plight of oceans will be highlighted at a special Oceans Conference organised by the UN in New York in June.
Bainimarama said: “First of all, I see it as my overriding responsibility as the leader of our nation to secure the future of the Fijian people. To protect our environment, our land and seas, not only for the sake of every Fijian today but for the generations to come. Nothing is more important than this. Because if we can’t defend ourselves against extreme weather events and the rising seas; if we can’t protect our seas and our marine resources, then all our efforts to develop our nation will be jeopardised. Everything depends on our ability to get the world to sit up and take notice of the unprecedented threat we currently face to our way of life. We must persuade the industrial nations to pursue more radical action to reduce their carbon emissions that are causing global warming. We must get the world to stop degrading our oceans and seas.”
A niche market in debt raised to fund environmental projects may be set for significant growth and could make a bigger contribution to the trillions of dollars needed to stop the world overheating.The volume of “green bonds” with proceeds
Besides Nigeria, Morocco, Sweden and Kenya have also signaled they will issue green bonds
earmarked for investments such as a wind farm or a low carbon transport network nearly doubled in 2016. Sales could accelerate further this year, with France set to become the first G7 country to join the development banks and companies that have already issued this form of financing.
Growth may not maintain last year’s blistering pace, industry watchers say, not least because the United States, the country where the most green bonds have originated, is set to be led by Donald Trump, who has sometimes called man-made climate change a hoax.
“The market is on the cusp of breaking into the mainstream,” said Nicholas Pfaff, senior director at trade association ICMA.
“To have a major G7 issuer like France commit to doing a large programme is very important … There are some very important players in the U.S. but a lack of momentum there is not going to be fatal for the market.”
The green bond market grew by more than $80 billion in 2016 – its best year since its launch in 2007 – to $170 billion, according to Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), a London-based non-profit that certifies green credentials of bonds.
Even so, outstanding green bonds still account for less than 0.2 percent of the $100 trillion global debt market.
OECD studies suggest annual debt issuance will need to rise to between $620 and $720 billion by 2035 if world leaders are going to meet their 2015 pledge to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. The studies are based on the average capital mix – equity, loans and bonds – of green projects.
But market watchers say France, host of the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat global warming, could be key to growth.
While Poland was the first country to launch a green bond – selling a 750 million euro bond last month – France aims to launch one by the end of the month.
The government has identified around 10 billion euros of green expenditure so France may become a regular issuer of green bonds. It could also encourage companies, the largest issuers of green debt.
“It would change the market,” said Christa Clapp, head of climate finance at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo (CICERO).
“Not only would it bring scale but…it could pave the way to more corporates by showing how to do it.”
Morocco, Nigeria, Sweden and Kenya have also signaled they will issue green debt.
HSBC says the pace of growth in green bond issuance will not be sustained in 2017, estimating $90-$120 billion globally which could include up to half a dozen sovereign issuers. Natixis forecasts $140 billion of new bonds.
Yet in the United States – where firms have issued around $30 billion of green bonds – a Trump presidency may push climate change down the policy agenda, discouraging issuance.
Trump has threatened to tear up the Paris Agreement. He has also said he has an open mind and other countries have pledged to restrict greenhouse gas emissions, irrespective of U.S. policies.
However, CBI communications manager Andrew Whiley said there is still plenty of American money to be invested in green debt.
“While the U.S. at one level is going to sour the political atmosphere, there are still many American investors looking for good quality green products,” he said.
There are only around $3 billion of dedicated green funds by CBI estimates, including those from BlackRock and Allianz.
But in December 2015, investors representing over $11 trillion of assets under management committed to work to grow a green bond market as part of the Paris actions.
China, which by some estimates already has the largest green bond market in the world, may be able pick up any slack if enthusiasm for the debt wanes in the United States.
China’s Bank of Communications holds the record of the biggest green bond issued – a 30 billion yuan ($4.35 billion) two-tranche issue in November 2016.
But China’s success lays bare one of the teething problems that have dogged the green bond market. What constitutes green?
The Chinese government’s definitions of green bonds, for example, allow funding for clean-power coal stations which would not qualify under other market standards.
Some think that after an explosion in green bonds, the market might have to take a step back to go forward.
In that sense, said Christopher Flensborg, head of sustainable products at Swedish banking group SEB, Trump’s victory may even help in the long term because it would clear out the market of issuers that were not truly green.
A United States under Trump “won’t be a show-stopper but it will make people think twice, which we think is a good thing,” he said. “A lot of people crowding in will withdraw from the market. We think the momentum is going to be lost slightly but the quality is going to be improved massively.”
Environment development and sustainability The fly-away prices of cooking gas and kerosene have become a cause for concern by environmentalists, who fear that the hike in the cost of these items portends danger to the environment and human life.
The price of cooking gas has jumped from N3,500 to N4,500 for the 12.5kg cylinder
Recently, the price of cooking gas jumped from N3,500 to N4,500 for 12.5kg cylinder while a litre of kerosene flew to N300 as against N150 or N130 previously.
But industry stakeholders are uncomfortable with the development, saying that Nigerians will now resort to the cheaper but somewhat controversial alternatives: firewood and charcoal – and with the attendant unsavoury implications.
Prof. Olukayode Oladipo, a climate change expert, said in Lagos on Wednesday, January 11 2017 that increase in the prices of these products would aggravate deforestation and increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the environment. Deforestation occurs when forest is being cut down on a massive scale without making proportionate effort at replanting.
Prof. Oladipo, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) consultant, pointed out that natural disasters experienced globally necessitated pragmatic approach from both the government and citizens to protect the environment by paying attention to tree conservation.
He said: “Trees play a critical role in supporting environmental equilibrium and human comfort because they absorb carbon dioxide from the air, which is a main GHG.
“Trees are also strategic in combating global warming, flood, check erosion and stem the tide of windstorm by serving as wind breakers in coastal areas.
“By the time we destroy this important shield for cooking, then we are exposing ourselves to grave danger in the country.”
According to him, deforestation will hinder Nigeria’s commitment to reduce GHG emissions unconditionally by 20% and conditionally by 45% in line with its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
He said that Nigeria subscribed to NDCs when it signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The professor noted that Nigeria had the highest rate of deforestation in the world having lost more than half of its primary forests.
The climatologist, who is also of the University of Lagos, Akoka, urged the Federal Government to evolve pricing mechanism that would make cooking gas and kerosene affordable and available in the country.
“It is quite unfortunate that, inspite of the vast deposit of natural gas and crude oil in the country, many Nigerians cannot afford the price of cooking gas and kerosene.
“If the government creates an approach that supplements the cost of these products, those in the rural areas will embrace the use of cooking gas.
“It will also discourage all those that cut trees for charcoal production in Oyo North and Kaduna to desist from the practice,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Sulaimon Arigbabu, Executive Secretary, Human and Environment Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre, said that the price increase of the product was a setback for the country considering its position as a frontline state for desertification in climate change.
He noted that escalation and scarcity of the product would negate government’s campaigns against tree cutting, adding that many people would revert to the alternative of falling trees to make food.
“This practice has great implications for their health. In Nigeria, about 95,000 women are reported to die from indoor air pollution, mostly occasioned by using firewood to cook.
“Also, the issue of adulterated kerosene leading to explosion has happened in the past. Many fraudulent people exploit the scarcity and hike in price to adulterate the product and put at risk the lives and properties of the citizens.
“Government needs to wake up to the issue of escalating increase in price of gas by ensuring that the prices are more predictable and realistic.
“If the government does not do anything about the situation, Nigeria would not be able to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions to reduce emission which we pledged to in the Paris Agreement.
“Beyond that, we would be spending a lot in taking care of people’s health; avoidable health expenses because we allowed air pollution.”
Dr Mayowa Fasona of the Department of Geography, University of Lagos, advocated that government should ensure the sustainability of clean cooking in the country through realistic pricing mechanism for gas.
“There is an urgent need for government to expand access to clean cooking energy in the country considering the global challenge of climate change.
“With the devaluation of the Naira, reduced purchasing power and increased cost of LPG and kerosene, many families are going back to firewood use which constitutes a major threat to the country.
“It is imperative for government to tackle the challenges of affordability, availability, acceptability and accessibility in usage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas on a mass scale towards sustainable socio-economic and environmental development,” Fasona said.
Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, in collaboration with the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has initiated steps needed to issue Nigeria’s first Sovereign Green Bond. This, it was gathered, is part of a strategic process to add to the nation’s funding options in the financing of its development initiatives.
The Public-Private Advisory Group meeting on the Green Bonds
The process, the Environment Ministry disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday, 12 January 2017, will also enable the country tap into the growing global market for green bonds, which is estimated to have reached $100 billion by the end of 2016.
As part of the process to ensure that there is wide consultation on the process of periodic issuance of the Federal Government Green Bonds, Mohammed and Adeosun on Thursday hosted a Public-Private Advisory Group meeting on the Green Bonds.
According to Ms. Mohammed, the advisory group will provide advice and also identify likely impediments to the issuance process and provide guidance on how projects can be certified “Green”. The minister further stated that the group was set up to provide support to the Federal Ministry of Environment in its implementation of the Green Bond guidelines in order to maintain a process that is transparent and consistent.
Both ministers, in consultation with experts and key actors, have agreed on a number of key requirements in the issuance of the Green Bond.
These are:
the projects should be green in nature,
the project cost should form part of the Medium Term Sector Strategies (MTSS) of selected Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs),
the project should have a defined revenue model or economic impact that generates resources that will be used to service the green bond, and
the emissions contributions of the projects should be calculated and documented.
A sub-set of Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change (ICCC) was tasked to identify the pipeline of projects with “Green Credentials” that will be funded by the Green Bond. The ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in this sub-set are Environment (FRIN, CCD, DDA, FOR, GGW), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT-Transport), Federal Ministry of Water Resources (FMWR) and Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing (FMWPH).
The Federal Ministry of Environment, it was gathered, has developed a set of guidelines, drawing from the template model provided by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) with technical inputs from Debt Management Office (DMO), Climate Bonds Initiative, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank.
In September of 2016 the Federal Ministry of Environment held a stakeholders meeting with key players in the capital markets on the plans for issuance of a Green Bond. To continue the consultations, the ministry in collaboration with Ministry of Finance set up a Green Bond Private Public Advisory Group (GB-PPSAG) to continue consultations which will support the Federal Government in the process of development of a Green Bond programme.
A high-impact stakeholders meeting with Capital Market operators and investors will hold in Lagos at the end of February, 2017.
Participants on the Advisory Group are drawn from investments banks, developments banks, issuance houses, MDAs and capital market regulators. Ministry sources say that the issuance of Nigeria’s Sovereign Green Bonds will probably be the first in an emerging market in the world and in Africa.
Chinese slowdown and falling costs of solar power were two of the reasons global clean energy investment fell 18% in dollar terms in 2016, according to Bloomberg
Source of renewable energy: Wind turbines. Global clean energy investment fell 18% in dollar terms in 2016. Photo credit: theenergycollective.com
New investment in clean energy worldwide fell 18% last year to $287.5 billion, despite a record year for offshore wind financings, according to the latest authoritative figures released on Thursday, 12 January 2017 by research company, Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The 2016 setback in global investment, signaled in advance by weak quarterly figures during the course of last year, partly reflected further sharp falls in equipment prices, particularly in solar photovoltaics. However, there was also a marked cooling in two key markets, China and Japan. Clean energy investment in China in 2016 was $87.8 billion, down 26% on the all-time high of $119.1 billion reached in 2015, while the equivalent figure for Japan was $22.8 billion, down 43%.
Justin Wu, head of Asia for BNEF, said: “After years of record-breaking investment driven by some of the world’s most generous feed-in tariffs, China and Japan are cutting back on building new large-scale projects and shifting towards digesting the capacity they have already put in place.
“China is facing slowing power demand and growing wind and solar curtailment. The government is now focused on investing in grids and reforming the power market so that the renewables in place can generate to their full potential. In Japan, future growth will come not from utility-scale projects but from rooftop solar systems installed by consumers attracted by the increasingly favorable economics of self-consumption.”
Offshore wind was the brightest spot in the global clean energy investment picture in 2016. Capital spending commitments to this technology hit $29.9 billion in 2016, up 40% on the previous year, as developers took advantage of improved economics, resulting from bigger turbines and better construction knowhow.
Last year’s record offshore wind tally included the go-ahead for the largest ever project, Dong Energy’s 1.2GW Hornsea array off the UK coast, at a cost of $5.7 billion – plus 14 other parks of more than 100MW, worth anywhere between $391 million and $3.9 billion, in British, German, Belgian, Danish and Chinese waters.
Jon Moore, chief executive of BNEF, commented: “The offshore wind record last year shows that this technology has made huge strides in terms of cost-effectiveness, and in proving its reliability and performance. Europe saw $25.8 billion of offshore wind investment, but there was also $4.1 billion in China, and new markets are set to open up in North America and Taiwan.”
Even though overall investment in clean energy was down in 2016, the total capacity installed was not. Estimates from BNEF’s analysis teams are that a record 70GW of solar were added last year, up from 56GW in 2015, plus 56.5GW of wind, down from 63GW but the second-highest figure ever.
Geographical split
Clean energy investment in the US slipped 7% to $58.6 billion, as developers took time to progress wind and solar projects eligible for the tax credits that were extended by Congress in December 2015. Canada was down 46% at $2.4 billion.
Investment in the whole Asia-Pacific region including India and China fell 26% to $135 billion, some 47% of the world total. India was almost level with 2015, at $9.6 billion, with several giant solar photovoltaic plants going ahead.
Europe was up 3% at $70.9 billion, helped by offshore wind and also by the biggest onshore wind project ever financed – the 1GW, $1.3 billion Fosen complex in Norway. The UK led the European field for the third successive year, with investment of $25.9 billion, up 2%, while Germany was second at $15.2 billion, down 16%. France got $3.6 billion, down 5%, and Belgium $3 billion, up 179%, while Denmark was 102% higher at $2.7 billion, Sweden up 85% at $2 billion and Italy up 11% at $2.3 billion.
Among developing nations, many saw investment slip as projects that won capacity in renewable energy auctions during 2016 did not secure finance before the year-end. Investment in South Africa fell 76% to $914 million, while that in Chile dropped 80% to $821 million, Mexico fell 59% to $1 billion and Uruguay 74% to $429 million. Brazil edged down 5% to $6.8 billion.
One of the emerging markets to go the other way was Jordan, which broke the $1 billion barrier for the first time, its clean energy investment increasing 147% to $1.2 billion in 2016.
2016 investment by category and sector
The biggest category of investment in clean energy in 2016 was, as usual, asset finance of utility-scale renewable energy projects. This totalled $187.1 billion last year, down 21% on 2015. The biggest seven financings were all in offshore wind in Europe, but there were also large deals in Chinese offshore wind (the Hebei Laoting Putidao array, at 300MW and an estimated $810 million), in solar thermal (the 110MW, $805 million Ashalim II Negev plant in Israel), solar PV (the 580MW, 31 Dominion SBL Portfolio in the US, at an estimated $702 million), biomass (the 299MW, $841 million Tees project in the UK) and geothermal (the ENDE Laguna Colorada installation in Bolivia, at 100MW and $612 million).
Among other categories of investment, small-scale projects of less than 1MW – including rooftop PV – attracted 28% less investment than the previous year, the 2016 total finishing at $39.8 billion. Most of this year-on-year drop reflected falling costs of solar systems rather than a decline in interest from buyers.
Public markets investment in quoted clean energy companies was $12.1 billion in 2016, down 21%. Most cash was raised by Innogy, the renewable power offshoot of German utility RWE, which secured just over $2.2 billion of new money in an initial public offering, and BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle maker, which took just under $2.2 billion via a secondary share issue.
Venture capital and private equity investment in clean energy firms rose 19% to $7.5 billion, with the largest rounds coming from two Chinese electric vehicle businesses, Le Holdings and WM Motor Technology, raising $1.1 billion and $1 billion respectively. US solar developer Sunnova took the third most, at $300 million.
Corporate research and development spending on clean energy fell 21% to $13.4 billion, while government R&D moved up 8% to $14.4 billion. Last but not least, asset finance of energy smart technologies surged 68% last year to $16 billion, helped by a jump in global smart meter spending, from 8.8 billion in 2015, to $14.4 billion.
Taking all categories of investment into account, solar was the leading sector once again, at $116 billion, but this was 32% down on 2015 levels, due in large part to lower costs per MW. Wind saw $110.3 billion invested, down 11%, while energy smart technologies attracted $41.6 billion, up 29%, biomass was more or less level on 2015 at $6.7 billion, and biofuels secured just $2.2 billion, down 37%. Small hydro showed a 1% dip in investment to $3.4 billion, while low-carbon services attracted $4.3 billion, up 5%, geothermal $2.7 billion, up 17%, and marine energy $194 million, down 7%.
Record acquisition activity
Also measured by BNEF, but not included in the figures for new investment, is acquisition activity in clean energy. This totaled $117.5 billion in 2016, up from $97 billion in 2015 and the first time this has broken the $100 billion level. Behind the surge was a rise in renewable energy project acquisitions to $72.7 billion and, in particular, a leap in corporate M&A to a record $33 billion. The top takeovers included Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity for $4.9 billion and Enel’s buy-back of the minority holders in Enel Green Power for $3.5 billion.
Against the backdrop of the widespread use of chemical manure, the Nigerian government has been urged to promote the use of organic fertilisers to produce healthy foods for local consumption and export, as well as check environmental degradation.
A bag of organic fertilisers produced by EarthCare Nigeria Limited
An agricultural technologist, Gregory Ohiaeri, made the call recently while taking journalists on a tour of an organic fertiliser manufacturing facility at Odoguyan, Ikorodu, Lagos. The facility is being operated by EarthCare Nigeria Limited.
Organic fertilisers are fertilisers derived from animal matter, animal excreta (manure), human excreta, and vegetable matter (such as compost and crop residues). Naturally occurring organic fertilisers include animal wastes from meat processing, peat, manure, slurry, and guano.
He said: “Nowadays, products exported from Africa are being rejected due to contamination, mainly from the use of harmful chemicals. The only thing that kills people is what goes through the mouth. So people eat this food that is produced or grown with chemical fertiliser; and, because the plants are like humans like us, they receive those minerals.
“These chemicals go into their system and eventually we human beings eat the foods. And we can develop anything; cancer and all kinds of diseases. We can have blindness and others. This also applies to cattle that go around. Since they use inorganic fertiliser to fertilise the grass, the cow eats it and takes the chemicals. They slaughter the cow and we humans eat the meat.”
According to him, Earthcare Nigeria Limited partners with the Lagos Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) in collecting green wastes from the different markets and even abattoirs in Lagos and the wastes are processed into organic fertiliser.
Ohiaeri, who is the company’s Chief Operating Officer, said inorganic fertilisers not only destroy the soil but also contaminate grasses and foods with deadly chemicals, leading to acceleration of diseases including cancer and eye damage, which are now rampant in the country.
He said it was high time that the country’s huge farming population was educated on the implications of the types of fertilisers they use, even as there is need to give farmers fertiliser options.
His words: “And if you compare their produces, you will see that for the food produced with chemical fertiliser, the leaves become weak and start to fold within few hours of harvest, while that with organic fertiliser will stay fresh. When it comes to agriculture, the farmers need to be trained and exposed to the best ways of farming to get healthy final products, because food is security for a nation and if the farmers are producing unhealthy food, the people will eat unhealthy food and they will get sick and the nation will be weak.
“Here in Nigeria, the President has been making the effort to support farming. But the problem is that most of the farmers know only rely on inorganic fertiliser that is not very harmful to health. Unfortunately, the sale and application of inorganic fertilisers is not regulated in the country. Because of that, there are challenges. When you go to the western world, you have specialised stores that sell organic produce and inorganic produce, and the people have the choice to choose.
“If you use inorganic or chemical fertiliser over a period of time, it will deplete some of the nutrients in the soil and you have to wait for years to come back to that land. The soil will not have the essential nutrient it needs for particular crops to flourish. And in using chemical fertiliser, you have to apply the right quantity beyond which causes problem to the soil. But with organic fertiliser, there is no overdose. Organic fertiliser will also rejuvenate the soil and generate all the free nitrogen the plant needs. And sometimes when you apply it, because of the biological enzymes that it has, there are living organisms that would continue to revitalise the soil. Take for instance the Ogoni oil spill; organic products would properly revitalise the soil there.”
Ohiaeri, who said the company now produces 200,000 metric tons of fertiliser per annum, however regretted that, inspite of the urgent need to discontinue the use of inorganic fertiliser, Nigerian government was yet to partner with EarthCare to make available organic fertilisers to farmers at affordable cost.
He said: “We are the only outfit that produce organic fertiliser in this country and government has not asked to partner with us. Most of our patrons are coming from the private sector. For instance, right now, we are in partnership with Nigerian breweries. They bring their wastes, we process them and the ultimate goal is to use organic fertiliser and help their farmers to grow the grains it uses for their beer production.
“Most of the time, the organic fertiliser might be a little bit on the high side. But, for people who know the benefit of the different types, money is not the issue. The issue is their health. I think farmers should be given an incentive. But not only incentives but also set aside an outlet for farmers to be able to sell their produces.
“Very soon, EarthCare will come up with EarthCare Foods as part of our long term project. What we do is engage farmers to use Earthcare compost to farm. EarthCare Foods will buy their produces. This will be particularly useful to those farmers in rural areas who find it hard to market their produces. That will be employment for the people because people want to work and get paid.
“So if government wants to make agriculture a priority, they have to be willing to spend time and money to help farmers. And not only help them with any fertilisers, but also give them the option to choose. The farmer wants to make profit and your health is not of importance to him. The bottom line is that I am going to grow crop, I don’t care what I grow it with. What I care is let me get the proceeds quick and sell the output.
“Right now, the company is producing 200,000 metric tons per year. That should be enough for the country and if there is need for more products; there is always room to expand.”
A report released in Washington, D.C on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 may have provided a reason why the fight against tobacco must be a priority for countries around the world. The report finds that tobacco use does not contribute to economic development.
According to scientists, tobacco smoking is dangerous to health
According to the study, tobacco use burdens countries with more than $1 trillion a year in health care costs and lost productivity, while measures to reduce tobacco use are highly cost-effective and do not harm economies
.The report, titled: “The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Control”, was issued by the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is said to be the first comprehensive review of the economic impact of tobacco use and global tobacco control efforts in nearly 20 years.
The report underscores that tobacco use disproportionally harms the world’s most vulnerable populations. In the United States and around the world, tobacco use is increasingly concentrated among the poor and other vulnerable groups and accounts for a significant share of health disparities between rich and poor, the report notes.
These disparities are exacerbated by a lack of access to health care, diversion of household spending from basic needs such as food and shelter to tobacco, and increased health care spending and reduced income stemming from tobacco-related diseases.
Importantly, the report finds that higher tobacco taxes and prices reduce health disparities because they lead to greater reductions in tobacco use among the poor. Contrary to the claims of the tobacco industry, it is tobacco use – and not tobacco taxes – that disproportionately harms poor people, adds the report.
It assesses the impact of tobacco control measures being implemented around the world, including significant tobacco tax and price increases, bans on tobacco marketing, pictorial warnings on tobacco products, smoke-free policies and population-wide tobacco cessation programs. These measures are called for by the world’s first public health treaty, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which obligates 180 countries to implement these proven policies to reduce tobacco use. The report finds that these policies and programmes are highly cost-effective, with significant tobacco tax and price increases being the most cost-effective of these interventions.
The tobacco industry’s deep pockets and deadly tactics remain the greatest obstacle to progress in addressing the devastating global toll of tobacco use. The report notes that in addition to continued implementation of evidence-based tobacco control strategies, vigilant monitoring of the tobacco industry’s ongoing efforts to promote tobacco use and undermine tobacco control is crucial.
The report emphasises that, while tremendous progress has been made in reducing tobacco use, urgent and sustained global action is needed to prevent tobacco use from killing one billion people worldwide this century.
