As more countries joined the Paris Agreement, paving way for its full implementation, the global accord designed to address climate change challenges will officially enter into force on Friday, 4 November, the United Nations announced on Wednesday.

Widespread optimism has trailed this disclosure, with stakeholders – diplomats, civil society and business – saying that, even though its celebration time for now, the real work has only just begun.

The Agreement provides that it shall enter into force 30 days after 55 countries, representing 55 percent of global emissions, have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or accession with the Secretary-General. As at Wednesday, 73 countries and the European Union have joined the Agreement, exceeding the 55 percent threshold for emissions.

The requirements for entry into force were satisfied on Wednesday when Austria, Bolivia, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Nepal, Portugal and Slovakia, as well as the European Union, deposited their instruments of ratification with the Secretary-General.

These countries were the latest to join the Agreement this week, following New Zealand and India, and the 31 countries which joined at a special event at the UN on 21 September during the General Assembly high-level week. In early September, the world’s two largest emitters, China and the United States, joined the Agreement, providing the impetus for other countries to quickly complete their domestic ratification or approval processes.

The Agreement will now enter into force in time for the Marrakech Climate Conference (COP 22) in Morocco on 6 November, where countries will convene the first Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement.Countries that have not yet joined may participate as observers., according to the UN.

“This is a momentous occasion,” says UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the latest instruments of ratification were accepted in deposit. “What once seemed unthinkable, is now unstoppable. Strong international support for the Paris Agreement entering into force is a testament to the urgency for action, and reflects the consensus of governments that robust global cooperation, grounded in national action, is essential to meet the climate challenge.”

But he cautions that the work of implementing the agreement still lay ahead. “Now we must move from words to deeds and put Paris into action. We need all hands on deck – every part of society must be mobilised to reduce emissions and help communities adapt to inevitable climate impacts.”

Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), says: “Above all, entry into force bodes well for the urgent, accelerated implementation of climate action that is now needed to realise a better, more secure world and to support also the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

She adds: “It also brings a renewed urgency to the many issues governments are advancing to ensure full implementation of the Agreement. This includes development of a rule book to operationalise the agreement and how international cooperation and much bigger flows of finance can speed up and scale up national climate action plans.

“The speed at which countries have made the Paris’s Agreement’s entry into force possible is unprecedented in recent experience of international agreements and is a powerful confirmation of the importance nations attach to combating climate change and realizing the multitude of opportunities inherent in the Paris Agreement.

“Climate action by countries, companies, investors and cities, regions, territories and states has continued unabated since Paris and the full implementation of the agreement will ensure that this collective effort will continue to double and redouble until a sustainable future is secured.”

350.org Executive Director, May Boeve, reacts: “The entry of the Paris climate agreement represents a turning point in the fight against climate change: the era of fossil fuels is finally coming to an end. Now the real work begins. The only way to meet the 1.5 or 2°C target is to keep fossil fuels in the ground. The fossil fuel industry’s current ‘drill and burn’ business plan is completely incompatible with this agreement. Investors and governments have a responsibility to both divest from climate destruction and accelerate the just transition to an 100% renewable energy economy.

“Here in the United States, the first test of President Obama’s commitment to this agreement will be his administration’s decision on the Dakota Access Pipeline. He rejected the Keystone XL pipeline because it was bad for the climate, Dakota Access is exactly the same. You can’t be a climate leader if you’re not keeping fossil fuels in the ground.”

Wael Hmaidan, International Director, Climate Action Network: “The unprecedented speed at which countries have come together to move this Agreement forward, in less than a year since it was negotiated, is commensurate with the urgency that we need to tackle the pace and scale at which climate change is damaging our economies, threatening livelihoods and destroying the planet. Galvanising action to implement the Paris Agreement must now begin in earnest by leaving the era of fossil fuels behind us and embracing a 100% renewable energy future.”

Wendel Trio, Director at Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe: “This early entry force of the Paris Agreement is a huge step forward in the fight against climate change. All eyes now turn to Marrakesh where the EU can prove that its fast-track ratification was not just an act of political grandstanding, but a testimony to support the need to urgently scale up climate action in all countries and across all sectors. To show the world that it’s serious about reaching the objectives of the Paris Agreement, the EU must bring to COP22 in Marrakesh a concrete plan for how to scale up action before 2020 as well as a plan for how they will review its inadequate 2030 target by 2018 the latest.”

Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director, Greenpeace International: “The unprecedented speed of the entry into force of the Paris Agreement demonstrates that Paris was not a one-off deal, but rather a long-term commitment to climate action. It also demonstrates the urgency of the matter. Now that a truly global binding climate agreement is in place, governments should have the confidence to not only meet but also beat their national targets and provide support to the poorest countries. This means a managed decrease in fossil fuel dependency and increasing investment in renewable solutions. The opportunities for communities for a clean and just future that Paris signals are tremendous.”

Mohamed Adow, Senior Climate Advisor, Christian Aid: “The speed at which the Paris Agreement has come into force has been remarkable. But we now need to see tangible actions to follow just as quickly. As Hurricane Matthew leaves destruction across Caribbean we’re reminded that our climate continues to undergo rapid change and we are continuing to pollute it.

“The Paris Agreement was like a breakthrough at a rehab centre. World leaders admitted for the first time they had a fossil fuel addiction problem and would clean up their act. The question now is will they stick to this new path or will they fail at the first difficult decision. Like a junkie coming off drugs they need to actually wean themselves off the damaging substance. Their attitude to their Paris Agreement promises will be tested in the coming few days. It’s imperative that they agree an ambitious global phase down of climate warming HFCs in Rwanda next week.”

Alden Meyer, Director of Strategy and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists: “The fact that the Paris Agreement is taking effect much earlier than anticipated shows that leaders understand the need for collective action to confront the growing climate threat. Last month’s joint announcement by the U.S. and China that they had joined the agreement clearly spurred other countries to speed up their domestic processes, ensuring that the first meeting of parties to the Paris Agreement will take place next month in Marrakech. While this milestone is certainly cause for celebration – perhaps with a glass or two of French Champagne—much hard work lies ahead. Countries must now move aggressively to implement and strengthen their emissions reduction commitments under the agreement if we are to have any chance of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.”

Srinivas Krishnaswamy, CEO, Vasudha Foundation, India: “It is great to see countries rallying behind each other to ratify the Paris Agreement, resulting in perhaps the fastest every multilateral agreement to come into force. I do hope that this speed of action continues in the implementation of the Paris Agreement too, particularly urgent and comprehensive actions to drastically cut GHG emissions and countries cooperate and work together to collectively keep temperature rise to under 1.5 C degrees.”

Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever and Chairman of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development: “The entry into force of the Paris Agreement just ten months after COP21 is a defining moment for the global economy. It sends an unmistakable signal to business and investors that the global transition to a low-carbon economy is urgent, inevitable, and accelerating faster than we ever believed possible.”

Peter Bakker, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development: “There is the world before Paris and the world after Paris. We are entering an era of system transformation. Business is already playing a leadership role through global collaboration and low carbon partnership initiatives to drive innovation and structural change. We now need to scale up and speed up the implementation of the Paris Agreement through more ambitious NDCs supported by leveraged financial resources.”

Richard Lancaster, CEO of CLP: “Successful ratification of the Paris Agreement demonstrates clearly the political will of the signatories. Now businesses are enabled to work together with governments and communities to shape the policies and take the actions necessary to transition to a low carbon future.”

Neil McArthur, CEO of Arcadis: “This milestone agreement is an important step in ensuring we can maintain quality of life on our planet for future generations. Arcadis is eager to collaborate with its clients across the public and private sectors to support them in achieving the targets set out in this agreement. We can bring the detailed business and technological insights and innovative prowess to make it real.”

Steve Howard, Chief Sustainability Officer of IKEA Group: “The Paris agreement represents a turning point for business. The certainty of ever stronger policies to reduce emissions creates clarity and unlocks opportunities for developing products, services and operations for a low-carbon economy. We are only at the beginning, but the pace at which countries have been ratifying the agreement shows that the policy leadership is there to achieve real change. Now we need to work together for a rapid transition to a future built on clean, renewable energy.”

Keith Tuffley, CEO and Managing Partner of The B Team: “The Earth’s ecosystems don’t have time for politics — only science. Today, the nations of the world said they agree. With surprising speed, they have ensured that the Paris Agreement will enter into force this year. It’s an historic moment — but our work must now accelerate. Now is the time for businesses to seize the economic opportunity before them, and shift rapidly toward zero greenhouse-gas emissions to create a sustainable, clean energy economy. And to do so in a just manner that respects human rights, creates millions of new jobs, lifts millions out of poverty and reduces inequality in all its forms.”

Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP on behalf of the Science Based Targets initiative: “This is a historic moment which confirms the momentum and appetite in the business community and beyond to rise to the challenge of climate change. More and more companies are setting emission reduction targets in line with what the science says is necessary to keep global warming below 2 degrees. They are the leaders of tomorrow’s zero-carbon economy.”

Damian Ryan, Acting CEO of The Climate Group: “Much like the adoption of the Paris Agreement itself in December last year, the entry into force of the treaty today is a truly historic moment. Few international agreements have entered into force at such speed and arguably none have been so important to our common future as the Paris Agreement. The decision by many world leaders to act quickly and boldly over the past 10 months is to be applauded. Thanks should also go to the business leaders and politicians in state and regional governments whose actions and policies, such as committing to 100% renewable power, have helped create the momentum and political belief that a better, safer and more prosperous world can be created through bold climate action.”

Jill Duggan, Director of The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group (CLG): “The unprecedented speed which is driving an early entry into force of the Paris Agreement shows the huge significance of the climate challenge for governments worldwide, in spite of the political turmoil emerging across many economies.

“By fast tracking its ratification of the Agreement, the EU has been pivotal to this great momentum, taking its rightful position at the forefront of climate action.

“The significance of the Paris Agreement and its universal impact cannot be underestimated. The transition to a zero carbon economy is inevitable. Now is the time for companies to start preparing for a zero carbon future.”

Aron Cramer, President and CEO of BSR: “We are delighted that this crucially important milestone is here, earlier than expected, and not a moment too soon. The Paris Agreement is more than a multilateral climate deal. It is a stimulus package for the global economy. Paris will move more than $13 trillion to support a clean energy future creating sustainable livelihoods and new market opportunities. We celebrate the courage of governments as they commit to protecting our common home while driving equitable access to sustainable development. We acknowledge the thousands of companies and investors who are responding to new policy incentives by being bold in their own climate commitments. Over the coming years they will reduce emissions, enhance resilience, and mobilize the finance that will bring Paris to life. Working together — governments and business — will turn the promise of Paris into real inclusive and sustainable economies.”

Nigel Topping, CEO of We Mean Business: “The Paris Agreement could go down in history as the most impactful multilateral treaty of all time. By acting with unprecedented speed to bring the agreement into force, the world’s governments have given global business a powerful signal to drive investment, innovation and growth in the zero carbon economy. And this signal will only get stronger over the next four years as countries take note of technology trends and corporate action in revising their national plans as required by the agreement.”

Climate Reality: “It’s time for our leaders to stop talking about climate change and start working together to solve it. Because now a bright, sustainable future for our planet is finally in sight – and its time to make it a reality. It’s time for our leaders to honor – and strengthen – their commitments to climate action.”

The Police Command in Kaduna State on Tuesday confirmed the kidnap of the immediate past Minister of Environment, Laurentia Mallam, and her husband, Pius.

The Command’s spokesman, ASP Aliyu Usman, told newsmen in Kaduna that the two were abducted along Bwari/Jere axis on Kaduna-Abuja highway on Monday evening.

Usman said the abductors took away the former minister and her husband, but spared their driver unharmed.
He assured that the Police was tracking down the perpetrators and would ensure the release of the victims unharmed.

Sources indicated that the abductors had reached out to the minister’s family demanding for ransom.

The command’s spokesman, however, said the police was not aware of any demand by the abductors.

Usman said: “All what we are doing is to see that the victims are freed from captivity and returned to their home unhurt.”

The Federal Government is demanding $406.75 million from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and its subsidiary, Shell Western Supply and Trading Limited, over alleged crude oil theft.

The amount, according to court documents presented in Lagos on Tuesday, represents the shortfall of the money the multinational oil firm paid into the Federal Government’s account with the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The money was said to be for crude oil lifted in 2013 and 2014.

Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, the counsel to the Federal Government, had accused the Anglo-Dutch company of not declaring or under-declaring crude oil shipments during the period, following forensic analysis of bills of laden and shipping documents.

Ajogwu, armed with sworn affidavits of three US-based professionals, claimed that Shell cheated Nigeria of the revenue.

The professionals included Prof. David Olowokere, a US citizen and lead Analyst at Loumos Group LLC, a technology and oil and gas auditing firm.

The others are Jerome Stanley, a Counsel at Henchy &Hackenberg law firm and head of the legal team engaged by Loumo Group LLC, and Michael Kanko, founder and current Chief Executive Officer of Trade Data services Company.

According to the documents, the consortium of experts tracked the global movements of the country’s hydro-carbons, including crude oil and gas.

They identified the companies engaged in the practices that led to missing revenues from crude oil and gas export sales to different parts of the world.

They also revealed discrepancies in the export records from Nigeria with the import records at US ports.
The undeclared shipments between January 2013 and December 2014 brought the total value of the entire shortfall to $406.75 million, according to the documents.

The defendants were said to have failed to respond to a Federal Government letter through its legal representative, seeking clarification to the discrepancies.

The Federal Government is, therefore, seeking a court order to compel the two companies to pay $406.75 million, being the total value of the missing revenue and interest payment at 21 per cent per annum.

In addition, the government is also asking Shell to pay general exemplary damages in the sum of $406.75 million and the cost of instituting the legal action.

However, the Presiding Judge, Mojisola Olatoregun Isola, has adjourned the matter to October 20 for the mention of the case.

Meanwhile, the Federal government has also sued Chevron, Total and Agip, asking for a total of $12.7 billion over alleged non-declaration of 57 million barrels of crude shipped to the US between 2011 and 2014.

They are among 15 oil majors targeted by the government for the recovery of $17 billion in deprived revenue.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has recommended the rebuilding of tremor affected houses in Kwoi, Kaduna State, pending the outcome of assessment reports by the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency.

Musa Illalah, the NEMA North-west Zonal Coordinator, made this known in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

Illalah said there was an urgent need for the over 300 houses affected to be rebuilt pending the outcome of the assessment report.

According to him, the report from the agency would enable them take action on whether or not to relocate the victims from the area.

Illalah said: “We, in collaboration with other stakeholders like the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency, the local government officials, and traditional rulers in Jaba local Government, undertook an assessment of the affected areas. We wrote our report and recommendations to the Federal Government for urgent intervention to the victims, whom we recommended the provision of building materials. Ours is to keep close touch with the Geological Service Agency and when they share the report with us we will know what role to play.

“It is not the responsibility of NEMA to say the people should be relocated, that is why the geological agency is on ground and we are working in close collaboration. Unless that recommendation is made, I don’t know whether we can say it is safe or not for people to live there.”

The coordinator said NEMA would do everything necessary to avoid further disaster and any loss of lives in the area in line with its Risk Reduction goal.

The African forestry is severely endangered.

This is a consensus shared by many forestry experts, policy makers and concerned stakeholders in the field across the continent.

They believe that there is need to understand the issues plaguing the forests as well as exchange knowledge and experiences with themselves on ways to stop the loss of further forest areas and how to restore the losses.

This was the major aim at this year’s regional workshop organised by the African Forest Forum (AFF), in collaboration with the University of Lome, Togo. The workshop which, lasted for five days in the coastal Togolese capital city, saw an array of professionals presenting their findings and recommendations on the state of the different aspects of African forestry.

“This workshop was organised with the primary intention of sharing information on the results of our work in the past two to three years with the wider public in Africa. We intend to see how we can move forward with some of the issues that came from this work and that is why we have assembled people from different sectors, not only forestry but even the media to highlight the issues we think are of crucial relevance to the continent,” said Godwin Kowero, Executive Secretary of the AFF.

The AFF is a network of experts committed to the sustainable management, use and conservation of the forest and tree resources of Africa.

Forests play a great role in gathering and releasing water for the maintenance of the habitats of flora and fauna. Forests reduce the effects of flooding, dry land salinity and desertification.

Recognising the role trees play in our ecosystem and to our existence cannot be overstressed, says Aster Gebrekirtos, a dendrologist at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. He believes the importance of preserving the forests is a matter of grave concern.

“Trees matter because they are a source of food, water, nutrition, fuel and much more. Our earth would be inhabitant without trees as they cool the environment. Without trees, we would not survive so it is important to plant and to conserve what we have,” she adds.

Records show that 1.6 billion people depend on forests for livelihoods, medicine, fuel and food. Forests also cover one-third of the earth’s land mass, contributing significantly to reducing soil erosion and the risks of landslides, avalanches and other natural disasters.

According to Gebrekirtos, the reason forestry appears to be a neglected field is because people have failed to see the other advantages of forests aside logging and as a carbon sink.

With better awareness, private sector engagement and more favourable policies aimed at regulating the way trees are felled for fuel, food and shelter, she believes, a lot of improvement can be recorded.

Joshua Cheboiwo, Coordinator for the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), who presented a study on the state and potential of public private partnership in the sector from East Africa, agrees as he points out that the “forest sector is emerging as an attractive investment destination in the region and has attracted many players. The private sector will increasingly play greater role in both primary and secondary production.”

He, however, notes that the key actors in the forestry sector are segregated and need to be organised into efficient production units.

As to the danger facing the African forest, Francis Bisong, a professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science in the University of Calabar in Cross River State, attributes it to the growing population and cultural norms that encourage large families.

“The African forest is seriously endangered because of the human impacts like the population growth and meeting the needs of an expanding population for food, housing, transportation, energy supply and more. All this will be, if not properly managed, at the expense of forest land. Agriculture is done at the expense of forest land and so is development,” says te Nigerian.

In his opinion, the role sustainable development plays in protecting the forest as well as meeting the development needs of people is critical as Africa remains “the fastest growing region in the world with a significantly high birth rate.”

His words: “Cultural norms are such that large families are highly encouraged and this increases dependency on the natural forest for survival. There is therefore a need for proper planning that demands sustainability.”

Another aspect of sustainable forest management that was raised centred on the need for better tree quality which Marie-Louise Avana Tientcheu, an expert in tree germplasm from West Africa, believes will improve the quality of forest products/services and their resistance to pest and diseases which could benefit future generations.

Although pests and diseases have historically militated against the realisation of optimal yields in forestry, Harrison Kojwang, who studies the state of pest and diseases in southern Africa, believes that concerted efforts on pests and disease control and management with regards to control of movement and surveillance of plants as well as better training of forest managers can reduce or wipe out the effects.

He states that the economic and ecological costs of pests and diseases can be huge, and their recent and continuing spread need urgent and concerted regional efforts.

It also pays to consider the major role trees play in reducing the amount of greenhouse gases at a time when the whole world is talking about how to mitigate the effects of climate change, he stresses.

With climate change prediction models clearly revealing that Africa will suffer the most negative impacts of the phenomenon, it is imperative to deal seriously with the declining forests, he further notes.

While most African countries are party to the International Environmental Agreements in the UN-systems like the REDD +, AR-CDM, AFOLU and other global initiatives set up to maximise the forest’s role in addressing climate change, they rarely fully utilise these mechanisms for their socio-economic and environmental benefit.

In a presentation, Fredrick Mulenga points out that African countries need to implement forest-based mitigation mechanisms using more domestic budget financing than depending on pledges and foreign donors, which has been the case in many African countries.

According to him, countries facing the challenges of implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation could learn from successful fellow African countries and elsewhere.

Without a doubt, forests and trees must be in good condition and managed sustainably to effectively support peoples’ livelihoods, national economies and the environment. It is also clear that there is very little time left to act which is why AFF hope the different findings from the different regions across the continent shared at the workshop could help intensify action for sustainable forest management among the different stakeholders.

By Bunmi Obanawu, EcoNigeria

The Central and West Africa Programme of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN-PACO) workshop for media and communication experts on Sustainable Land and Water Management (SLWM) practices kicked-off on Monday in Lome, Togo with participants from 12 countries of the of the Building Resilience through Innovation, Communication and Knowledge Services (BRICKS) Sahel and West Africa Programme advocating for a more robust collaboration.

The participants also called for support and a network to enable progress through knowledge management on best practices in communication and its tools across the West Africa and the Sahel region.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Ms. Bora Masumbimko of the IUCN described the regional capacity building workshop of media men and women, and notably the new generation of professionals, on the theme of land and water management, as being “in line with the implementation of the BRICKS project.” The workshop, she adds, will allow the involvement of media men and women in the efforts towards fighting against land and water degradation and more specifically promoting successful conservation approaches through their wider dissemination.

The Togolese Minister of Environment and Forest Resources, represented by Mr. Djutonou Folly, the Forestry Director in the Ministry, welcomed the participants and acknowledged that media men and women, who constitute major relays in communication mechanisms, are sometimes the only source of not only information, but also education for many people.

“It is therefore crucial to make sure that they are trained, informed and sensitised on natural resource conservation in general and SLWM in particular, so that they can fully play their role,” he states.

Organised in collaboration with the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the Sahel Observatory (OSS) and the World Bank, the workshop is part of the implementation the BRICKS project to support the Great Green Wall Initiative for the Sahara and Sahel (GGWISS), a project aimed at planting a wall of trees across Africa at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert as a means to prevent desertification.

The five-day workshop, which has “Sustainable land and water management in SAWAP countries: Issues, challenges and local strategies” as its theme will, according to the organisers, allow the involvement of the media practitioners in the efforts towards fighting land and water degradation and more specifically promoting successful conservation approaches through their wider dissemination.

The workshop is also expected to outline IEC tools that will function well at the grassroots level (local level), while also providing correct and documented information on the causes, consequences, eco-citizen behaviors to be adopted in order to prevent land and water degradation and specifically promote existing conservation approaches.

The Lome forum will likewise provide an opportunity for producing a video on the “Ambassadors” of the Integrated Disaster and Land Management Project (IDLMP) for the Frogleaps site.

The BRICKS project is a six-year regional knowledge and monitoring hub for a $1.1 billion regional programme of 12 World Bank financed country operations plus related partner-supported activities that together contribute to the region’s and clients’ GGWISS priorities. BRICKS is implemented by three regional organisations recognised as centres of excellence: the CILSS, OSS and IUCN-PACO.

These organisations facilitate technical knowledge exchanges and monitoring services among the 12-country investment operations in the broader World Bank/GEF Sahel and West Africa Programme (SAWAP). Each organisation is responsible for implementing discrete activities related to resilient and carbon-smart natural resources management in the Sahel and West Africa region, focusing on biodiversity, crop, range, forest, water resources, and disaster risk management in arid, sub-humid and humid landscapes.

BRICKS was approved by the World Bank Board on September 4, 2013 and the Grant Agreements were signed at a ceremony with the leadership of the respective three Implementing Agencies (CILSS, OSS, and IUCN) on October 15, 2013 in Washington DC. The Project was declared effective on November 26, 2013.

The 12 countries are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Togo.