Nigeria may have taken yet another vital step towards rounding up its REDD+ Readiness Plan (and graduating to the Implementation Phase) as stakeholders reviewed – in the bid to validate – two separate documents related to forest monitoring and emissions referencing.
Participants at the validation workshop that, among others, reviewed the draft FRELs/FRLs, which aims to establish a reference point from which actual emissions are compared
Similarly, Cross River State, which is hosting the site of the nation’s flagship UN-REDD Programme project site, announced that Governor Ben Ayade has signed the Carbon Emissions Bill into law.
On Thursday and Friday (September 29-30) last week in Abuja, the federal capital city, stakeholders and technical experts embarked on the final review of draft documents of both the National Forest Monitoring System Action Plan (NFMS AP) and the National Forest Reference Emission Level/Forest Emission Levels (FRELs/FRLs) put together after harmonisation of comments by participants at the NFMS AP and FREL/FRL workshops held in April and May 2016 respectively.
Organised by the Nigeria REDD+ Programme, UN-REDD Programme, Cross River State Government and Federal Ministry of Environment, the forum not only set out to validate and adopt the draft NFMS AP as the operational document for the implementation of NFMS in the country, but also validate and adopt the draft sub-national FREL as the roadmap to benchmark and assess REDD+ implementation in Cross River State.
Essentially, the NFMS AP provides the standard activities that should be carried out to ensure the establishment and implementation of a robust and transparent NFMS, according to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) Decision 4/15 on “Methodological guidance to REDD+ Strategy.
The FRELs/FRLs, on the other hand, are important tools for judging the effectiveness or the impact of REDD+ activities and policies on forest carbon emissions in line with the Decision 12/COP.17 of the UNFCCC. It aims to establish a reference point from which actual emissions are compared without which country emissions reductions cannot be demonstrated or proven.
The Cross River State Commissioner for Climate Change & Forestry, Dr Alice Olok Ekwu, disclosed during the forum that the new Carbon Emissions Law empowers the Ministry of Climate Change & Forestry to come up with carbon tax. She added that, when the law becomes fully operational, the ministry would impose taxes on companies, vehicles, and indeed everyone engaged in generating emissions.
She said: “We have a monitoring lab in the ministry that we will use to assess emission levels and determine the level of taxation. Any person or organisation that wants to be assessed must come to us. We are in the best position to carry out this assessment. We will not be able to impose taxes until we are able to determine how to do the assessment. The first thing was to get a law in place, which has been done.”
Recently, two separate validation workshops held in Abuja, and Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State. While the Abuja forum entailed a national authentication of the draft REDD+ document, the Calabar workshop focused essentially on state-related issues, endorsing the Integrated Analyses for the pilot REDD+ programme for Cross River.
Following the corroboration of the study analyses (national framework as well as state), Cross River State will embark on the development of a REDD+ strategy that will both inform the national strategy and serve as model for other states, particularly Ondo and Nassarawa states, which have been named as new programme sites.
The strategy comprises policy reforms, investment priorities, and a related REDD+ implementation framework, with due monitoring and safeguard systems, as called for under the UNFCCC. The strategy also intends to enhance the value of standing forests and to incentivise sustainable forest management through a multi-stakeholder approach and a green development perspective.
REDD+, which stands for Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, is a global initiative designed to pay groups or countries for protecting their forests and reducing emissions of greenhouse gas pollutants, especially carbon dioxide (CO₂).
India on Sunday, 2 October 2016 deposited its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
This is coming as Mali, Ukraine and the Federated States of Micronesia all recently deposited their instruments of ratification of the global pact with the UN body.
It brings the number of Parties that have ratified the Paris Agreement at 62 States, accounting in total for 51.89% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions, as calculated under the official list that Parties provided under the Paris Agreement.
There are presently 191 signatories to the Paris Agreement, with Nigeria endorsing the climate pact recently in New York.
At the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21), held last December in Paris, France, the Parties adopted the Paris Climate Change Agreement under the UNFCCC.
The Agreement was opened for signature on 22 April 2016 at a high-level signature ceremony convened by the Secretary General in New York. At that ceremony, 174 States and the European Union signed the agreement and 15 States also deposited their instruments of ratification.
The Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55% of the total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Depositary.
President Muhammadu Buhari promised in New York that Nigeria would deposited its instruments of ratification with the UN before the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) to the UNFCCC scheduled to hold in Marrakech, Morocco in November.
It has been a tale of woes as floods takeover Egbema communities in River State, even as community leaders blame Nigerian Agip Oil Company for being responsible for the catastrophe.
A flooded home in Egbema community, River State
The flood has so far displaced more than 1,000 persons and properties worth millions of Naira destroyed.
Alexander Uba, a community leader and a former Youth President, remarks: “This disaster is man made.” Uba leads this reporter to a small road leading to one of the many oil wells operated by Nigerian Agip oil Company Limited, stops abruptly and says: “This place I am standing is the access road to Location 19; this is the place causing the whole problem of Aggah flooding; lift the blockage and I tell you the truth that as soon as this blockage is lifted the flooding problem would be solved.”
Another victim, Mrs Celine Assuah, who is a middle-aged woman, fears that this will not “turn into another nightmare as the case of 2012 during the Great Flood.” Some of her cooking utensils can be seen floating in her flooded kitchen, while she is busy arranging some other properties she intends to take to a dry house, somewhere in the community. “Why can’t government do something about this flood?” she demands.
“This flood has swept away our livelihood,” cries Ike Albert, a farmer. The flood has swept away hundreds of thousands of hectares of cassava farms, yams, cocoyam and vegetables, he tells EnviroNews. For now, people may not feel the impact of the flood so much because they are yet harvesting the food meant for next year, he explains. “But there will be hunger in this land next year because we are now eating our tomorrow today,” he warns. From one home to another, this reporter sees heaps of cassava, most of them premature, but which the owner has apparently been forced to harvest because of the flood, thus confirming the predictions of Mr. Albert.
Like a wild bull let loose in the market place, this flood has destroyed everything in its part, not spearing places of worship. At the Christian Pentecostal Mission in Aggah along New Idea Road, the Shepherd, Pastor Michael Daniel, is seen in a pensive mood as he recalls the events of the past weeks.
He tells EnviroNews that, at a point, the church had to beg people to give them their private house as an alternative place of worship. “But now it is not possible because the owner of that premises has rented out the place,” he says sadly. Most painful to him, he adds, was “a particular day my Church Sunday service was stopped midway because of flood water”.
When this reporter asked him what his church has done to solve this problem, he replies: “The church has done a lot of sand filling here, but that could not solve the problem.” Daniel therefore calls on government to do everything possible to stop the flooding and to send relief materials to help displaced persons.
At the Deeper Life Bible Church, the story remains the same, though the church was locked but the water outside was above the knee level. The Pastor could not be reached for his comment but one of the church members, Mrs. Victoria Elechi, was on hand to respond to our questions. Mrs. Elechi fears that the church may have to relocate. They actually did, “joining” a sister church at a safer part of the town. She says: “Agip should remove the blockage at Ode ogwgwu to save us from this suffering.”
When EnviroNews visited the Cherubim and Seraphim Church located along Mgbede road in Okwuzi in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA of Rivers State, the church was deserted as the whole premises was a sea of water. The hitherto ever-busy church with over 150 members, which also houses some members who come for spiritual healing, is now like a ghost town. The silence is deafening. The same fate has befallen numerous churches in Mgbede and other neighbouring communities.
While speaking to EnviroNews, a community leader from Mgbede, Comrade Chris Edeh, wondered why such a massive flood has not attracted any attention from the media. “Why is this massive flooding not in the news?” he asks. “If this kind of flooding is happening in big cities such as Port Harcourt or Abuja it would make headline news every day.”
Another community leader, Ethelbert Ihedike, who is the Community Development Committee (CDC) chairman of Aggah who spoke to our reporter, says, “This flooding has always been a problem to Aggah as long as I can remember. Every year, we call on Agip to come and do something about it. We have sent delegations to the company; we have also made our problems known to relevant government agencies in Rivers State all to no avail.”
In neighbouring Okwuzi community, the New Life Jesus Ministry has been sacked from its site. In fact, the church has been forced to relocate to a smaller building which it vacated some years ago. So far some members have resorted to prayers for God’s intervention, according to one Sister Grace Ibe.
Flood has also taken over the Odili Estate in Okwuzi, which houses some mobile and regular Policemen.
Officials at the Public Affairs Department of Nigerian Agip at OB/OB Gas Plant, Omoku declined to respond to enquiries by EnviroNews over allegations of the firm’s alleged culpability regarding the flooding.
The last two days of September 2016 in Abuja featured a gathering of stakeholders who attempted a final review of draft documents of both the National Forest Monitoring System Action Plan (NFMS AP) and the National Forest Reference Emission Level/Forest Emission Levels (FRELs/FRLs).
Organised by the Nigeria REDD+ Programme, UN-REDD Programme, Cross River State Government and Federal Ministry of Environment, the forum set out to validate and adopt the documents as the roadmap to benchmark and assess REDD+ implementation in Cross River State, which is hosting the nation’s flagship REDD+ project site.
L-R: Philip Bankole, Director, Department of Forestry, Federal Ministry of Environment; Dr Alice Ekwu, Cross River State Commissioner of Climate Change & Forestry; Prof. Augustine Ogogo, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Calabar; and Takon Daniel Etta, Special Adviser to the Governor of Cross River State on Climate ChangeL-R: Okibe Richards, Communications Development Officer, Nigeria UN-REDD+ Programme, Federal Ministry of Environment; Dr Victor Fodeke, Alternate Member, UNFCCC Committee on Kyoto Protocol (Enforcement Branch); and Sir Thomas Fameso, retired Director, Department of Forestry, Federal Ministry of EnvironmentL-R: Dr John Fonweban, FAO Regional Technical Advisor for REDD+ in Nigeria; Prof Shadrach Akindele, Dean, School of Agric. & Agric. Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure; and Dr Francis Akinsanmi; Department of Forest Resources Management, University of IlorinDr Edu Effiom, State Coordinator, Nigeria REDD+ Programme, Cross River State (left) with Dr Francis Akinsanmi, former coordinator, Nigeria Environmental Management Project, FORMECUL-R: Rose Ekpor, MRV Team Leader, Nigeria UN-REDD+ Programme; Bridget Nkor, Head, GIS/Forest Monitoring Unit, Cross River State Ministry of Climate Change & Forestry; and Harwa Umar, Gender Focal Person, Nigeria UN-REDD+ ProgrammeA cross-section of participants at the workshop
The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), on Thursday published the latest in its series of regional reports on the state of renewable energy. The East African Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Status Report reveals that the off-grid market is firmly established in the region and is helping to meet energy access needs.
The East African region has recorded a surge in renewable energy investment
In 2015, the region saw $139.8 million of capital raised by off-grid solar companies, representing approximately 50% of all off-grid investment made worldwide ($276 million).
This result was driven by several factors. First and foremost a rapid decline in global prices for PV equipment. In addition, favourable government policies and innovative business models contributed to the region’s spectacular market growth.
The mini/micro-grid sector also attracted significant investment. The cooking sector was boosted with a $4 million investment to establish a cookstove manufacturing facility in Kenya with an additional $800,000 to expand activities elsewhere in the region.
In the on-grid market, renewable electricity made up 65% of the EAC region’s total installed, grid-connected power generating capacity in 2015. This is significantly higher than other parts of sub-Saharan Africa where currently it stands at 28.6% and 23.5% in the ECOWAS and SADC regions respectively.
While trends are generally positive, the report highlights several challenges that remain to be addressed if the region governments are to ensure energy security and meet energy access needs.
These include: paying greater attention to the cooking and heating sector; focusing on making the use of biomass more sustainable; diversifying the renewable mix in the grid; and supporting regional integration in the power sector. Further, there is far less policy focus on transport and, particularly, heating and cooling, so these sectors are progressing much more slowly.
Christine Lins, Executive Secretary of REN21, said, “Renewables are uniquely positioned to provide needed energy services in a sustainable manner – more rapidly and generally at lower cost than fossil fuels. The EAC has a vast potential of, among other renewable energy sources, hydropower, geothermal, and solar photovoltaic (PV), which had been exploited only marginally so far.”
“Regional integration is central to rapid growth, addressing the existing challenges of energy poverty and climate change in the EAC region,” notes Pradeep Monga, Director of Energy, UNIDO. “With this belief, UNIDO is working with regional and national partners to promote regional policies and markets for wider dissemination of clean and efficient energy technologies and services that are key in supporting economic growth and jobs creation in the region. The EAC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Report provides a comprehensive overview of the status of renewable energy and energy efficiency policies and markets by drawing on information from national and regional sources and networks, which is critical to unlocking the region’s potential and investment opportunities.”
The report covers the Republics of Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Uganda. It was released at the 3rd International Off-grid Renewable Energy Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
The EAC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Status Report is part of a report series that details the renewable energy and energy efficiency developments of a particular region. Their production also supports regional data collection processes and informed decision making. Data are provided by a network of over 50 contributors, researchers, and authors from all over a particular region.
The Government of Gabon is engaging other African countries to collaborate in marine protection and the fight against illegal fishing in the continental waters.
Gabonese Fisheries Police inspecting an EU Tuna Boat
The announcement follows the successful conclusion of a five-month long surveillance and control mission’s intense investigation at sea dubbed Operation Albacore, a pioneering collaboration between Sea Shepherd Global, a global NGO that fights illegal fishing and conserves marine biodiversity, and the Gabonese Government.
During the operation, national agencies, including the National Parks Agency (ANPN) and the army patrolled Gabon’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The Gabonese Minister of State and Minister of Fisheries and Livestock, Gabriel Tchango, said that Operation Albacore brought to light the heavy toll of illegal fishing and the need for effective law enforcement and collaboration.
An EU tuna boat with nets full of sharks and tuna
“Fishing is an important economic activity for our country. Gabon’s EEZ covers an area of over 200,000 square kilometres of highly productive waters, accounts for 20% of Atlantic tuna global catches. As a continent, we need to join hands to fight illegal fishing that threatens our economic mainstay,” Mr Tchango stated, adding that is having discussions with Equatorial Guinea and hopes to expand the operation next year to others countries in the region.
Some 60 Gabonese and Sao Tomean technicians and military personnel were trained to board tuna and other boats on the high seas and to undertake audits of the boats’ paperwork and cargo. During the 2016 tuna-fishing season, Operation Albacore conducted five missions of 21 days in Gabonese and Sao Tomean waters. The most horrifying discovery by a mixed team from Gabon and Sao Tome boarding a Spanish longliner authorised to fish tuna in Sao Tomean waters was the extent and violence of the by-catch.
A Bryde’s whale caught in an EU tuna net
Dr. Mike Fay, a special advisor to Gabonese President S.E. Ali Bongo Ondimba for the “Gabon Blue” programme and National Geographic Explorer in Residence, describes the horror of what they found: “The freezers were crammed with thousands of shark fins – there must have been at least 20 tons – and not a single tuna was visible. This boat had been illegally massacring sharks in contradiction with its license and against EU regulations”.
“Gabon’s goal is to become an innovative regional leader for marine protection. We are determined to convene our neighbours and the rest of Africa to fight illegal fishing, such as the massive shark catch of the long liner fleet,” said Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet. Whales, dolphins, sharks and turtles are regularly captured in the tuna nets.
Crew from the Bob Baker releasing a whale shark from a tuna net
Gabon launched the “Gabon Blue” programme in 2012 under the leadership of Dr. Mike Fay and Professor Lee White, head of the National Parks Agency. That same year, the ANPN and the Waitt foundation led a marine expedition to explore Gabon’s seabed onboard the Plan B, a state-of-the-art marine research vessel.
After visiting the team on board the Plan B, President Ali Bongo Ondimba made a commitment to “launch a marine conservation and management programme and to do for our ocean what we have done for the forests”.
George Mba Asseko, Director General of the Gabonese Fisheries and Aquaculture Agency, stated that he was ready to propose legislation to government to declare a series of marine protected areas covering 23% of Gabon’s EEZ.
When logging concessions are issued with very limited terms, they are often spotlighted by conservationists as harbingers of ecological harm to come. Another serious threat is the existence of logging roads that have continued to damage the environment and forest even after the logging stops.
Roads heading to the forest are already dilapidated due to overuse by heavy-trucks, thereby constraining logging activities
A new study by forest experts has found out that logging, both legal and illegal, remains a lucrative business that has contributed to the rapid shrinking of Africa’s rainforests and woodlands.
According to Ajewole Opeyemi Isaac of the department of forest resource management of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, the challenges associated with logging in the tropical rainforest in West and Central Africa are the root cause of the rapid depletion of forest resources in these regions.
Key among these challenges is bad governance with limited term timber concessions that breeds corrupt practices, poor planning and management.
“Limited-term timber concessions encourages short-term resource depletion, and poor forest planning and management, corruption which makes existing forestry laws nearly unenforceable,” Ajewole said at the presentation of his research paper during the African Forest Forum in Lome, Togo September 27, 2016.
He said there was lack of transparency in commercial transactions with corrupt officials granting concessions to cronies without regard for the environment or consideration of local people.
The study also highlighted the construction of logging roads to reach forest resources as destructive factor to the ecology in its own rights.
“Logging roads have long term destruction of forest as it encourages settlement of previously inaccessible forest lands by speculators, land developers and poor farmers,” he said.
Other studies experts say have found out that along these logging roads and landing areas, the soil increasingly becomes more dense and compact with slower water infiltration than in the surrounding, untouched areas of the forest.
According to Stephen Anderson, a professor of soil science at the University of Missouri and co-author of the study published in Geoderma and conducted by researchers at the University of Missouri in the U.S., “This can cause many environmental challenges in forests because dense soil prevents rainwater from soaking in, triggering run off and causing erosion. This erosion can carry fertile topsoil away from forests, which enters streams and makes it difficult for those forests being logged to regenerate with new growth as well as polluting surface water resources.”
The repercussions, the study says, can last far longer than the logging itself. The researchers found that logging roads and log landing areas were significantly denser and less able to absorb water four years after timber harvesting had ended. This can detrimentally affect the ability of logged forests to regenerate, the study revealed.
Researchers at the African Forest Forum agreed that logging roads around the in many countries in the continent are piercing farther and farther into once-untouched forest in the quest for timber.
“Logging roads are a major threat and cause for concern,” noted Nganje Martin, consultant with the African Forest Forum. The scenario is the same in Africa just like other forest areas in the world he pointed.
Satellite images by the Monitoring Amazon Andean Project (MAAP), for example, found new logging roads snaking through primary Amazon rainforest in the Ucayali region of Peru. Other findings from MAAP include illegal logging roads through protected areas.
In the Republic of Congo, the forest monitoring platform Global Forest Watch shows a large network of logging roads spreading through Congo Basin forest over the past few years.
The multiplication of such roads, experts say, are caused by illegal logging triggered by poverty, weak governance and absence of sustainable forest management.
The developments, the experts say, have devastating consequences such as loss or degradation of forests resulting in the loss of habitats and biodiversity, significant loss of government revenue, loss of future sources of employment and export earnings.
The African Forest Forum accordingly seeks to generate and share knowledge and information through partnerships in ways that will provide inputs into policy options and capacity building efforts in order to improve forest management in a manner that better addresses poverty eradication and environmental protection in Africa.
Reading commentaries on Independence Day amuses me a lot especially considering our deliberate lies on our reverred independence leaders. We painted a rosy pictures of founding fathers who painstakingly laboured and delivered a united peaceful and harmonious federation.
Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria. Nigeria celebrates 56th Independence Day on October 1, 2016
In 1960, leaders joyously received mantle of leadership without intrigues, infighting and justice delivered. In fact, ethnic politics, corruption, skewed federalism, controversial census and all sorts of ills now pervasive today were non-existent.
So from 1960 to 1966, a perfect federation was in operation where all Nigerians acted as one and under which a vibrant young nation was demonstrating best examples to the rest of Africa. Leaders at independence ate, slept and adored a united federation with shared common destiny.
That was the utopia we perpetuated even in the face of denial by history, lying to our children and demonising the successor generation. A nation that fails to dilligently study history or accords history prime place cannot but be plunge into an ocean of ignorance, deceit and falsehood even about basic facts of her evolution. Even in 2016, we still continue our lies and misrepresentation of our independence leaders.
Our leaders at independence were great patriots, well grounded within their respective skills and capacities. They were political war leaders who had to fight from ethnic turfs and who struggled on all fronts to give realities to their people’s driven agenda. Men of timber and deliver they were, their greatness cannot be disputed as they were frontline players in the making of Nigeria no matter how imperfect it was.
Late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, the erudite scholar-politician of immeasurable intellect and contributions to national and regional politics. The Great Zik of Africa, Dr Nnmdi Azikwe, a flamboyant cross border politician, an astute nationalist and a great leader for a controversial, expansive united Nigeria without ethnic map. Sir Abubabakar Tafawa Balewa, a perfect English gentleman as described by some British leaders and a clean incorruptible independence prime minister. Former premier of old Northern region, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna Sokoto, an undiluted devotee to the greatness and well being of his people, a traditional ruler, an Islamic scholar and a greatly loved leader of his people.
As 1959 approached then, how did these leaders acted? What was the pre-independence electoral campaigns like? The records are well preserved in our libraries-it was bitter political war and battles that laid a negatively strong ground for many ills that still dogged the nation till date. The 1959 election was fought by political generals who appeared to be representing separate countries.
And yes, by 1959, Nigeria was still a paper nomenclature comprising of three countries namely North, west and eastern regions. Fact was that from 1914 to 1959, the so called united Nigeria was never united.
1959 to 1960 was the time the new nation was to be delivered in reality. That independence election was to lay the foundation for the birth of the new baby. Unfortunately, the conception was fraught with still birth even though the British induced the birth of a defective baby whose jaundice has refused to heal since.
Why are commentators repeatedly lying about events preceding our independence in 1960? Why are we not coming clean of the bitterness of post -1959 election which manifested openly even on the day of independence? Why are we lying that the nation was truly united as at the time the British lowered the union Jack flag?
Our erudite scholars have documented the realities of what was handed over to independence leaders, a fractured nation with deep level of distrust among leaders. Nigeria was borne out of intrigues and back stabbing among leaders, leading to an incohesive leadership and consequent implosions six years later. Ours was a nation deliberately modelled by the British to be incohesive, conflicting and divisive through connivance with some local leaders.
At independence, the Igbos aligned with the North,leaving the West in the opposition.The North ruling under the party called Northern Peoples Congress later supported the implosion of the opposition Action Group, generating so much heat from 1964 to 1965.Igbos disengaged from the alliance to later embraced another alliance with the Yorubas under United Grand Alliance (UPGA) while the North alligned with breakaway factions from East and West to form the New Nigeria Alliance.The bitter fact is at independence Nigeria was as fractured as it is today.
From 1960 to 1966, it was a tale of bitterness, political corruption, selfish deployment of state power, minority oppression, political persecutions, intolerance of opposition, corruption among leaders among others. The foundation built on intrigues and ethnic permutations only gave rise to a nation reeling from ethnic politics, imperfect federalism, stunted growth and retrogressive genotype. Is that why we don’t want history in our school curriculum?
Many scholars have equally documented evidence that proved that the pre- and post-independence embedded ills in national and regional structures watered and prepared the ground for the unfortunate first coup, counter coup and the three years’ civil war of 1967 to 1970.Where is the utopia of an Eldorado First Republic that we so annually eulogise?
There are surviving actors of the independence era and the troubled first republic across the states. Those surviving elders know the fact; they know the faulty foundations they helped foisted or they were forced to foisted on the new nation which may not solely be their fault. We need to come clean and accept that 56 years after, we are still unable to correct first, the errors of 1914 and more seriously heal the injuries of 1959-60s.
Let me assert that Nigeria’s continued survival despite her “down syndrome” is due to just one major bloc of power brokers -the military political elite. When independence leaders failed to heal the political tuberculosis of 59s-60s, the tumbling from first to second coups to the civil war produced strange national dynamics in leadership evolution. A new set of leaders acting like a brotherhood surfaced.
From 1975 to date, the military elite successfully subjugated the remnants of independence political elite, creating a new league of leaders still ruling till date. Records showed that all those military leaders of the civil war and specifically those who masterminded directly or indirectly the 1975 coup are still subsisting leaders of Nigeria till date. If they did not occupy office, their cronies play the proxy game.
So the big question -if independence elite had issues as to the entity created by them or bequeathed on them, has the military elite fair better? That is contentious and a discourse for another day.
But for now, let come clean with our history -there was never a time we have gotten it right as a nation.
By Olawale Rasheed (Policy analyst, CEO of Sahel Media Group)
Countries in Latin American and the Caribbean region are among the most ambitious in terms of combating climate change and are increasingly making use of markets in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to green their economies.
Daniele Violetti, chief of staff of the UNFCCC. Latin American and the Caribbean nations are said to be among the most ambitious in terms of combating climate change
This was the key conclusion of the three-day Latin American and Caribbean Carbon Forum in Panama City, Panama which was wrapped up on Friday, attended by around 700 government delegates and private sector experts from 47 countries.
According to the World Bank, more than two thirds of all Latin American and Caribbean nations’ climate action plans refer to the use of carbon pricing mechanisms in order to achieve the key objective of the historic Paris Climate Change Agreement, which is to limit the global average temperature rise to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius, thereby avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.
Daniele Violetti, chief of staff of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said: “As we stand on the threshold to the early entry into force and ensuing implementation of the Paris Agreement, governments and the private sector meeting here in Panama have been very clear that their future development trajectory must be low carbon and sustainable. The many examples of the shift to low carbon discussed at this meeting are hugely encouraging ahead of the UN Climate Change conference in Marrakech in November, where governments at all level, civil society and the business community will continue to accelerate the action required to green their economies.”
At the carbon forum, the Vice-President of Panama Isabel St. Malo announced that Panama is preparing a national carbon market, with the aim of helping the country and the entire region to develop sustainably and to achieve the objectives of its climate action plan under the Paris Agreement.
“14 Latin American and Caribbean countries were amongst the very first to ratify the Paris Agreement. We recognize that we are both part of the climate problem and part of the climate solution, and want to be climate leaders,” she said.
Ms. St. Malo said that Panama plans to become a carbon hub for the region, facilitating collaboration between public and private actors in the fight against deforestation, whilst promoting a culture of sustainable forest management and trade in international emission reductions.
Examples of Regional Progress on Markets
Some examples of regional progress on markets highlighted at the meeting were:
Mexico preparing to launch a 12-month pilot cap and trade scheme in November ahead of an expected full rollout of a national carbon market in 2018. Much of Mexico’s carbon market experience to date has come from its participation in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), one of the market-based mechanisms included in the Kyoto Protocol.
The number of major companies in Brazil preparing for a national price on carbon rose 74% within a year, according to a study by UK-based carbon disclosure analysts CDP.
Chile reported on its implementation of carbon pricing and interest in joining other countries in a regional carbon market.
Across the Latin American and Caribbean region, there is potential for more market participation, especially with agriculture and forestry-based instruments.
Several countries, including Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru have all identified significant investment opportunities in renewable energy, and are now exploring how carbon markets can be engaged to support such investments
According to the International Finance Corporation, Latin America and the Caribbean are likely to see $1 trillion of clean energy investment opportunities by 2040, of which $600 billion are expected to materialise by 2030.
As part of the Forum, government representatives from across the region also came together under the Nairobi Framework Partnership with UN organisations, development banks and other international organisations to develop joint projects to support implementation of their national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement.
Dirk Forrister, President & CEO, International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), said: “It’s terrific to see the increase in business awareness of the opportunities for climate investment at this year’s Forum. The Paris Agreement sets bold ambitions to curb global warming, and it offers new opportunities for business cooperation through carbon markets. That’s why businesses across Panama and throughout the Latin America and Caribbean region are wise to explore the new opportunities of Paris – and also how to rise to the challenges.”
In addition, there was a strong interest from regional policy makers to advance the development of cooperative approaches and a new market mechanism under the Paris Agreement’s “Article 6” provisions, with many of the debates and discussions at the Forum focused on how planned and existing projects and opportunities to curb emissions can be taken forward under the Paris Agreement.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement sets out three economic instruments: transferring mitigation outcomes, essentially emissions trading schemes; designing a new Sustainable Development Mechanism, which would incentivise the private sector to develop emissions reduction and development projects; and setting a framework for non-market approaches, such as green bonds and carbon taxes.
Niclas Svenningsen, UNFCCC Manager, said: “The Paris agreement gives major impetus to markets and to a price on carbon, and calls for a new market mechanism to help government implement their national climate action plans effectively and with increasing ambition. It is clear that new market approaches and mechanisms under the Paris Agreement can greatly benefit from the experience of the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which has given rise to more than 8,000 clean tech projects world-wide.”
James Close, Director, Climate Change Group, World Bank, stated: “The Paris Agreement gives an additional boost to expectations for renewed carbon markets. Over 100 countries have indicated in their national climate action plans that they intend to, or are already using, carbon pricing to meet their climate pledges. In the Latin American and Caribbean region, two thirds of such plans include market-based carbon pricing instruments. Now is the time to accelerate action by designing and building these new instruments. The World Bank Group is committed to strengthen its support to advance well-designed carbon pricing initiatives at the domestic and international levels.”
John Christensen, Director, UNEP DTU Partnership: “With the Paris Agreement moving rapidly towards ratification, the focus is increasingly on implementation of the climate action plans (“Nationally Determined contributions”, or “NDCs”) of governments submitted before Paris. The Forum shows that many countries in the region are moving quickly on the domestic policy front and looking at innovative ways of engaging the private sector. Market mechanisms and instruments are consistently mentioned as key success factors to further scaling up ambitions.”
Matilde Mordt, Head of Sustainable Development and Resilience, Regional Hub for Latin America & Caribbean, UNDP: “Together with all the Forum’s the co-organisers and the Panamanian Government, we have succeeded in giving it a comprehensive approach, covering not only carbon markets and private sector engagement, but also reaching out to new partners, providing a platform for discussion on opportunities and challenges for implementing the Paris Agreement and the national climate action plans, in the context of the Sustainable Development Agenda. We also coordinated the event with the Low Emission Development Strategies – LAC workshop, thus providing opportunities of scale and synergies between different initiatives. After this first ever Latin Climate Week, we see tremendous opportunities for the region. UNDP and the other partners in this endeavor stand ready to continue support countries as they move forward.”
Amal-Lee Amin, Climate Change Division Chief, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): “By bringing Governments together with the private sector the Forum provided a timely opportunity to deepen the dialogue around how to align effective policy, financial instruments and carbon pricing tools for mobilisation of investment needed to implement countries commitments under the Paris Agreement. At the IDBG we see the challenge now to build on this momentum to translate countries NDCs into programmes for scaled up investment, particularly for sustainable infrastructure. We will also focus greater effort to boost domestic markets that unleash the innovation of LAC small and medium-sized enterprises for low carbon business models as well as those that will be needed to provide resiliency and adaptation services.”
Ligia Castro, Climate Change Director of the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (CAF): “In the coming years we will continue to identify the necessary resources and projects to implement activities that boost resilient and low carbon economic development. Such Forums are essential to promoting collaboration between public and private sector, financial entities, academia and civil society as well as to develop innovative and effective initiatives to help implement the Paris Agreement.”
Jorge Asturias Studies and Projects Director of the Latin American Energy Organisation OLADE: “The energy sector is most responsible for the emissions that drive climate change, and at the same time one of the key sectors for economic development of countries and the welfare of their populations. The Latin American and Caribbean regiion has a clean energy matrix and is one of the fastest growing markets for hydroelectric power generation, wind and solar energy.”
In a historic move, EU ministers on Friday approved the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the European Union. The decision was reached at an extraordinary meeting of the Environment Council in Brussels, Belgium. This decision brings the Paris Agreement very close to entering into force.
European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker. Ministers on Friday approved the ratification of the Paris Agreement by the European Union
In fact, observers believe that the global agreement to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is all but certain to enter into force in November.
Once approved by the European Parliament next week, the EU will be able to deposit its ratification instrument before national ratification processes are completed in each Member State.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “Today’s decision shows that the European Union delivers on promises made. It demonstrates that the Member States can find common ground when it is clear that acting together, as part of the European Union, their impact is bigger than the mere sum of its parts. I am happy to see that today the Member States decided to make history together and bring closer the entry into force of the first ever universally binding climate change agreement. We must and we can hand over to future generations a world that is more stable, a healthier planet, fairer societies and more prosperous economies. This is not a dream. This is a reality and it is within our reach. Today we are closer to it.”
EU Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete said: “They said Europe is too complicated to agree quickly. They said we had too many hoops to jump through. They said we were all talk. Today’s decision shows what Europe is all about: unity and solidarity as Member States take a European approach, just as we did in Paris. We are reaching a critical period for decisive climate action. And when the going gets tough, Europe gets going.”
So far, 61 countries, accounting for almost 48% of global emissions, have ratified the deal.
The Agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, representing at least 55% of global emissions, have ratified.
The EU, which played a decisive role in the adoption of the Paris Agreement last December, is a global leader on climate action. The European Commission has already brought forward the main legislative proposals to deliver on the EU’s commitment to reduce emissions in the European Union by at least 40% by 2030.
Friday’s approval will be forwarded to the European Parliament for its formal consent next week. Once Parliament has consented, the Council can formally adopt the Decision.
