Delhi, India will host the 2016 FCTC COP7, where countries will advance a provision to hold the tobacco industry civilly and criminally liable for alleged abuses
At the conference, countries will advance a provision to hold the tobacco industry civilly and criminally liable for alleged abuses. In the wake of revelations this year about British American Tobacco (BAT)’s alleged bribery, governments will also advance policies to exclude the industry from public health policymaking at the international and national levels.
Litigation against Big Tobacco has compelled the industry to pay for the healthcare costs it has caused to countries around the world. The successful litigation against the tobacco industry in the U.S., via the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA), secured the recovery of $206 billion in health care costs and transformed public health by banning advertising to kids and exposing industry lies, it was gathered.
A recent 17-year court case in Canada has similarly awarded smokers $15.6 billion CAD, in what is believed to be the largest class-action lawsuit in Canada to date.
“Litigation is one of the most powerful strategies in forcing the tobacco industry to pay for the staggering costs it incurs on society,” said Cloe Franko, senior international organiser with the Challenge Big Tobacco campaign at Corporate Accountability International. “The outcomes of this year’s Conference of the Parties are poised to mark a turning point for public health.”
The tools Parties will promote at this year’s conference will especially help low- and middle-income countries, where the majority of the world’s smokers now live, but whose GDPs are often dwarfed by Big Tobacco’s revenues – making going head-to-head with the industry in the courts a dubious prospect.
“Nigeria and other developing nations targeted by Big Tobacco for marketing of their lethal products now have the opportunity to support the adoption of mechanisms to hold the industry accountable for the harms caused by tobacco,” said Philip Jakpor, Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT) Nigeria spokesperson. “Standing for the adoption of provisions that advance criminal liability on Big Tobacco is the right step for delegates from the African region owing to widespread bribery allegations levelled against British America Tobacco (BAT), which has in no small measure slowed the implementation of life-saving legislations.”
In addition to advancing tools to hold the tobacco industry civilly and criminally liable, Parties will also close loopholes the tobacco industry has exploited to participate in treaty meetings. The policy stems from a broader treaty directive called Article 5.3 thatprevents industry interference in the halls of government.
The global tobacco treaty entered into force in 2005. To date, 179 countries and the European Union have become Parties to the treaty. It is believied to contain the world’s most effective tobacco control and corporate accountability measures – estimated to save more than 200 million lives by 2050 if fully implemented.
During the Pre-COP22 session held last week in Marrakech, Morocco, as a prelude to the next UN Climate Change Conference that will take place in that country in November, the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC in Spanish), presented its positions in favour of the operationalisation of the Paris Agreement.
Segolene Royal, Minister of Environment of France and COP21 President, was at the Pre-COP22 session where AILAC presented its positions in favour of the operationalisation of the Paris Agreement. Photo credit: zimblo.com
The AILAC is a group of eight countries that share interests and positions on climate change, namely: Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Peru.
Its main objective is to generate coordinated, ambitious positions and contribute to the balance in the multilateral negotiations on climate change with a coherent vision for sustainable development that is responsible to the environment and future generations.
At the pre-COP forum, around 70 countries welcomed the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement next November 4th and the celebration of the first Conference of the Parties to the Convention serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CM1) on November 15th.
The Pre-COP was chaired by Salahdeddine Mezouar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco and COP22 President; as well as Segolene Royal, Minister of Environment of France and COP21 President. Patricia Espinosa, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, also participated in the meeting.
Participants addressed the road map for climate finance led by Australia and the United Kingdom to meeting the collective goal of mobilising $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020. The Roadmap sets out the range of actions developed countries will take to meet it, through a combination of public and private finance. AILAC praised the efforts shown by Australia and the United Kingdom in advancing the roadmap to the $100 billion as a positive signal of commitment to the Paris Agreement.
Specific deliverables for Marrakech relate to capacity-building initiatives such as the Paris Committee on Capacity Building and the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency, and to help countries implement their Nationally Determined Contributions to the global response to climate change.
For AILAC it is of utmost relevance to ensure that during the Conferences in Marrakech the delicate balance of the spirit of the Paris Agreement is maintained and progress is reached in the following areas of deliverables: definitions and overarching guidance for initiating the operationalisation of the Agreement, including clear times and mandates for the strengthening of NDCs with regards to the Global Stocktake or collective progress towards achieving Paris Agreement Goals; progress on the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency and the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage; and Pre-2020 Action.
In this sense, for AILAC is relevant the effective development of an inclusive CMA1 that decides on a clear timeline for its upcoming work and sending a straight message to the world in terms of the commitment of the Parties of the Convention and of the Agreement to their implementation and achievement of their long-term goals.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday that it was significantly increasing its five-year growth forecast for renewables, thanks to strong policy support in key countries and sharp cost reductions. Renewables have surpassed coal last year to become the largest source of installed power capacity in the world.
IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol.
The latest edition of the IEA’s Medium-Term Renewable Market Report now sees renewables growing 13% more between 2015 and 2021 than it did in last year’s forecast, due mostly to stronger policy backing in the United States, China, India and Mexico. Over the forecast period, costs are expected to drop by a quarter in solar PV and 15 percent for onshore wind.
Last year marked a turning point for renewables. Led by wind and solar, renewables represented more than half the new power capacity around the world, reaching a record 153 Gigawatt (GW), 15% more than the previous year. Most of these gains were driven by record-level wind additions of 66 GW and solar PV additions of 49 GW.
About half a million solar panels were installed every day around the world last year. In China, which accounted for about half the wind additions and 40% of all renewable capacity increases, two wind turbines were installed every hour in 2015.
“We are witnessing a transformation of global power markets led by renewables and, as is the case with other fields, the center of gravity for renewable growth is moving to emerging markets,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director.
There are many factors behind this remarkable achievement: more competition, enhanced policy support in key markets, and technology improvements. While climate change mitigation is a powerful driver for renewables, it is not the only one. In many countries, cutting deadly air pollution and diversifying energy supplies to improve energy security play an equally strong role in growing low-carbon energy sources, especially in emerging Asia.
Over the next five years, renewables will remain the fastest-growing source of electricity generation, with their share growing to 28% in 2021 from 23% in 2015.
Renewables are expected to cover more than 60% of the increase in world electricity generation over the medium term, rapidly closing the gap with coal. Generation from renewables is expected to exceed 7600 TWh by 2021 – equivalent to the total electricity generation of the United States and the European Union put together today.
But while 2015 was an exceptional year, there are still grounds for caution. Policy uncertainty persists in too many countries, slowing down the pace of investments. Rapid progress in variable renewables such as wind and solar PV is also exacerbating system integration issues in a number of markets; and the cost of financing remains a barrier in many developing countries. And finally, progress in renewable growth in the heat and transport sectors remains slow and needs significantly stronger policy efforts.
The IEA also sees a two-speed world for renewable electricity over the next five years. While Asia takes the lead in renewable growth, this only covers a portion of the region’s fast-paced rise in electricity demand. China alone is responsible for 40% of global renewable power growth, but that represents only half of the country’s electricity demand increase.
This is in sharp contrast with the European Union, Japan and the United States where additional renewable generation will outpace electricity demand growth between 2015 and 2021.
The IEA report identifies a number of policy and market frameworks that would boost renewable capacity growth by almost 30% in the next five years, leading to an annual market of around 200 GW by 2020. This accelerated growth would put the world on a firmer path to meeting long-term climate goals.
“I am pleased to see that last year was one of records for renewables and that our projections for growth over the next five years are more optimistic,” said Dr. Birol. “However, even these higher expectations remain modest compared with the huge untapped potential of renewables. The IEA will be working with governments around the world to maximize the deployment of renewables in coming years.”
Global corporations have begun the transition to a low-carbon economy and some are already capitalising on the opportunities this affords, whilst a large number risk being left behind through lack of long-term planning and inertia, according to analysis released on Tuesday by CDP, the not-for-profit global environmental data platform.
Chief executive officer of CDP, Paul Simpson
CDP’s report, “Out of the starting blocks: Tracking progress on corporate climate action”, produced in partnership with We Mean Business, presents carbon emissions and climate change mitigation data from 1,089 companies, disclosed to CDP at the request of 827 institutional investors with assets of $100 trillion. These companies – which represent some of the world’s most significant in terms of market capitalisation and environmental impact – account for 12% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.
With entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change confirming the shift to a low-carbon economy, CDP will show how business action is stacking up against the world’s new climate goals by tracking this group of companies in subsequent annual reports.
This year’s report, which sets the baseline, shows that the low-carbon transition can bring high returns. Over a five-year period, 62 companies have succeeded in cutting their emissions by 10% or more while increasing their revenue by the same margin. Collectively, revenue has increased by 29% and emissions reduced by 26% amongst this group, while the rest of the companies in the sample saw a 6% decrease in revenue alongside a 6% rise in emissions.
The group includes:
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. The US real estate company saw revenue growth of 22% over five years alongside a 23% drop in emissions, with overall emissions intensity falling by 37%. The company has a science based target in place to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions on an emissions-per-square-foot basis 28% by 2020 from a 2008 base-year;
SCA: The Swedish consumer goods company and pulp and paper manufacturer reduced its emissions by 32% while increasing revenue by 19%, achieving a 42% drop in emissions intensity. The company is reducing annual costs by €5 million thanks to a new biofuel-powered kiln at one of its mills;
Wipro: The Indian IT company saw growth of 15% over a five-year period alongside a 24% drop in emissions, with overall emissions intensity falling by 33%. The company has introduced new virtualisation technologies across its servers, resulting in huge annual energy savings.
Companies are one of the key actors in enabling the global economy to achieve its climate goals and the report reveals that 85% of businesses already have at least one target in place to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. However, these targets are lacking in long-term ambition, with just 14% of companies having set goals for 2030 or beyond. Moreover, just a small proportion of companies in the sample (9%) have committed to aligning their targets with the latest climate science for a 2˚C pathway.
Achieving their current targets would take the companies in the sample one quarter of the way to the level that their emissions should drop to in order to be consistent with keeping global warming below 2 degrees.
CDP’s chief executive officer, Paul Simpson, says: “This baseline-setting report uses data related to companies’ activities pre-Paris Agreement; it shows that while many are already on the right path, there is still a large gap to close. With hundreds of companies already disclosing to CDP that they anticipate substantive changes to their business resulting from the Paris deal, we expect to see a shift to longer-term, more science-based targets in future years.”
“As investors look to reduce risk by shifting investments to less carbon intensive infrastructure, the spotlight will shine more intensely on corporate actions. There is still all to play for in the race to seize the opportunities from this transition.”
We Mean Business’ chief executive officer, Nigel Topping, said: “We Mean Business is delighted to partner with CDP on this report, that sets the baseline for corporate action to combat climate change. We know that global business is instrumental in creating a below 2˚C world; this report shows that some companies are already reaping the business benefits of early action on climate.
“Future editions of this report will be the tool for the We Mean Business coalition to track how companies are capitalising on the low-carbon transition, and bringing the global economy ever closer to its climate goals.”
Some of the largest companies in the world by market capitalisation are notably absent from the analysis, having declined to respond to CDP’s investor-backed disclosure request. CDP will track a group of over 700 non-disclosing companies to monitor if they begin to engage with the process in future years and help investors assess their exposure to unrevealed risk. The three biggest companies by market capitalisation that failed to disclose this year are Berkshire Hathaway, Facebook and Amazon.
With the Financial Stability Board’s Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) due to publish its recommendations for consultation later this year, pressure on companies to disclose how climate change is likely to impact their business is expected to grow.
Alongside the report, CDP launches its 2016 Climate A List which comprises those companies identified as A grade for their actions in the 2015 reporting year to mitigate climate change. Following an independent assessment against CDP’s scoring methodology, 193 companies have made the list, which features brands from around the world such as Colgate Palmolive Company, Sony and Wipro.
Moody’s Investors Service says that global green bonds volume reached another peak during the three months ended September 30, with the strongest quarterly issuance yet of $26.1 billion, while the amount for all of 2016 could rise to over $80 billion.
Henry Shilling, Moody’s Senior Vice President. He says says that global green bonds volume reached another peak during the three months ended September 30
“The volume for the third quarter pushed green bond issuance for the first nine months of the year to $63.2 billion, an increase of 132% from the $27.2 billion issued a year ago,” says Henry Shilling, a Moody’s Senior Vice President. “Moreover, volume for the first nine months also strongly eclipsed the total of $42.4 billion issued during all of 2015, which was previously the record for annual green bond issuance.”
“Should the issuance levels seen in the third quarter be sustained through the end of the year, which is likely, given early issuance indicators during the first three weeks of the fourth quarter, the global market stands ready to achieve well over $80 billion in issuance and may approach $100 billion for the year,” says Shilling.
In addition, although renewable energy and energy efficiency remain projects of choice, the value of third-quarter issuance dropped in these categories to below 50%. By contrast, allocations to clean transportation, waste management, sustainable waste management and clean water and/or drinking water ticked up, strongly diversifying use of proceeds in the third quarter.
Moody’s conclusions were contained in its just-released quarterly report on green bond issuance, “Green Bonds – Global Record Quarterly Issuance Again in Q3 2016; Full Year Poised to Exceed $80 Billion”.
Benefiting from robust offerings from Chinese financial institutions in particular, full-year issuance could exceed $80 billion and, in doing so, would be within striking distance of doubling issuance in one year that was otherwise achieved over a period of the previous nine years, according to Moody’s.
While still small in absolute terms, this development reinforces a signaling of an acceleration in the momentum of a trend to acknowledge and address climate change that is also echoed in the speed with which the Paris Agreement on climate change went into force.
Significant issuance from Chinese banks marked a return of the pattern observed in the first quarter of 2016 and contributed to China accounting for 44% of global issuance. Financial institutions more generally contributed to 48% of issuance. Beyond China, supranationals and Mexico ranked second and third with 16% and 8% of global issuance, respectively.
During the third quarter, the number of issuers and transactions declined slightly, while the average transaction size increased. A total of 50 distinct issuers came to market with 77 transactions, a slight decline from the second quarter’s 54 issuers and 81 transactions. Average transaction size increased during the third quarter, averaging approximately $337 million per transaction.
The credit quality of green bonds also fell entirely within the investment-grade category. Ratings were distributed across the range, with 33% rated Aaa, 3.8% rated Aa1- Aa3, 42% rated A1-A3 and 21.6% rated Baa1. None of the issuances rated by Moody’s fell into the non-investment grade space.
The General Assembly of Oilwatch, which is celebrating its 20 years of existence, met recently in Quito, Ecuador in the framework of the Social Forum Resistance to Habitat III. In this declaration, the group frowns at the Habitat concept as well as the newly-adopted New Urban Agenda, saying that they encourage land grabbing and oil extraction. Oilwatch is thus demanding a “de-petroleum-ised habitat”.
Members of Oilwatch
The United Nations Conferences on Human Settlements held in Vancouver in 1979, Istanbul in 1996, and Quito in 2016 are a clear testament to the relationship between the oil industry and the global urbanisation agenda: expanding cities are the motor, justification and destination of hydrocarbons and their derivatives; constitute a source of energy; and allow for the profits and power of the oil, gas and coal industry, the vast car, petrochemical and mining industries as well as speculative financial capital to increase. This urban model is an expression of the oil civilisation and is profoundly linked to the global environmental crisis.
Both the slogan and objective of the New Urban Agenda open the door to new patterns of “sustainable and responsible” production, distribution and consumption of Nature and human labour; the sacrifice of bodies and territories to the extraction of oil, gas and coal, other sources of energy and inputs for the petrochemical industry.
Habitat III promotes and imagines a global future which is essentially urban, ignoring the importance of rural territories and the contribution of indigenous and peasant communities to sustaining life on Earth. Habitat III justifies land grabbing and the expropriation of the territories of ancestral peoples; the emptying of territories to provide raw material for industry; and the urbanisation of the rainforests, forests and peasant communities with projects such as “housing for the poor”, Millennium cities and other projects that are presented as part of social agendas, conservation or “offsets.”
The Green Economy is proposed as a way of addressing the habitat crisis; a discourse of “sustainability” is imposed; and projects like biodiversity and carbon offsets are promoted, which are nothing more than strategies for perpetuating the primacy of the market and allowing those responsible for the crisis to avoid their responsibilities. These projects justify the destruction, demobilise and displace communities, and generate profits for companies with new business ventures, while oil capitalism gets stronger and more entrenched.
The aggressive processes of urbanisation are always based on millions of cars, cause evictions, displacement and invasions both in the cities as well as in the territories of extraction. The agenda of urban growth with the construction of highways, super-car-ification of society and related infrastructure, is above all a function of the expansion of the extractive frontiers of new and old hydrocarbon companies with new and old technologies.
In the framework of the petroleum-isation of habitat, the omission in the discussion of the following issues is of particular concern to Oilwatch:
The use and promotion of extreme energies to undergird aggressive urbanisation
The new technologies linked to the oil, gas and coal industries’ prospecting, extraction, transformation, and management of waste, instead of protecting Nature and respecting the rights of communities, increase risks and adverse impacts. The extraction of extra heavy crude, natural gas and oil from fracking; the extraction of coalbed methane; coal and oil mining; the deep-sea drilling, the biotechnology for the oil industry and the expansion of the petrochemical industry have similar or even worse impacts than those already registered on the planet.
The creation of new sacrifice zones
The new frontiers of oil, gas and coal extraction are national parks, indigenous territories, coral reefs, deep seas, glaciers and other zones of extreme vulnerability, as well as the bodies of the workers and peoples near these projects. Destroying these areas not only means the loss of humanity’s heritage, but also unleashes uncontrollable forces of Nature. The industries linked to hydrocarbons, including the oil, services, mining, car and petrochemical industries are putting criminal pressure on the planet and her peoples. It is imperative to establish the chains of responsibility and act to stop these ecocides and ethnocides.
The extractive frontier is expanding even into cities, causing accidents, spills, pollution, land grabs and other adverse impacts, and posing enormous risks for life on Earth.
The analysis of the causes of climate change and the risks of its impacts on cities
The extraction of coal, oil and gas not only has provoked the planetary climate crisis, but is also provoking extreme disasters, to a great extent because of the experimental technologies that are being used. For example, fracking is linked to the generation and increase of earthquakes and explosions. Deep-sea drilling and in situ combustion pose grave risks for workers and territories. The cities, which continue to expand, are hyped as spaces of security, wellbeing and salvation for people who are slated for displacement, but they are really spaces of collapse where the worst climate crises are unfolding.
The extermination of peoples of extreme vulnerability
The last of the indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation that live in the Amazon rainforest and the Gran Chaco of South America, the communities of the forests of the Congo basin, the pastoralists of the African continent, the ethnic minorities of Arakan in South East Asia, the artisanal fisherfolk and hunter-gatherers, among others, are under siege by development plans and the extraction of minerals and hydrocarbons.
In the last couple of months in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, seismic exploration and the extraction of heavy crude are taking place in the territories of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. These peoples must be prioritized for protection by the United Nations, and urgent action must be taken to immediately stop the oil projects that threaten their existence.
Agenda for Habitat
Oilwatch works for a post-oil civilisation, to de-fossilise the economy and to decentralise and diversify energy, to de-petroleum-ise the industrial food system, de-urbanise the life of our societies, to promote mass transit, to protect the territories/communities and restore the waters, bodies and forests.
Oilwatch demands that the United Nations block the influence of corporations in the international decision making arena; control and sanction them for their crimes, and make the relationship between the hydrocarbon and car industries and the urban growth agenda transparent.
Oilwatch recognises that the men and women defenders of Nature are the ones who are acting responsibly towards our habitat, and demand an immediate end to the criminalisation, harassment, stigmatisation, smear campaigns and criminal charges brought against nature defenders.
Oilwatch celebrates the ways that Nature rebels by returning rivers to their natural paths, preventing the discovery and extraction of the fluids of the Earth (the blood of the Earth according to indigenous peoples) and slowing down urban expansion.
Oilwatch is open to building alliances with urban organisations to jointly promote new ways of living together, which are in harmony with Nature, respectful of societies, build solidarity, democracy and life plans based on common ground and the collective good.
As Nigeria rounds up preparations for the 22nd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) scheduled to commence in two weeks’ time in Marrakech, Morocco, civil society organisations (CSOs) have been advised on their role at the two-week global summit.
Representatives of CSOs at the meeting
At a daylong session in Abuja on Monday that featured a Pre-COP22 Strategic Meeting and Launch of the Nigeria Labour Congress’ (NLC) Climate Change Policy document, Nigeria’s erstwhile climate chief, Dr Samuel Adejuwon, told participants that their role is to pay close attention to details and be the eye of their country delegation in every session they cover.
He advised the civil society players to always pass thorough and privileged information to their country delegation that may help influence decisions at the COP, which will also feature the 12th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP12) and the 1st Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA1).
While commending Samuel Onuigbo, Chairman, House of representatives Committee on Climate Change, for his commitment and support for his work, Dr Adejuwon however pointed out that it would yield no result without the support of the efforts of the overall National Assembly (NASS). He said that the support of the NASS is needed to help fund the implementation of the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) as, according to him, inadequate funding might forestall its execution.
Adejuwon demanded: “How are you looking into making laws that will help Nigeria transit to green economy even with technology and expertise import? How will you ensure funding for CSOs and carry them along in all the processes of your work? When will the Climate Change Commission Bill be passed into law? Are you factoring in gender balance in all your works?”
Onuigbo’s reply: “We have done a lot of work since I was appointed into this position in November 2015 and we have been able to establish that all MDAs (ministries, departments and agencies) can be held accountable for what they do to the environment and how they comply with international conventions to which Nigeria is party to.
“We were able to identify impacted ministries and explain to them why they are under the oversight of the NASS Committee on Climate Change. We will continue to do a lot of work that will allow the ease of implementation for the Paris Agreement. The Climate Change Commission Bill was scuttled when it got to the stage for assent for some unknown reasons, but we are working on a new one now. We will work to make provisions for interactive session in our budget to encourage this kind of forum.”
The legislator lauded the President’s commitment to climate change, which he said has been obvious but capped by the recent signing of the Paris Agreement in New York. He promised that the House would continue to do its best to support work on climate change and commended the NLC for its efforts.
Citing the drying up of Lake Chad as a typical and current example of how devastating climate change can be, he urged all to change and join the effort to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Environment rights activist, Nnimmo Bassey, faulted the Paris Agreement, saying it allows countries to pledge to what they can do, and not what they must do.
Speaking during the launch of the NLC Climate Change Policy document, he stressed that now is time for all to fight for a “green labour revolution”. He urged the NLC to help cut emissions at source through innovative projects and policies.
He adds: “COP21 was a failure because the things mentioned were things they could do, and not what they should or must do. Paris Agreement has given room for more carbon offset.
“Those who have taken 80% of carbon budget are still putting carbon into the system. This is the basis of climate injustice.
“On gas flaring, the Nigerian government has refused to the counterpart funding and that has stalled implementation of many initiatives including stopping gas flaring as they are the major shareholders in the impacting companies.
“I advise CSOs: support your country’s position but be critical, look beyond the ordinary words and know the underlying reason for everything.”
Tracing the genesis of the Climate Change Policy, Hauwa Mustapha of the NLC said: “It wasn’t until 2015 that the NLC started serious engagement on climate change and started out with a study on workers’ knowledge of climate change and how they relate to it.
“The study revealed that workers, though aware of climate change, could not immediately relate it to their daily activities. The policy document is expected to give us a guide towards more action.”
She decried the poor conditions of work environment of most places in Nigeria with workers being unaware of the impact on their health and environment.
President of COP22, Salaheddine Mezouar, has said that the COP in Marrakech next month will be a union of decision and action. He made the submission at a pre-COP meeting of ministers that held recently in Morocco.
Moroccan Foreign Minister and COP22 President, Salaheddine Mezouar. He says the COP will be a union of decision and action. Photo credit: AFP/Fadel Senna
More than 80 ministers from different countries and over 400 politicians and civilians gathered for the pre-COP Ministerial conference, which took place on 18-19 October.
In his opening address, Mr Mezouar, confirmed that COP22 would be a union of decision and action, indicating that the rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement, while desirable, is not an end in itself, but only a prelude to its practical implementation.
Mr. Mezouar drew attention to three major issues concerning sustainable development: the need to promote access to clean, modern energy sources; the need to develop economically dynamic, resilient, and inclusive cities; and the need to strengthen the resilience and productivity of agriculture.
Moreover, the President of COP22 stressed that the event was based on three major pillars: ratification of the Paris Agreement by as many parties as possible prior to COP22; the swift implementation of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs); and the mobilisation of governments and non-governmental players in order to institutionalise the framework of Global Climate Action.
Nnimmo Bassey, Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), at the public presentation of Nigeria Labour Congress’ Climate Change Policy in Abuja on Monday (24 October 2016), lauds the group for placing due premium on climate change and seeking ways to contribute to the tackling of the crisis on the factory floors and in the wider political space
Nnimmo Bassey at the public presentation of Nigeria Labour Congress’ Climate Change Policy in Abuja
The climate change phenomenon affects all humanity and the planet. It is a cross-cutting crisis that has deep implications for our way of life and for how and where we work. Climate change is a social, environmental and ecological justice issue. It is also an issue of gender, political and economic domination wherein those that contribute the least to the problem are the most affected and it is the victims that are increasingly showing more ambition towards tackling the crisis. This realisation urges us not to see the demand for system change as a mere slogan but as a key framing of the fundamental path to attaining climate justice.
The big challenge here is that getting involved in pressing for climate action may sometimes appear to go against the grain of the routine labour concerns of wages and job security. Keeping in mind the fact that climate change impacts do not differentiate between workers and non-workers, we cannot overemphasis the fact that labour activism must necessarily go beyond work tenure, wages and privileges. In fact, climate action is a major way that labour unions can retain relevance in a world facing dramatic and unyielding social, climate and environmental change. Labour’s climate change slogan “No jobs on a dead planet” speaks very clearly about the overarching understanding that demands mobilisations for action.
Climate impacts are already with us. And they are intensifying: floods, sea level rise, droughts, desertification, heat waves, water stress and disappearing water bodies, including Lake Chad.
Responses have been mostly on two tracks: adaptation and mitigation. Both require finance and in many cases technology. Climate finance and technology transfer are essential for serious climate action. The demand for these cannot be seen as charity or philanthropy, but on the basis of equity, historical responsibility and as reparation or settlement of climate or ecological debt. This can also be approached on the basis of polluter pays principle. This principle has already kicked in here with regard to the clean-up of Ogoni environment where the funds for the environmental assessment came from the polluter and the clean-up itself will be similarly funded.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) must be applauded for placing due premium on climate change and seeking ways to contribute to the tackling of the crisis on the factory floors and in the wider political space. At a time when other sectors of the economy are yet to place the needed premium on finding solutions to the challenge, NLC has taken the bold step of coming forward with a Climate Change Policy.
Politicians cannot effectively tackle the climate crisis alone. The environmental and climate movements cannot do it alone. The fusion of forces requires a fresh understanding of solidarity and conjoined interests.
The NLC has shown over the years that its vision for workers includes the place of workers in community of citizens of our nation. Labour has been in the fore front of the struggles for liberties, democracy and sundry rights in our nation. With that pedigree, it would have been tragic if the NLC did not take a bold stand on this major threat that has both local and global manifestations. Labour has the onerous responsibility to make climate change action and clean jobs central collective bargaining planks.
Climate Deniers
It is well known that while businesses and corporations have known of the threat of climate change some of them have invested heavily in sowing doubts about the crisis and are in general denial that global warming has anthropogenic roots. Among the major climate deniers are transnational oil companies and it does appear that the main reason for blocking or blunting efforts to tackle the menace has been bids to lock in dependence on fossil fuels and by so doing secure their profit margin while maintaining a short-term vision that does not worry about the catastrophic consequences of climate change.
Climate denial has powerfully impacted climate negotiations and actions. The short history of climate negotiations makes this clear. The major Kyoto Protocol of 1997 placed premium on the foundational justice premise of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR). Informing that principle is the fact that although humans have caused climate change, some nations are far more responsible for the situation than others. That reality led to the creation of Annex 1 and non-Annex 1 countries, with the Annex 1 nations being the rich industrialised and highly polluting nations who have already utilised a huge chunk of the carbon budget. The Kyoto Protocol required that countries agree to binding emissions reduction levels – by which they would do their fair share of emissions cut as determined by science, in order to keep global temperature increases within reasonable limits.
From the 15th Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC held in Copenhagen, the world shifted from binding emissions reduction and adopted the voluntary pledge and review system. This was concretised in the much-celebrated Paris Agreement reached at COP21. Now, countries can do literally as they please. It has been seen already that if all the countries, including Nigeria, do all they say they would do as contained in their NDCs, the world would be on track for over 4oC temperature change within the Century. Keeping in mind that Africa experiences higher average temperatures than the global average the levels of temperature increase being foreseen would mean a roasting of Africa.
Climate and the World of Work
Let us look at some of the consequences of climate inaction on the World of Work. First of all, we must all agree that it is workers that are called upon to provide emergency responses when there are natural or manmade catastrophes – whether these are floods, fires or conflicts arising from these and others. It is thus in the worker’s interest for action to be taken to avert such avoidable calamities.
The major driver of global warming is known to be the burning of fossil fuels- oil, gas and coal. In Nigeria, we literally burn raw natural gas through gas flaring. It has been estimated that up to 80-85 percent of known fossil fuels reserve is not burnable if we are to stand a 50 percent chance of keeping to 2 degrees Celsius temperature increase throughout this Century. This has been attested to by several authorities including the International Energy Agency, The World Bank and researchers at University College London. Has this realisation halted the search for and extraction of fossil fuels? No. Rather than stop searching for and exploiting these resources we are witnesses to extreme extraction including by deep sea drilling and hydraulic fracturing or fracking. The challenge facing the industry is that if the use of their products is discontinued they would be left with stranded assets and diminished profits. To keep profits rolling workers must keep drilling even if the planet burns.
Another form of extreme extraction is deep-sea drilling. Deep sea drilling besides yielding resources that should be left below the sea bed, exposes workers to very risky work conditions. Workers literally disappear in accidents such as the Deep Sea Horizon oil spill of 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico and the Chevron gas rig explosion of 16 January 2012 in the Funima field off the coast of Kolouama, Bayelsa State.
Fracking is known to heavily contaminate ground water with toxic chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing processes. The process is also said to be triggering earth tremors and earthquakes in some areas.
With sea level rise and freak storms, workers are exposed to hazardous conditions even as drilling rigs and platforms face increasing risks and sometimes get knocked over. Sea level rise is a real threat in Southern Nigeria, just as desertification is in the North. Indeed, Nigeria’s 853km coastline is so low lying that sea level rise and coastal erosion are already causing significant loss of land. We should add here that the industrial installations along our coastline stand at a great risk if climate action is not taken to strengthen and defend our coastline by means including sea walls and restoration of mangrove forests.
Deforestation is another phenomenon that must be stemmed as a way of fighting climate change. Our forests are challenged by illegal logging and by land-use changes, especially of replacing our forests with monoculture plantations. Forest cover is also lost to infrastructural developments. With our forest cover already down to less than 10 percent of what it used to be, the 260km superhighway that is proposed to run from Bakassi to Katsina Ala, ripping through pristine forests, and having 10 km right of way on both sides may well be the last nail to be hammered into the climate coffin in Nigeria. Labour has a duty to speak up on this matter. The infrastructural development would provide some jobs in the short term, but destroying such a huge swathe of pristine rain forest would extinguish existing livelihoods in forest dependent communities, diminish tourist potential of the territory, destroy wildlife habitats and general biodiversity. Significantly, it would mean the destruction of a major carbon sink in the region.
New Thinking, New Jobs
If fossil resources are kept in the ground, would this not lead to massive lay-off of workers around the world? Not likely if we act proactively.
Labour can play strategic roles in climate change responses, including by activating a global movement of workers that are actively ensuring that their pension funds are invested in climate friendly sectors. Labour can work towards training and retraining for the acquisition of new skills for jobs in the renewable energy sector, greening our infrastructure, retrofitting and other areas of the built environment. The fear of job losses that may arise from a shift from jobs that hurt the climate is, to a large extent, unfounded. The Trade Unions-led One Million Climate Jobs campaign, for example, gives ample reasons to see that we simply need a new mind-set and willingness to invest differently. According to the campaign, Climate jobs are jobs that lead directly to cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases, and so slow down climate change. For instance, workers who build wind farms replace power stations that burn coal or oil. Workers who insulate buildings reduce the oil and gas we burn. Bus drivers reduce the amount of oil we burn in cars.
The campaign also shows that one million climate jobs can be funded from recovered stolen funds and from other monies stashed away in tax havens.
The Green Labour Revolution
We have heard it said that Africa missed the first Green Revolution and so we need a new Green Revolution for the continent. The true revolution that we need is one that builds on our inherent diversity and resilience. In the area of agriculture, labour should be in the forefront of ensuring that our biodiversity is not eroded and that our farmers are not turned into share croppers or mere farm hands in monoculture wastelands. Labour must promote truly climate smart agriculture that is built on agro-ecology and not on genetically engineered crops that depend on toxic chemicals that endanger the health of farm workers and the environment. It is time give birth to a Green Labour Revolution. According to the frontline climate crusader, Naomi Klein, this sort of revolution would not only delink our economic system from the clutches for neoliberalism but would heal the planet in the process.
Dominant political and neo-liberal economic thought holds that through technological development we (humans) can fix whatever we break and destroy. This position is promoted by the rupturing of bonds between humans and Nature; with Nature being seen as an object to be transformed and/or commodified. This thinking has driven extreme extraction and dramatic transformation of Nature that has now thrown up new realities.
The protection of livelihoods will remain a key concern of Labour, but the reality of some workers being adversely affected by climate impacts and policies must necessarily be kept in view through provisions for a just transition to a climate-friendly economy.
Work sectors that must embrace just transitions to a low carbon economy include:
1) Power/energy sector
2) Agriculture
3) Infrastructure and construction
4) Waste management
5) Health
6) Mining
7) Land management
8) Industrialisation
9) Transportation
The launch of the Climate Policy must be followed by massive awareness creation on shop floors and board rooms. The capacity of workers must be enhanced through trainings so that the coming transitions will be beneficial rather than harmful to the workforce. The policy must also be seen as a tool for building bridges and for deep collaboration with citizens, movements and governments.
The solutions to complex problems are often so easy that they are overlooked or simply ignored. Real climate change actions require that
Emissions are cut at source and not offset through the various market mechanisms that can be equated to plea bargains where offenders are let off the hook by making some payments (and carrying on with the harmful activity)
Climate debt must be recognised and paid and this will cover for climate finance
The Rights of Nature is ensured and Nature is not traded as objects of trade, manipulation and transformation.
Consumption and waste is reduced. Promotion of local production and consumption is key
Vigorously promote and pursue climate cooling agro-ecological agriculture as opposed to climate hurting fossil/chemical dependent industrial agriculture.
Disaster occurs when hazards meet with vulnerability or unpreparedness. By launching a climate policy today, the NLC has shown that it will not wait to be taken unawares by climate change impacts. It is now the duty of NLC to encourage all labour organisations to urgently buy into this policy framework or draw up policies especially focussed on their areas of work.
As we said at the outset, government cannot tackle climate challenge on its own. The NDCs submitted to the UNFCCC are largely aspirational and require much commitment and tweaking to make it effectively operational. Labour can provide the push that politicians often need to gain momentum towards actions. This is the time for a much needed Green Labour Revolution and the environmental movement is ready to join forces for this to happen for the good of our peoples and the planet.
Nigeria’s wildlife reserve is facing threat of depletion due to continued illegal hunting and smuggling, thus denying the country huge revenue in tourism, as well as putting exotic flora and fauna at risk of extinction.
Species of the gorillas found only in Nigeria and Cameroon forests are at risk of extinction, as Nigeria’s wildlife is threatened. Photo credit: Christophe Courteau / NPL, via Minden Pictures
Lamenting the extent of damage on Nigeria’s wildlife, the Lagos Office of the Federal Ministry of Environment said in a recent publication: “The booming illegal trade in wildlife products is eroding the earth’s precious biodiversity, robbing us of our natural heritage and pushing whole species towards extinction, as well as undermining economies, fueling organised crime and feeding corruption and insecurity across the globe.”
Poachers with sophisticated weapons are said to have managed to enter protected areas and sanctuaries, killing even endangered animals like the African wild dogs, cheetah, giraffe, and antelopes.
Also threatened are the Cross River gorilla, the drill, and a number of smaller guenons that are found only in Nigeria and Cameroon forests.
No fewer than 100,000 elephants are believed to have been killed by poachers within the African continent in the last three years and many of them in Nigeria.
The use of wildlife body parts in making expensive fashion materials and accessories, such as jewelries, shoes, belts, bracelets, bags and others, is one major reason for the large wildlife trade, which is considered the fourth most lucrative global crime after drugs, human and arms, with annual trade value of between $5 billion and $20 billion, based on the publication by the Nigeria Ministry of Environment.
To check this ugly trend in Nigeria, experts say, the masses should not only guard their forests and government protected areas in their communities against poachers, but also go a step further by rejecting fashion accessories that are made of body parts of wild plants and animals.
Director Forestry Department of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Dr. Elizabeth Ekhibewele, who regretted that visits to important wildlife spots revealed extensive depletion of wild animals, which she said signaled a great loss to the government and the communities. According to her, such parks and sanctuaries used to flourish with assorted exotic organisms such as zebra, elephants, and gorillas.
“We visited a wildlife park and I wept. It was virtually empty. Poachers go to the bush, they kill all animals. They kill pregnant elephants, kill young elephants. They go to the bush, they kill any mammal. They are not thinking of the future. As far as they are concerned, it is the money,” she lamented.
Stressing that illegal wild life traffickers succeed because they have collaborators in the affected communities, Dr. Ekhibewele further explained that the Nigerian government is not completely banning trade on wildlife, but wants it to be done in a sustainable manner that benefits everybody.
“We are not saying that wildlife should not be traded on at all, we say let it be done in a sustainable manner. Wild life trade must be managed; it must be governed. When the trade is legal, it must follow the procedure. Even in your house, if you want to sell something, you don’t sell everything. You select the good ones and leave the rest. That is also applicable to wildlife. Otherwise you just wake up one day and observe that the organisms have all gone into extinction.
“The forests and its wild animals and plants do not belong to us. We inherited them. We should also not destroy them to benefit our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. That is the awareness we are creating.”
Pride in the choice of fashion fabrics and accessories especially by among young and averagely aged women, is pointed as a setback to the fight against illegal trade in endangered species.
These women as well as some fashionable men can go to any length to ensure their outfits outshine those of others at occasions.
To achieve their aim, they go for very expensive necklaces like those made of ivory from elephant, as well as shoes and others that are made of the scales of crocodiles and other wild animals.
A young woman, Mary Williams, who works in a government establishment, parades an animal skinned bag, worth over N500,000.
She said, “I just like looking good. Some of these things, I buy them abroad. They cost a fortune in Nigerian shops, if at all you will see them. Though it is expensive, you just need it to compliment your status.”
However, given the hardship in the country, most of the “big ladies”, reportedly go for fashion materials and accessories, made from refined animal materials.
“Original leathers are very expensive, so most women go for bags and shoes that are made of refined animal skins and parts. But, if there is money, I personally would go for the original leather. But I just make do with what is available,” remarked Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ojiego, a Lagos resident.
A campaigner on wildlife protection, said that young people, especially ladies, should begin to overlook bags, belt, shoes and others, that are made of wildlife skins and scales, to discourage the producers of such accessories.
“For the young ladies who want to be Miss Nigeria, Miss Universe and others, you don’t have to wear leathers of crocodile skin before you are beautiful and important. The Nigerian fabrics like the Ankara look very astonishing and can be designed into different styles, good enough for the best occasion in the world.”
The campaigner stated that the time has come for all to start acting to protect wildlife, not just by making speeches at workshops and seminars.
Her words: “It is time to take the right decision. Not just to say no illegal wild life trade only by speech but taking little action.
“For the children, there are basic actions that you can take. Start as little as caring for the environment where you are. If they bring the kind of bush meat that is on the verge of extinction, reject it. For the regulatory bodies, they have the mandate to work and push so that there is no longer illegal trafficking of wild life.”
Many others believe that it is high time that Nigerian masses showed greater commitment in their support towards protecting the country’s wildlife reserve.
They said this support is needed now more than ever before that the country has launched a new national re-orientation campaign called “Change begins with me” which, among other things, enjoins every Nigerian to show utmost patriotism to his or her fatherland, to check criminality, corruption and build the economy.
The patronage of fashion materials that are made from skins of goats, cows and other domestic animals, is required from the masses to accelerate growth of the manufacturing sector and at the same time protect endangered animals.
According to the chairman, Nigeria Tanners Council, NTC Alhaji Lawan Sule Garo, Nigeria has among the highest quality hides and skin in the world, especially, the skin-red leather made from goats. He said all that is needed is government support to take the industry to the next level.
“There is a need for government to encourage both local and foreign investors to establish manufacturing companies that would be readily available to use processed leather to produce high quality goods such as shoes, bags and belts, which are imported from Europe and North America.
“We have reached the peak in manufacturing top leather. We can compete with developed countries. What we need now is go to the next level, and that is production of shoes, belts, bags and other products using leather as raw material. Tannery industry remains one of the oldest industries in Nigeria and has continued to generate employment for old and young, particularly, in the north-west part of Nigeria. Currently, Kano State has about 20 functional tannery firms, the largest and most efficient industry, with over 25,000 employed.”
Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Segun Awolowo, who also called for government support to fully develop the country’s leather industry, had announced that Nigeria exports hide and skin worth $800 million annually.
“Even with its touted climb in the economy’s ladder as Nigeria’s second foreign exchange earner, the leather industry still faces enormous challenge. There is the need for the Federal Government to inject adequate resources to stabilise the sector as well provide an enabling environment for manufacturers and investors in the industry to thrive,” he said.
Though majority of Nigeria’s hides and skins tend to come from cow and goat, wild animals and plants are reportedly being killed for their skins and they include crocodile, buffalo, elephant and zebra, all prohibited by the Convention for International Trade on Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), that the country is signatory to.
Attitudinal change towards embracing locally-made goods and services should be adopted. Skins from goats which are sustainable should be promoted, through grants to farmers and to investors to build world-class tannery and leather industries.
