25.3 C
Lagos
Monday, July 7, 2025
Home Blog Page 1968

How sustainable business can unlock $12tr

0

A new report on Sustainable Business shows that the next decade is critical for companies to open 60 key market “hot spots,” tackle social, environmental challenges, and re-build trust with society

Sustainable business
Mark Malloch-Brown, chair of the Business & Sustainable Development Commission

More than 35 CEOs and civil society leaders of the Business & Sustainable Development Commission (the Commission) on Monday, 16 January 2017 in London, UK revealed that sustainable business models could open economic opportunities worth at least $12 trillion and up to 380 million jobs a year by 2030.

The Business and Sustainable Development Commission was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Putting the Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, at the heart of the world’s economic strategy could unleash a step-change in growth and productivity, with an investment boom in sustainable infrastructure as a critical driver. However, this will not happen without radical change in the business and investment community. Real leadership is needed for the private sector to become a trusted partner in working with government and civil society to fix the economy.

In its flagship report Better Business, Better World, the Commission recognises that while the last few decades have lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, they have also led to unequal growth, increasing job insecurity, ever more debt and ever greater environmental risks. This mix has fueled an anti-globalisation reaction in many countries, with business and financial interests seen as central to the problem, and is undermining the long-term economic growth that the world needs. The Commission has spent the last year exploring a central question, “What will it take for business to be central to building a sustainable market economy – one that can help to deliver the Global Goals?” Better Business, Better World – the release of which is timed with the World Economist Forum in Davos and the U.S. presidential inauguration – shows how.

“This report is a call to action to business leaders. We are on the edge and business as usual will drive more political opposition and land us with an economy that simply doesn’t work for enough people. We have to switch tracks to a business model that works for a new kind of inclusive growth,” said Mark Malloch-Brown, chair of the Business & Sustainable Development Commission. “Better Business, Better World shows there is a compelling incentive for why the latter isn’t just good for the environment and society; it makes good business sense.”

At the heart of the Commission’s argument are the Sustainable Development Goals (or Global Goals) – 17 objectives to eliminate poverty, improve education and health outcomes, create better jobs and tackle our key environmental challenges by 2030. The Commission believes the Global Goals provide the private sector with a new growth strategy that opens valuable market opportunities while creating a world that is both sustainable and inclusive. And the potential rewards for doing so are significant.

The report reveals 60 sustainable and inclusive market “hotspots” in just four key economic areas could create at least $12 trillion, worth over 10% of today’s GDP. The breakdown of the four areas and their potential values are: Energy $4.3 trillion; Cities: $3.7 trillion; Food & Agriculture $2.3 trillion; Health & Well-being $1.8 trillion.

“Global Goals hot spots” identified in the report have the potential to grow two to three times faster than average GDP over the next 10-15 years. Beyond the $12 trillion directly estimated, conservative analysis shows potential for an additional $8 trillion of value creation across the wider economy if companies embed the Global Goals in their strategies. The report also shows that factoring in the cost of externalities (negative impacts from business activities such as carbon emissions or pollution) increases the overall value of opportunities by almost 40%.

“At a time when our economic model is pushing the limits of our planetary boundaries and condemning many to a future without hope, the Sustainable Development Goals offer us a way out,” said Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, and a commissioner. “Many are now realising the enormous opportunities that exist for enlightened businesses willing to stand up and address these urgent challenges. But every day that passes is another lost opportunity for action. We must react quickly, decisively and collectively to ensure a fairer and more prosperous world for all.”

While the opportunities are compelling, the Business Commission makes it clear that two critical conditions must be met to build these new markets. First, innovative financing from both private and public sources will be needed to unlock the $2.4 trillion required annually to achieve the Global Goals.

“As stewards of long-term capital, the investment industry and its clients can support the achievement of the SDGs by creating simple, standardised sustainability metrics integral to the investment process,” said Hendrik du Toit, CEO, Investec Asset Management, and member of the Commission. “We also need new streamlined partnerships with governments and communities that can reduce risks for everyone and bring more private investment at lower cost into sustainable infrastructure development.”

At the same time, the Commission believes a “new social contract” between business, government and society is essential to defining the role of business in a new, fairer economy. The recently released 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer reinforces this idea. It shows that while CEO credibility is sharply down, 75% of general population respondents agree that “a company can take specific actions that both increase profits and improve the economic and social conditions in the community where it operates.” And they can do so in ways that align with recommendations and actions outlined in Better Business, Better World: rebuilding trust by creating decent jobs, rewarding workers fairly, investing in the local community and paying a fair share of taxes.

“The promise of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement is a zero-carbon, zero-poverty world,” said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation, and commissioner. “To achieve these Global Goals, we need to rebuild trust. A new social contract for business where people, their environment and economic development are rebalanced can ensure that everybody’s sons and daughters are respected with freedom of association, minimum living wages, collective bargaining and safe work assured. Only a new business model based on old principles of human rights and social justice will support a sustainable future.”

Throughout 2017, the Commission will focus on working with companies to strengthen corporate alignment with the Global Goals, including: mentoring the next generation of sustainable development leaders; creating sectorial roadmaps and league tables that rank corporate performance against the Global Goals; and supporting measures to unlock blended finance for sustainable infrastructure investment. “We need to show these ideas work not just in a report but on the business frontline,” said Dr. Amy Jadesimi, CEO of LADOL, a Nigerian logistics and infrastructure development company, and a member of the Commission.

“The Global Goals provide a sustainable, profitable growth model for business, and have the potential to trigger a new competitive ‘race to the top,’” said Jeremy Oppenheim, Programme Director of the Commission. “The faster CEOs and boards make the Global Goals their business goals, the better off the world and their companies will be.”

Courtesy: ValueWalk

Online tool explores climate action plans similarities

0

The German Development Institute (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik, DIE) and its partners are making the national climate action plans submitted under the Paris Climate Change Agreement more comparable with the help of an interactive tool on climate action and policy, the so-called “NDC Explorer“.

UNFCCC
Claudio Forner of the UNFCCC secretariat

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), every member state has agreed to formulate its concrete national contribution to address climate change, the so-called (I)NDCs, which stand for “(Intended) Nationally Determined Contributions”.

“The (I)NDCs are a cornerstone for implementing the Paris Climate Change Agreement”, says Pieter Pauw who led the development of the NDC Explorer at DIE. “But apart from countries’ general mitigation targets, the content of (intended) Nationally Determined Contributions has long been unclear.”

Claudio Forner of the UNFCCC secretariat said: “Understanding NDCs and navigating the information that is communicated in NDCs is critical for their implementation and will help to enhance the ambition of global efforts over time.”

Together with partners from the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), in cooperation with the UNFCCC secretariat, and supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), DIE analysed all aspects of the 163 submitted (I)NDCs. This data is now accessible in the new NDC Explorer to enable researchers, policy makers, development agencies and civil society organisations to explore and compare all submitted national climate action plans.

“The NDC Explorer contributes to the goal of the NDC Partnership to provide open-access knowledge tools that support the global efforts for effective and ambitious NDC implementation”, Ingrid-Gabriela Hoven, Director General Global issues – sector policies and programmes at the BMZ, said. Christoph Bals, Policy Director at Germanwatch, added:  “(It) makes our job easier of holding governments to account, so they implement and improve their NDCs.”

The online tool can be accessed here, as well as further information on the DIE website.

The new NDC Explorer can:

  • Explore an analysis of all (I)NDCs on 60 different categories like mitigation, adaption and finance
  • Visualise the data on an interactive world map
  • Visualise the data in interactive bar graphs
  • Compare (I)NDCs by region and by income
  • Compare full country profiles of up to three countries
  • Share what you see in social media or via email.

Download customised world maps and bar graphs for presentations and publications.

Paris Agreement: New initiative to reform carbon pricing unveiled

0

The world’s first industry-led initiative aimed at defining the carbon prices needed for the power sector to meet the Paris Agreement was launched on Monday, 16 January 2017 on the eve of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.

carbon pricing
Chief executive officer of CDP, Paul Simpson. Industry experts will, over the next two years, shape realistic prognoses of the range of investment-grade carbon prices needed to decarbonise electricity generation through 2020, 2025 and 2030

The global environmental non-profit CDP, on behalf of the We Mean Business coalition, is convening a panel of utilities and investment leaders from across the G20 under the Carbon Pricing Corridors initiative.

The industry experts will, over the next two years, shape realistic prognoses of the range of investment-grade carbon prices needed to decarbonise electricity generation through 2020, 2025 and 2030. During the course of 2017 the initiative will expand its scope beyond the power sector to include other high-emitting sectors.

The power sector must peak its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, and subsequently bring these emissions down to zero by 2050 in most G20 countries if we are to limit global temperature rises to below 2°C.

“Carbon pricing is too important to leave in the realm of economic debate,” says CDP’s chief executive officer Paul Simpson. “This is why CDP, on behalf of We Mean Business, is bringing industry leaders – the people who make the decisions day in and day out that shape our power sector – to the table to help embed carbon pricing in our real economy. Their work will give investors, companies and policymakers the clear, credible price signals that are needed to make large enough investments in clean energy and drive the required emissions reductions.”

This initiative comes at a critical moment where there is increasing focus from the financial community on the tangible links between climate risk and corporate balance sheets. The recently published recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Disclosure, established by Mark Carney and chaired by Michael Bloomberg, point to the clear need for investors to be able to stress test their portfolios against a below 2°C scenario.

“Investors have to rely on a wide range of complex carbon-related signals to stress-test their portfolios, making the job of meeting the Paris Agreement incredibly difficult. Current carbon-based price signals in the wider economy are also too low to attract the low-carbon investments needed,” comments Nikki Bartlett, CDP’s director of carbon pricing. “Our goal is to make the job as easy as possible for investors by giving them investment-grade price ranges. The added bonus is that it will help to strengthen and guide future carbon pricing policy.”

The initiative, which includes the chief executives and senior leaders from PGGM, Engie, Bank of America, Iberdrola, YesBank and Hermes Fund Managers among its first members, is due to report on its initial projections for credible carbon price ranges in Spring 2017.

7th IRENA Assembly seeks to accelerate global energy transition

0

7th IRENA :Over 150 countries gather in global environment of falling renewable energy costs and rising deployment to accelerate global energy transition

IRENA
Over 1,000 delegates from 150 countries attend the opening of IRENA’s Seventh Assembly in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Government officials from more than 150 countries and leaders from international organisations, the private sector and civil society are gathering Saturday and Sunday (14 and 15 January, 2017) in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Seventh Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to chart a pathway to a sustainable energy future. The Assembly, the agency’s ultimate decision-making authority, brings together the international community to advance the global renewable energy agenda and make concrete steps to accelerate the global energy transition and a decarbonisation of the global energy mix.

“An unprecedented transformation of our energy system is underway. Plummeting costs and rapid innovation have spurred investments that are positioning renewable energy solutions at the centre of energy discussion today,” said IRENA Director-General, Adnan Z. Amin. “It is no longer a question of whether or if, but of how we can accelerate this change to move towards a global, sustainable and affordable low-carbon energy future.”

Taking place at the St. Regis Saadiyat Hotel in Abu Dhabi, following a day of preliminary meetings and discussions on Friday, 13 January, including the second IRENA Legislator’s Forum, the Seventh Assembly is focusing on IRENA’s strategic and programmatic direction to support countries accelerate deployment of renewable energy, and in doing so, meet climate goals, boost the economy, and increase energy access and security.

Highlights of this year’s Assembly include:

  • Two ministerial roundtables covering innovation in the power sector and catalysing off-grid renewable energy deployment for development;
  • Programmatic discussions on scaling-up private sector renewable energy uptake and driving energy sector decarbonisation through innovation; and,
  • The announcement of projects in developing countries receiving loans worth $44.5 million under the fourth round of the IRENA/Abu Dhabi Fund for Development Project Facility.

The Assembly is also featuring the launch of “REthinking Energy 2017”, which examines the latest trends in renewable energy and the dramatic changes in the energy sector in many countries.

“The speed and scale of the energy transformation calls for, more than any time before, a strengthening of global cooperation, through concrete action and initiatives, to grapple with the multiple changes and challenges ahead,” added Mr. Amin. “IRENA’s Assembly is the meeting point for such international cooperation, and the next two days will address a range of issues central to the energy transformation underway.”

The Assembly also marks the opening of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and preceeds the World Future Energy Summit (WFES), a global gathering of of energy leaders and decision makers. Throughout the week, IRENA will host and will participate in a series of events, covering topics ranging from the decarbonisation of energy systems to the scaling up of variable renewable power.

Paris Agreement: New platform to give indigenous peoples a voice

0

Indigenous peoples and local communities at the front lines of climate change will soon be able to exchange lessons learned and share their unique perspectives on reducing emissions, adapting, and building resilience through a new platform created by the Paris Agreement.

indigenous peoples
Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The platform will break fresh ground in 2017 by giving indigenous peoples and local communities an active role in shaping climate action, including a prominent role in the first open multi-stakeholder dialogue. Parties and accredited organisations can get involved by writing a submission of their ideas on the local communities and indigenous peoples’ platform by 31 March 2017.

The international climate policy arena has recognised the unique role that indigenous peoples and local communities play in exchanging knowledge, technologies, practices and efforts of local communities and indigenous peoples related to addressing and responding to climate change. Therefore, the UN Climate Secretariat is facilitating the operationalisation of a platform for the exchange of experiences and sharing of best practices on mitigation and adaptation in a holistic and integrated manner.

The newly established platform came into existence through the decision adopting the Paris Agreement in December 2015 at COP21. In the climate conference (COP22) held in Marrakech in November 2016, Parties decided to adopt an incremental and participatory approach to developing the local communities and indigenous peoples platform.

The platform is giving indigenous peoples and local communities an active role in shaping the process. A representative of the group will co-moderate the first open multi-stakeholder dialogue which will take place at the mid-year UN Climate Change Conference in May 2017 in Bonn to discuss ways to effectively operationalise the platform.

 

How to get involved

The UNFCCCis inviting parties and accredited organisations to share their ideas about the purpose, content, and structure of the local communities and indigenous peoples platform by 31 March 2017 here. They are asked to specify in the submission that it is provided in response to the call for submissions on ‘the local communities and indigenous people’s platform’.

Organisations are welcome to send the submissions to secretariat@unfccc.int. Parties are welcome to upload the submissions in the submission portal (SBSTA 46 & 2017).

Athens International is 28th airport to achieve carbon neutral status

0

The Athens International Airport in Greece has achieved carbon neutral status (Level 3+) in the Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.

Athens
Aerial view of the Athens International Airport

It raises the number of carbon neutral airports across the world to 28, and with the bulk of them in Europe, ACI Europe is well on its way to achieving its goal of having 50 carbon neutral airports across the continent by 2030.

Niclas Svenningsen, who heads the Climate Neutral Now initiative at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, says: “The news that Athens International Airport has become carbon neutral through Airport Carbon Accreditation is a great way to kick off 2017.

“The ambitious efforts of a growing number of carbon neutral airports are testament to how seriously this industry is working on addressing its direct impact on climate change.

“With 25 European airports now carbon neutral, the airport industry is already halfway towards meeting its pledge at COP21. We look forward to more progress in the year ahead.”

Sweden’s Stockholm-Arlanda Airport became the world’s first carbon neutral airport in November 2009.

Across the four available levels of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, there are currently a total of 180 airports, working to address their CO2 emissions. These airports welcome 37.3% of global passenger traffic.

According to ACI, since its opening in 2001, Athens International Airport has had an ardent and ever-evolving environmental agenda.

Among other things, it was one of the first airports to invest in solar technology, building a €20 million photovoltaic park on the airport site, as a source of clean, sustainable power.

It was also among the early adopters who became accredited in the very first year of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme (2009), renewing and successfully upgrading its certification over the intervening years.

ACI Europe’s director general, Olivier Jankovec, enthuses: “I am delighted for Athens International Airport (AIA). Since its inception, AIA has been an ambitious and worthy addition to the European airport network – one that is always looking to innovate and push the boundaries of excellence in all aspects of airport management and efficiency.

“In that spirit, it was one of the earliest advocates of the need for a carbon standard for the airport industry and has been an active participant in the Airport Carbon Accreditation from the very outset.

“So, my heartfelt congratulations to all the team at AIA on their achievement of becoming carbon neutral – another of their ambitions realised!”

Dr Yiannis Paraschis, CEO of Athens International Airport, is understandably delighted by the achievement.

“By achieving carbon neutrality, Athens International Airport continues to tangibly demonstrate its commitment to the fight against climate change,” he says.

“We are proud to be among leading airports, not only as a major economic engine, but also through our reduced ecological footprint thanks to the environmental awareness and complementary efforts of our colleagues and partners across the airport community.

“Athens Airport managed to drastically reduce its carbon footprint, from 2005 through 2015, following a years-long effort to diminish energy consumption in its installations, through a number of interventions and investments in more efficient equipment among other actions.

“Additionally, we continue to plan additional energy and fuel saving measures, such as the certification of our energy management system as per ISO 50001, the continued modernisation of airport equipment, and the optimisation of operation of our energy systems.”

Our concern ahead COP23, by Fiji

0

Prime Minister of Fiji,Voreqe Bainimarama, has set out key priorities for his country’s Presidency of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn in November (COP23), calling for steeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and to ramp up the finance developing countries need to green their economies and build resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change.

Fiji
Voreqe Bainimarama,Prime Minister of Fiji

Addressing his country in a New Year message in January, he said he would work to “get the world to sit up and take notice” of the unprecedented threats that climate change is posing to his and other vulnerable countries.

Fiji and other small island Small Island Developing State are among the most vulnerable to extreme weather and rising sea levels. Fiji suffered major flooding and landslides from severe rains just last month. And early last year, tropical Cyclone Winston became the strongest to ever hit the country, killing dozens of people and rendering thousands more homeless.

In his address, the leader said: “As your Prime Minister, I will be guiding the deliberations of almost 200 countries as we gather in Bonn, Germany, in November to continue to seek a more decisive response on the part of the industrial nations. And to set aside funds to enable developing countries such as Fiji to adapt to the changes to their way of life that have been caused through no fault of our own. In the months before that, I will be travelling the world to forge a consensus on the best way forward. And we will be holding a very important Pre-COP high-level gathering here in Fiji in October before the main Bonn conference the following month.”

For Fiji, both climate action and the broader issue of oceans are particularly important this year. The plight of oceans will be highlighted at a special Oceans Conference organised by the UN in New York in June.

Bainimarama said: “First of all, I see it as my overriding responsibility as the leader of our nation to secure the future of the Fijian people. To protect our environment, our land and seas, not only for the sake of every Fijian today but for the generations to come. Nothing is more important than this. Because if we can’t defend ourselves against extreme weather events and the rising seas; if we can’t protect our seas and our marine resources, then all our efforts to develop our nation will be jeopardised. Everything depends on our ability to get the world to sit up and take notice of the unprecedented threat we currently face to our way of life. We must persuade the industrial nations to pursue more radical action to reduce their carbon emissions that are causing global warming. We must get the world to stop degrading our oceans and seas.”

Bright prospects for green bonds despite Trump scepticism

0

A niche market in debt raised to fund environmental projects may be set for significant growth and could make a bigger contribution to the trillions of dollars needed to stop the world overheating.The volume of “green bonds” with proceeds

green bonds
Besides Nigeria, Morocco, Sweden and Kenya have also signaled they will issue green bonds

earmarked for investments such as a wind farm or a low carbon transport network nearly doubled in 2016. Sales could accelerate further this year, with France set to become the first G7 country to join the development banks and companies that have already issued this form of financing.

Growth may not maintain last year’s blistering pace, industry watchers say, not least because the United States, the country where the most green bonds have originated, is set to be led by Donald Trump, who has sometimes called man-made climate change a hoax.

“The market is on the cusp of breaking into the mainstream,” said Nicholas Pfaff, senior director at trade association ICMA.

“To have a major G7 issuer like France commit to doing a large programme is very important … There are some very important players in the U.S. but a lack of momentum there is not going to be fatal for the market.”

The green bond market grew by more than $80 billion in 2016 – its best year since its launch in 2007 – to $170 billion, according to Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), a London-based non-profit that certifies green credentials of bonds.

Even so, outstanding green bonds still account for less than 0.2 percent of the $100 trillion global debt market.

OECD studies suggest annual debt issuance will need to rise to between $620 and $720 billion by 2035 if world leaders are going to meet their 2015 pledge to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. The studies are based on the average capital mix – equity, loans and bonds – of green projects.

But market watchers say France, host of the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat global warming, could be key to growth.

While Poland was the first country to launch a green bond – selling a 750 million euro bond last month – France aims to launch one by the end of the month.

The government has identified around 10 billion euros of green expenditure so France may become a regular issuer of green bonds. It could also encourage companies, the largest issuers of green debt.

“It would change the market,” said Christa Clapp, head of climate finance at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo (CICERO).

“Not only would it bring scale but…it could pave the way to more corporates by showing how to do it.”

Morocco, Nigeria, Sweden and Kenya have also signaled they will issue green debt.

HSBC says the pace of growth in green bond issuance will not be sustained in 2017, estimating $90-$120 billion globally which could include up to half a dozen sovereign issuers. Natixis forecasts $140 billion of new bonds.

Yet in the United States – where firms have issued around $30 billion of green bonds – a Trump presidency may push climate change down the policy agenda, discouraging issuance.

Trump has threatened to tear up the Paris Agreement. He has also said he has an open mind and other countries have pledged to restrict greenhouse gas emissions, irrespective of U.S. policies.

However, CBI communications manager Andrew Whiley said there is still plenty of American money to be invested in green debt.

“While the U.S. at one level is going to sour the political atmosphere, there are still many American investors looking for good quality green products,” he said.

There are only around $3 billion of dedicated green funds by CBI estimates, including those from BlackRock and Allianz.

But in December 2015, investors representing over $11 trillion of assets under management committed to work to grow a green bond market as part of the Paris actions.

China, which by some estimates already has the largest green bond market in the world, may be able pick up any slack if enthusiasm for the debt wanes in the United States.

China’s Bank of Communications holds the record of the biggest green bond issued – a 30 billion yuan ($4.35 billion) two-tranche issue in November 2016.

But China’s success lays bare one of the teething problems that have dogged the green bond market. What constitutes green?

The Chinese government’s definitions of green bonds, for example, allow funding for clean-power coal stations which would not qualify under other market standards.

Some think that after an explosion in green bonds, the market might have to take a step back to go forward.

In that sense, said Christopher Flensborg, head of sustainable products at Swedish banking group SEB, Trump’s victory may even help in the long term because it would clear out the market of issuers that were not truly green.

A United States under Trump “won’t be a show-stopper but it will make people think twice, which we think is a good thing,” he said. “A lot of people crowding in will withdraw from the market. We think the momentum is going to be lost slightly but the quality is going to be improved massively.”

By John Geddie & Alister Doyle, Reuters

What skyrocketing gas, kerosene prices portend for environment – Experts

1

Environment development and sustainability The fly-away prices of cooking gas and kerosene have become a cause for concern by environmentalists, who fear that the hike in the cost of these items portends danger to the environment and human life.

The price of cooking gas has jumped from N3,500 to N4,500 for the 12.5kg cylinder

Recently, the price of cooking gas jumped from N3,500 to N4,500 for 12.5kg cylinder while a litre of kerosene flew to N300 as against N150 or N130 previously.

But industry stakeholders are uncomfortable with the development, saying that Nigerians will now resort to the cheaper but somewhat controversial alternatives: firewood and charcoal – and with the attendant unsavoury implications.

Prof. Olukayode Oladipo, a climate change expert, said in Lagos on Wednesday, January 11 2017 that increase in the prices of these products would aggravate deforestation and increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the environment. Deforestation occurs when forest is being cut down on a massive scale without making proportionate effort at replanting.

Prof. Oladipo, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) consultant, pointed out that natural disasters experienced globally necessitated pragmatic approach from both the government and citizens to protect the environment by paying attention to tree conservation.

He said: “Trees play a critical role in supporting environmental equilibrium and human comfort because they absorb carbon dioxide from the air, which is a main GHG.

“Trees are also strategic in combating global warming, flood, check erosion and stem the tide of windstorm by serving as wind breakers in coastal areas.

“By the time we destroy this important shield for cooking, then we are exposing ourselves to grave danger in the country.”

According to him, deforestation will hinder Nigeria’s commitment to reduce GHG emissions unconditionally by 20% and conditionally by 45% in line with its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

He said that Nigeria subscribed to NDCs when it signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The professor noted that Nigeria had the highest rate of deforestation in the world having lost more than half of its primary forests.

The climatologist, who is also of the University of Lagos, Akoka, urged the Federal Government to evolve pricing mechanism that would make cooking gas and kerosene affordable and available in the country.

“It is quite unfortunate that, inspite of the vast deposit of natural gas and crude oil in the country, many Nigerians cannot afford the price of cooking gas and kerosene.

“If the government creates an approach that supplements the cost of these products, those in the rural areas will embrace the use of cooking gas.

“It will also discourage all those that cut trees for charcoal production in Oyo North and Kaduna to desist from the practice,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Sulaimon Arigbabu, Executive Secretary, Human and Environment Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre, said that the price increase of the product was a setback for the country considering its position as a frontline state for desertification in climate change.

He noted that escalation and scarcity of the product would negate government’s campaigns against tree cutting, adding that many people would revert to the alternative of falling trees to make food.

“This practice has great implications for their health. In Nigeria, about 95,000 women are reported to die from indoor air pollution, mostly occasioned by using firewood to cook.

“Also, the issue of adulterated kerosene leading to explosion has happened in the past. Many fraudulent people exploit the scarcity and hike in price to adulterate the product and put at risk the lives and properties of the citizens.

“Government needs to wake up to the issue of escalating increase in price of gas by ensuring that the prices are more predictable and realistic.

“If the government does not do anything about the situation, Nigeria would not be able to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions to reduce emission which we pledged to in the Paris Agreement.

“Beyond that, we would be spending a lot in taking care of people’s health; avoidable health expenses because we allowed air pollution.”

Dr Mayowa Fasona of the Department of Geography, University of Lagos, advocated that government should ensure the sustainability of clean cooking in the country through realistic pricing mechanism for gas.

“There is an urgent need for government to expand access to clean cooking energy in the country considering the global challenge of climate change.

“With the devaluation of the Naira, reduced purchasing power and increased cost of LPG and kerosene, many families are going back to firewood use which constitutes a major threat to the country.

“It is imperative for government to tackle the challenges of affordability, availability, acceptability and accessibility in usage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas on a mass scale towards sustainable socio-economic and environmental development,” Fasona said.

By Funke Ishola

Green bond: Ministers host advisory group parley

0

Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, in collaboration with the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has initiated steps needed to issue Nigeria’s first Sovereign Green Bond. This, it was gathered, is part of a strategic process to add to the nation’s funding options in the financing of its development initiatives.

The Public-Private Advisory Group meeting on the Green Bonds

The process, the Environment Ministry disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday, 12 January 2017, will also enable the country tap into the growing global market for green bonds, which is estimated to have reached $100 billion by the end of 2016.

As part of the process to ensure that there is wide consultation on the process of periodic issuance of the Federal Government Green Bonds, Mohammed and Adeosun on Thursday hosted a Public-Private Advisory Group meeting on the Green Bonds.

According to Ms. Mohammed, the advisory group will provide advice and also identify likely impediments to the issuance process and provide guidance on how projects can be certified “Green”. The minister further stated that the group was set up to provide support to the Federal Ministry of Environment in its implementation of the Green Bond guidelines in order to maintain a process that is transparent and consistent.

Both ministers, in consultation with experts and key actors, have agreed on a number of key requirements in the issuance of the Green Bond.

These are:

  • the projects should be green in nature,
  • the project cost should form part of the Medium Term Sector Strategies (MTSS) of selected Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs),
  • the project should have a defined revenue model or economic impact that generates resources that will be used to service the green bond, and
  • the emissions contributions of the projects should be calculated and documented.

A sub-set of Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change (ICCC) was tasked to identify the pipeline of projects with “Green Credentials” that will be funded by the Green Bond. The ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in this sub-set are Environment (FRIN, CCD, DDA, FOR, GGW), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT-Transport), Federal Ministry of Water Resources (FMWR) and Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing (FMWPH).

The Federal Ministry of Environment, it was gathered, has developed a set of guidelines, drawing from the template model provided by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) with technical inputs from Debt Management Office (DMO), Climate Bonds Initiative, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank.

In September of 2016 the Federal Ministry of Environment held a stakeholders meeting with key players in the capital markets on the plans for issuance of a Green Bond. To continue the consultations, the ministry in collaboration with Ministry of Finance set up a Green Bond Private Public Advisory Group (GB-PPSAG) to continue consultations which will support the Federal Government in the process of development of a Green Bond programme.

A high-impact stakeholders meeting with Capital Market operators and investors will hold in Lagos at the end of February, 2017.

Participants on the Advisory Group are drawn from investments banks, developments banks, issuance houses, MDAs and capital market regulators. Ministry sources say that the issuance of Nigeria’s Sovereign Green Bonds will probably be the first in an emerging market in the world and in Africa.

×