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.
Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has disclosed that the N500 billion housing funding approved by the National Executive Council last week will stimulate economic activities and return the economy to the path of growth.
Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun. She believes the housing lifeline will stimulate economic activities and return the economy to the path of growth
Adeosun told journalists in her office in Abuja recently that a mass housing scheme that would make Nigerians become homeowners under a mortgage arrangement would commence in the next three to four weeks.
She said that, under the initiative known as the “Family Home Fund”, the sum of N500 billion had been earmarked to create mortgages for affordable houses for Nigerians, starting with the construction of 100,000 houses annually from next year.
According to her, the housing fund is expected to increase from N500 billion to N1 trillion to make it possible for the government, through the private sector, to deliver about 400,000 houses annually through mortgages.
The mortgage, according to her, would be created at a single digit interest rate of 9.99 per cent payable in 20 years, with homeowners making an initial deposit of 10 per cent. She said the low and middle-income earners would benefit more from the scheme as about 70 per cent of the houses would be given out for between N2.5 million and N4.5 million depending on the type.
Adeosun said, “We have done a lot of work around how we can bring down the cost. The tag is N2.5 million and it is a house you can move into. So, we are bringing down the cost.
“These are affordable houses for Nigerians; the scheme is going to be linked with the BVN. One house per person; so, you cannot buy the house and rent it to somebody else,” she added.
The 13 outstanding projects from across the globe are to be honoured in November at the UN Climate Conference in Marrakech, Morocco
Teresa Ribera, Chair of the Momentum for Change Advisory Panel. All 13 winning projects will be showcased at a series of special events during the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco.
Thirteen game-changing initiatives from around the world were announced on Thursday in Bonn, Germany as winners of the United Nations “Momentum for Change” climate change award.
The winning activities include:
A Google-led project that could catalyse the rooftop solar market for millions of people across the United States
An ingenious net that harvests fog from the air to provide drinking water for people on the edge of Morocco’s Sahara Desert
North America’s first revenue-neutral tax that puts a price on carbon pollution
A project that has established the first women-specific standard to measure and monetise women’s empowerment benefits of climate action
Other winners include the EU’s largest crowdfunding platform for community solar projects and a project in Malaysia initiated by Ericsson that uses sensors to provide near real-time information to restore dwindling mangrove plantations.
Further winners are a company that provides solar systems to homes and businesses in rural Tanzania through an innovative financial package and a Swedish city that became the first in the world to issue green bonds, enabling it to borrow money for investments that benefit the environment.
The Momentum for Change initiative is spearheaded by the UN Climate Change secretariat to shine a light on some of the most innovative, scalable and replicable examples of what people are doing to address climate change. Thursday’s announcement is part of wider efforts to mobilise action and ambition as national governments work toward implementing the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activities underline how climate action and sustainable development is building at all levels of society from country-wide initiatives to ones in communities, by companies and within cities world-wide,” UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said. “By showcasing these remarkable examples of creativity and transformational change, along with the extraordinary people behind them, we can inspire everyone to be an accelerator towards the kind of future we all want and need.”
Each of the 13 winning activities touches on one of Momentum for Change’s three focus areas: Women for Results, Financing for Climate Friendly Investment and ICT Solutions. All 13 will be showcased at a series of special events during the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco (7 November to 18 November 2016).
The 2016 Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activities are:
Women for Results
Rural Community Leaders Combatting Climate Change | India: This project has built a rural distribution network of 1,100 women entrepreneurs facilitating access to clean energy, water and sanitation products and services in several communities.
The W+ Standard | Nepal: This project established the first women-specific standard to measure and monetize women’s empowerment benefits of climate action.
Women’s Empowerment for Resilience and Adaptation Against Climate Change | Uganda: This activity has established women-led groups that pool their savings into a fund, from which they borrow and invest into climate friendly, income-generating activities.
Women-Led Fog Harvesting for a Resilient, Sustainable Ecosystem | Morocco: This project introduced a technological innovation inspired by ancient dew-collecting practices, providing accessible potable water to more than 400 people.
Financing for Climate Friendly Investment
Crowdfunding for Community Solar Projects | The Netherlands: The largest crowdfunding platform in the EU for community solar projects, offering solar companies a platform to source investments for their projects.
Gothenburg Green Bonds | Sweden: The Swedish city of Gothenburg was the world’s first city to issue a green bond to borrow money for investments that benefit the environment and the climate.
Off Grid Electric | Tanzania & U.S.A: This project provides accessible and affordable solar systems to homes and businesses connected to an expensive and unreliable grid, or to those who have no grid access at all.
Revenue-Neutral Carbon Tax | Canada: British Columbia is home to North America’s first revenue-neutral carbon tax, covering more than 70% of the province’s emissions. Every dollar generated by the carbon tax is returned to British Columbians in the form of personal and business tax measures, making it revenue-neutral.
ICT Solutions
Climate Right | Sweden: This project enables people in Uppsala to track their climate impact through their choice of food, mode of transport and way of living, encouraging them to live in a climate friendly way.
Connected Mangroves | Malaysia: Ericsson combines cloud, machine-to-machine and mobile broadband to help the local community in Selangor restore mangrove plantations.
Project Sunroof | USA: This project, introduced by Google, enables tens of millions of potential solar customers from across the U.S. to evaluate if their home is suitable for solar and how much they could save on electricity.
Mapping for Rights | Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Peru: This initiative of the Rainforest Foundation UK supports forest peoples to counter harmful extractive industry and advocate for legal reforms by equipping them with low-cost technologies to map and monitor their lands, and making this data available on an online platform.
SOLshare | Bangladesh: The world’s first ICT-enabled peer-to-peer electricity trading network for rural households with and without solar home systems.
The 2016 Lighthouse Activities were selected by an international advisory panel as part of the secretariat’s Momentum for Change initiative, which operates in partnership with the World Economic Forum Global Project on Climate Change and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative.
“The momentum for change we collectively reached in Paris has driven us to a new phase in the global climate change agenda – one focused on implementation, inspiration and scaling up of climate action globally. This is reflected in the 2016 Momentum for Change Lighthouse Activities, which serve to inspire similar action, ensure multiple approaches and the means to deliver on climate protection, environmental consciousness and social responsibility. With a record number of applications – more than 475 – this year, our Advisory Panel had a difficult time selecting the best of the best,” said Teresa Ribera, Chair of the Momentum for Change Advisory Panel.
Madagascar is offering interesting opportunities in renewable energies for foreign investors, as energy is said to be a top priority for the government. The strong political will to electrify the country through the use of renewable energy (RE) is demonstrated by prioritisation in the National Development Plan and by the country’s New Energy Policy, NPE (Nouvelle Politique de l’Energie) in 2015, the aim of which is to supply nearly three-quarters of the population with electricity by 2030, with a renewable energy component of 85%, and 20% in mini-grids.
A CPV system brings electricity to Madagascar villagers. Photo credit: newatlas.com
Currently, only 15% of Madagascar’s 24 million inhabitants have access to electricity, and only 6% in rural areas.
The island of Madagascar has great natural potential for renewable energy, such as solar, wind, biomass and, in particular, hydropower, much of which remains untapped. For example, only 2% of a 7,800 MW hydropower potential has been realised. The government seeks to realise this potential as far as possible through greater involvement of the private sector.
In 2015 there were tenders for 13 Hydro-IPPs of 609 MW, nine Hydro-BOTs of 18 MW and two Solar-BOTs of 60 kW. So far this year there have been bids for nine Solar, Wind and Hydro-BOTs of 15 MW. Currently in planning for this year are a further eight Solar-IPPs of 43 MW, 11 Hydro-BOTs of 9 MW and five Solar-IPPs of 20 MW, plus other regional IPP- and BOT tenders.
In September 2016, a delegation of five German companies from the renewable energy sector spent a week in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo to explore investment opportunities in the country’s electricity sector as part of the project “German Energy Solutions Initiative” commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi),
During the visit, a seminar on renewable energy based on the implementation of the New Energy Policy was jointly organised by the German Chamber of Commerce based in South Africa and the German International Development Agency (GIZ).
The seminar was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons (MEH), the national electricity provider JIRAMA, the Board of Electricity Regulation (ORE), the Rural Electrification Agency (ADER) and the Madagascar group of companies (GEM), as well as private operators in the energy sector.
GIZ – on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, (BMZ) – is supporting electrification in Madagascar through its PERER project, which supports the private sector in developing and implementing investment projects within the context of public-private partnerships with the Ministry and ADER, for example by evaluating offers and ensuring transparency in tender procedures.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has ranked Nigeria as the sixth deadliest country for outdoor air pollution.
The WHO says that, in one year, 46,750 persons died as a result of outdoor pollution in Nigeria
The UN agency, which in a recent analysis revealed that over a million people died from dirty air within one year, ranks Nigeria only below Ukraine, Pakistan, Russia, India and China. It discloses that, in one year, 46,750 persons died as a result of polluted air Nigeria.
Now, the health organisation has broken down that figure to a country-by-country level, revealing that, of the worst three nations, 1,032,833 people died from dirty air in China in 2012, 621,138 in India and 140,851 in Russia.
Additionally, while 59,241 died in Pakistan, Ukraine lost 54,507 lives. Nigeria is closely followed by Egypt and Bangladesh, which recorded 43,531 and 37,449 deaths respectively.
In Europe, the UK ranks worse than France, with 16,355 deaths in 2012 versus 10,954, but not as poorly as Germany at 26,160, which has more industry and 16 million more people.
Maria Neria, director of the WHO’s public health and the environment department, said: “Countries are confronted with the reality of better data. Now we have the figures of how many citizens are dying from air pollution. What we are learning is, this is very bad. Now there are no excuses for not taking action.”
Gavin Shaddick, who led the international team that put together the data, stated: “Globally, air pollution presents a major risk to public health and a substantial number of lives could be saved if levels of air pollution were reduced.”
Sixteen scientists from eight international institutions worked with WHO on the analysis, which gathered data from 3,000 locations, using pollution monitors on the ground, modelling and satellite readings.
They looked at exposure to tiny particulates 2.5 microns in size, known as PM2.5s, which penetrate the lungs and are the air pollutant most strongly associated with an increased risk of death. “The real driver of ill health is ultra-fine particles, 2.5s – they have the ability to permeate the membrane of the lungs and enter our blood system,” said Shaddick, who is based at the University of Bath. “Increasingly there is an understanding that there are not just respiratory diseases but cardiovascular ones associated with PM2.5s.”
Globally, 92% of the population breathes air that breaches WHO limits but the world map of deaths caused by PM2.5s changes when looked at per capita. When ranked by the number of deaths for every 100,000 people, Ukraine jumps to the top of the list at 120.
It is followed by eastern European and former Soviet states, and Russia itself, probably due to a legacy of heavy industry in the region. China drops down to 10th, at 76 per 100,000, and India falls to 27th, with 49 per 100,000.
The critical contributions made by airports to the sustainable socio-economic development of urban areas are to be enhanced through a new agreement made by the United Nations via two of its organisations: International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
At the ICAO World Aviation Forum, ICAO’s Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu and UN-Habitat’s Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira initialled a Memorandum of Understanding that will make important contributions to States’ pursuit of the UN’s Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. The initiative has picked five airports located in four different African cities under a pilot project
Initialled on Wednesday in Montreal, Canada at the ICAO’s World Aviation Forum by ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu and UN-Habitat’s Dr. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira, the Memorandum of Understanding between the two United Nations bodies, it was gathered will make important contributions to States’ pursuit of the UN’s Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
“Well-managed, ICAO-compliant airports are crucial to global socio-economic development, providing essential links between the world’s markets and peoples,” ICAO Secretary General Liu remarked. “Supported by the transport corridors that link them, airport and urban development go hand-in-hand, and this partnership with UN-Habitat will help bring renewed focus to the role of modernised aviation infrastructure in ensuring the efficient movement of people and goods.”
ICAO and UN-Habitat have kicked-off their collaboration with a joint pilot project involving five airports located in four different African cities – Addis Ababa, Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Nairobi. Their goal is to foster increased cooperation between civil aviation, land, planning and urban development authorities, as well as international organisations, airlines and aircraft manufacturers.
The projected outcome will be new global guidelines for enhancing sustainable development synergies between airports and urban areas.
The ICAO and UN-Habitat agreement will be formally signed at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat-III), which will take place between 17- 20 October in Quito, Ecuador.
Habitat-III will also be the occasion of the presentation of the outcomes of the pilot project.
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LGX) on Tuesday introduced the world’s first exchange that will trade nothing but green securities. The exchange intends to act as a gatekeeper for green bonds and other environmentally-focused financial instruments to help reduce ambiguity in the market.
It will oblige its issuers to provide “a full set of documentation that is readily available with pre- and post-reporting,” meaning that companies will have to disclose details about their project initially and also after it is complete, Chief Executive Officer Robert Scharfe, said.
“Investors are growing very sceptical about whether green really means green,” Scharfe said. “So we felt that we needed to create an environment where it is clear.”
The green bond market is predicted to reach almost $72 billion this year, up from $48 billion in 2015. It is largely unregulated. Issuers can choose to follow voluntary guidelines such as the Green Bond Principles or the Climate Bond Initiative, but there are no mandatory rules except in China.
There have been some instances of funds raised from climate-friendly debt going to controversial projects. The City of London has pre-emptively assembled a team of lawyers to deal with such cases.
In spite of this, many institutional investors want to shift funds into climate-friendly investments, particularly after the success of the COP21 agreement in Paris last year. The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change has 120 members with 13 trillion euros ($14.6 trillion) in assets. The organisation tries to identify opportunities and manage risks associated with global warming.
The LGX is seeking to be more than just a green bond exchange. Scharfe envisions environmentally-focused exchange-traded funds and dedicated sustainability funds listing. He also expects green structured products to come to market.
The exchange will not set rules for what makes up a green security. It plans to have instruments with “different shades of green” and allow investors to choose what matches their internal policies, based on the mandatory level of disclosure for issuers. It will also let companies pick how they report this information.
“There will not be a standardised reporting method because there are no standards in the market yet,” Scharfe said. “We decided that rather than determining that reporting needs to be done under a certain form, we are obliging issuers to provide the full set of documentation.”
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange has been working with green bonds since the very beginning. The European Investment Bank issued the first in 2007 and listed it on the exchange. It has the largest number of international green bonds trading in the world, valued at about $45 billion.
