Evidence is increasing that climate change is taking the largest toll on poor and vulnerable people, and these impacts are largely caused by inequalities that increase the risks from climate hazards, according to a new report launched by the United Nations on Tuesday.
Inequalities: The impact of climate change is affecting Lesotho’s progress towards development in a number of areas, including agriculture, food security, water resources, public health and disaster risk management. Photo credit: FAO
“Sadly, the people at greater risk from climate hazards are the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised who, in many cases, have been excluded from socioeconomic progress,” noted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the World Economic and Social Survey 2016: Climate Change Resilience, produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
“We have no time to waste – and a great deal to gain – when it comes to addressing the socioeconomic inequalities that deepen poverty and leave people behind,” he added.
Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York on the launch of the report, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Lenni Montiel, said: “Persistent inequalities in access to assets, opportunities, political voice and participation, and in some cases, outright discriminations leave large group of people and community disproportionally exposed and vulnerable to climate hazards.”
He added that through transformative policies, the government can “address the root causes of inequalities, to reduce the vulnerabilities of people to climate hazards, building their longer term resilience.”
On transformative policies, the Chief of Development Strategy and Policy at UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Diana Alarcon, said such policies could help build climate change resilience, close inequality gaps, provide access to financial services, to diversification of the livelihoods, to quality education and health and social security. She added: “it is that kind of transformation that leads to development.”
While there is considerable anecdotal evidence that the poor and the vulnerable suffer greater harm from climate-related disasters, the report determined that much of the harm is not by accident, but that it is due to the failure of governments to close the development gaps that leave large population groups at risk.
In the past 20 years, 4.2 billion people have been affected by weather-related disasters, including a significant loss of lives. Developing countries are the most affected by climate change impacts. Low-income countries suffered the greatest losses, including economic costs estimated at five per cent of gross domestic product.
The report argues that while climate adaptation and resilience are overshadowed by mitigation in climate discussions, they are vital for addressing climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Specifically, the report found that families living in poverty systematically occupy the least desirable land to damage from climate hazards, such as mud slides, periods of abnormally hot water, water contamination and flooding. Climate change has the potential to worsen their situation and thereby worsen pre-existent inequalities. The report shows that structural inequalities increase the exposure of vulnerable groups to climate hazards.
According to the latest data, 11 per cent of the world’s population lived in a low-elevation coastal zone in 2000. Many of them were poor and compelled to live in floodplains because they lacked the resources to live in safer areas. The data also underscore that in many countries in South and East Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, many people have no other option than to erect their dwellings on precarious hill slopes.
The report also found a larger concentration of poor and marginalised groups in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid aridity zones which cover about 40 per cent of the Earth’s land surface. About 29 per cent of the world’s population live in those areas and are facing additional challenges owing to climate change.
Transformative policies for addressing root causes
According to the report, building resilience to climate change provides an opportunity to focus resources on reducing long entrenched inequalities that make people disproportionately vulnerable to climate hazards. The best climate adaptation policies, the report states, are good development policies that strengthen people’s capacity to cope with and adapt to climate hazards in the present and in the medium term.
Looking ahead, the report recommends the use of improved access to climate projections, modern information and communications technologies, and geographical information systems to strengthen national capacity to assess impacts of climate hazards and policy options statistically.
The report voices a concern that international resources to support climate change resilience are insufficient. At last year’s Paris climate conference, informally known as COP21, countries committed to setting a goal of at least $100 billion per year for climate change mitigation and adaptation activities in developing countries. However, adaptation costs alone range from $70 billion to $100 billion per year by 2050 in the developing countries, and these figures are likely to underestimate real costs, according to the report.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for transformative policies to deliver on our collective promise to build a life of dignity for all on a cleaner, greener planet.
“The challenges are enormous, but the world possesses the know-how, tools and wealth needed to build a climate-resilient future – a future free from poverty, hunger, discrimination and injustice,” the Secretary-General stressed in the report, noting the importance of the enabling policy environment as well as the support of the international community.
The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Catholic institutions and communities from all over the world celebrated the culmination of the month-long Season of Creation with the largest joint announcement on Tuesday of their decision to divest from fossil fuels.
Pope Francis. Catholic communities have committed to switch the management of their finances away from fossil fuel extraction. Photo credit: dailytimes.com.ng
The Catholic communities committing to switch the management of their finances away from fossil fuel extraction include: The Jesuits in English Canada; the Federation of Christian Organisations for the International Voluntary Service (FOCSIV) in Italy; the Presentation Society of Australia and Papua New Guinea; SSM Health in the United States; the Diocese of the Holy Spirit of Umuarama in the Brazilian state of Paraná; the Missionary Society of St. Columban, based in Hong Kong and with a global presence in 14 countries; and the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco – Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Milan and Naples (Italy).
Commitments range from divesting from coal, as is the case of the US healthcare institution SSM, to redirecting the divested funds into clean, renewable energy investments, as FOCSIV has announced. As for the Brazilian Diocese of Umuarama, it is both the first diocese and the first Latin American institution to commit to divest from fossil fuels; the Diocese is taking steps to become low-carbon and is part of COESUS, a coalition fighting fracking in Latin America.
The fossil fuel divestment movement was acknowledged during the presentation of Pope Francis’s message on the World Day of Prayer for Creation by Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, when he pointed out that Pope Francis suggests that “social pressure – including from boycotting certain products – can force businesses to consider their environmental footprint and patterns of production. The same logic animates the fossil fuel divestment movement.”
Major Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican organisations came together between September 1st (World Day of Prayer for Creation) and October 4th to observe the Season of Creation, calling on the 2.2 billion Christians worldwide to pray and take action to care for the Earth.
The urgent need to stop all new fossil fuel infrastructure was highlighted by a recent report which found that the potential carbon emissions from the oil, gas and coal in the world’s currently operating fields and mines would increase our planet’s temperature beyond 2°C by the end of this century, and even with no coal, the reserves in oil and gas fields alone would cause warming beyond 1.5ºC.
The campaign to divest from fossil fuels is the fastest growing divestment campaign in history, according to a report by the University of Oxford. Up to date, nearly 600 institutions worth over $3.4 trillion globally have announced divestment commitments.
This is the latest in a row of recent announcements involving faith communities and climate change. Earlier this month, it was announced that over 3,000 UK churches had switched or planned to move to green energy in 2016; Morocco, where COP22 will gather this December, will give 600 mosques a green makeover by March 2019: in September, the Indian government asked ashrams to invest in solar power; and just last week theAnglican Church of Southern Africa passed a motion during its provincial Synod to divest from fossil fuels.
“Climate change is already affecting poor and marginalized communities globally, through drought, rising sea levels, famine and extreme weather. We are called to take a stand,” says Peter Bisson sj, Provincial of the Jesuits in English Canada.
“This announcement is for FOCSIV an important commitment on climate justice: we strongly believe that in order to fight climate change we need to act at the root causes removing financial support at fossil fuel industry and reinvest it in renewable. VIDES, a catholic NGO member of FOCSIV, has positively welcomed the message of Laudato Si’ and Divestment, obtaining the important announcement of the Italian Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco. We will continue in addressing religious institutes: together, as Catholics, we have the moral duty of being the proofs of a concrete commitment to stop the climate crisis and promote environmental justice,” according to Gianfranco Cattai, President of FOCSIV.
“The Presentation Society of Australia and Papua New Guinea has made the commitment to work towards divestment of investments that are at the expense of the environment, human rights, the public safety and local communities. Presentation Sisters in Australia and Papua New Guinea believe that the healing of the planet will only come about with care for Earth and the whole community of life. We are one planet and one Earth community and we have a common destiny,” submits Sr Marlette Black, pbvm, President of the Presentation Society of Australia and Papua New Guinea.
“As a Mission-based Catholic organization, SSM Health has always been deeply aware of the importance of caring for our natural resources. Our renewed commitment to the environment keeps us consistent in word and deed with the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, our founding congregation, and with the climate change encyclical released by Pope Francis in June 2015,” contends William P. Thompson, SSM Health President/Chief Executive Officer.
“As Bishop of Umuarama Diocese, in communion with the Catholic Church and attentive to the calls of the Gospel, I clearly understand the message of Pope Francis in Laudato Si’, which calls us to care Common House through initiatives that protect all forms of life. We can not accommodate and continue allowing economic interests that seek exorbitant profits before the well being of people, to destroy biodiversity and ecosystems, nor continue dictating our energy model based on fossil fuels. We know that Brazil has abundant sources of clean and renewable energy that do not harm our common home. Therefore, I believe that the proposal to turn the Diocese of Umuarama into low-carbon is a practical way to achieve what Laudato Si’ calls for,” stresses Dom Frei João Mamede Filho, Bishop of the Diocese of Umuarama, Brazil.
“Columbans have a long history of commitment to caring for the Earth as part of our missionary identity. We see our Socially and Environmentally Responsible Investment policy as an important expression of that commitment and therefore are exploring ways to direct our investments towards funds which respond positively to our issue priorities such as renewable energy, community-based microenterprise, and peace initiatives,” Fr. Kevin O’Neill, Columban Superior General says.
“All Bishops Conferences of the world called for ‘an end to the fossil fuel era’ in a powerful statement last year. The divestment announcement of these Catholic institutions simply is an update to their investment policies following the Bishops’ appeal,” discloses Tomás Insua, Global Catholic Climate Movement Global Coordinator.
“The diversity and global distribution of the organisations taking part in this joint announcement show the leadership of the Catholic communities in going beyond prayers and taking concrete action in response to the repeated calls of Pope Francis to preserve our common home. We celebrate this announcement and hope that the message it conveys reaches people of all faiths and inspires more Catholic institutions, including the Vatican itself, to take away the harmful influence of the fossil fuel industry’s ambition over our economies and societies, and push for clean and just energy sources for all humanity,” adds Yossi Cadan, 350.org Senior Divestment Campaigner.
“For religious people, the aim of divestment is to bankrupt the fossil fuel industry morally, not financially. Hopefully, because of their duty to manage their resources, these companies will invest in renewable forms of energy,” Columban Fr. Sean McDonagh, leading international eco-theologian, notes.
“As Catholic Christians we know that our participation matters. It matters morally; it matters to God. Divestment from companies that continue to mine fossil fuels is a necessary and significant step toward building a world which is powered by the gifts God gave – like the sun and the wind. We can turn the course of our momentum away from greenhouse gasses and death and toward creativity, clean energy sources, and hope,” says Nancy M Rourke, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of Catholic Studies Programme at Canisius College.
Indian scholar, environmental activist and anti-globalisation author, Vandana Shiva, in the company of several other campaigners like Nigerian architect and rights activist, Nnimmo Bassey, will be main speakers at the Monsanto Tribunal and People’s Assembly scheduled to take place at The Hague from 14 to 16 October 2016.
Vandana Shiva
Other speakers include: Andre Leu, Ronnie Cummins, Hans Herren, Dr. Eric Seralini and Percy Schmeiser.
Navdanya, the organisation founded and led by Shiva, is co-organising the event, along with multiple civil society organisations.
The Monsanto Tribunal will hold Monsanto accountable for alleged crimes against humanity, human rights violations and ecocide, in tandem with the People’s Assembly, a gathering of leading movements and activists working to defend earth’s ecosystem and food sovereignty, to lay out the effects of industrial agrochemicals on lives, soils, the atmosphere and climate.
Over 800 organisations from around the world are supporting and participating in this process while over 100 people’s assemblies and tribunals are being held across the world.
Navdanya, a movement for Earth Democracy based on the philosophy of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam”, disclosed in a statement: “In the last century, giant agribusiness interests which came out of the war industry, have poisoned life and our ecosystem, are destroying our biodiversity and the lives of small farmers, appropriating their land, in an attempt to control and profit from these essentials for life on earth. The risks keep increasing as these multinationals diminish in number as a result of aggressive takeovers and mega-mergers – such is the case with the recent $66 billion Bayer-Monsanto merger. A merger which serves to further extend the control of these multinationals over agricultural and food production systems. There is only one way to translate this process: maximum focus on potential profit, and a minimal concern towards the environment, to the quality of our food, to consumers and to workers in the sector.
“Large multinationals are lobbying democratically elected governments to take on neoliberal policies and international ‘free’ trade agreements such a TTIP and TTP: the race towards deregulation is an unprecedented attack on biodiversity and to life itself on Earth.
“Multinationals like Monsanto have already expanded their control over our seeds, our food and our freedom, depriving us of our basic human rights and our right to democracy. With patents and international property rights (IPRs) as their tools, they have established monopolies and threatened the rights of farmers and consumers.”
Participating at the People’s Assembly, according to the group, will be leading representatives of movements and associations, seed custodians, farmers and journalists from all over the world. The aim of the Assembly, it adds, is to shine the light on crimes against nature and humanity of mega chemical and biotechnological industrial corporations which through patents on seed have opened the doors to the invasion of GMOs.
Based on the ecocide and genocide of the past century, the Assembly will lay out the necessary actions for a future based on the rights of small farmers to save and exchange seed, on self determination of food, on agroecology, the rights of consumers and workers in the sector, on the commons and a sharing economy, as well as on the rights of nature and a true Earth Democracy.
The Paris Agreement’s entry into force was extremely swift, particularly for an agreement that required a large number of ratifications and two specific thresholds.
Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She says the entry into force of the Paris Agreement is more than a step on the road
Adopted on 12 December 2015 in Paris during the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the treaty marks a watershed moment in global efforts to address climate change. Its central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The Agreement calls on countries to combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future, and to adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change. Additionally, the Agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change. It calls for scaled up financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity-building framework to support action by developing countries and the most vulnerable countries in line with their own national objectives. The Agreement also provides for enhanced transparency of action and support through a more robust transparency framework and a stocktaking mechanism to ramp up ambition over time.
Additionally, many countries have announced they are committed to joining the agreement this year. For a country that joins the Agreement after it enters into force, the Agreement will become binding 30 days after it deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary-General.
Entry into force triggers a variety of important consequences, including launch of the Agreement’s governing body, known as the CMA. In the parlance of the UN climate change process this stands for the Conference of the Parties to the Convention serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement.
Given that the count-down to entry into force has now been formally triggered, the CMA will take place at the upcoming annual UN climate conference, known as COP22, in Marrakesh, Morocco from November 7-18. Precise dates will be announced in the coming days.
Moreover, the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – national climate action plans – of Parties which have joined or subsequently join the Agreement transform into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which can always be resubmitted as more ambitious plans at any point. A key feature of the Agreement is that these plans can be strengthened at any time but not weakened.
“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,” said Patricia Espinosa, head of the UNFCCC.
Governments will also be obligated to take action to achieve the temperature goals enshrined in the Agreement – keeping the average global temperature rise from pre-industrial times below 2 degrees C and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees.
The fact that somewhere around one degree of this rise has already happened and global greenhouse gas emissions have not yet peaked underlines the urgency of implementing the Paris Agreement in full.
Another key milestone will be the successful conclusion of negotiations to develop the Paris Agreement’s implementation rule book. Completion of what is, in effect, a global blueprint for reporting and accounting for climate action, need to be completed as soon as possible.
Countries are also not starting from scratch. The many successful models and mechanisms for international climate cooperation set up under the UNFCCC over the past two decades, including the Kyoto Protocol, have built up a deep level of experience and knowledge on how this can be done effectively.
It is the completed rule book that will make the Agreement work and that will make it fully implementable, setting out the detailed requirements under which countries and other actors will openly report and account for the climate action they are taking in a way which promotes trust and confidence across nations to boost their own comprehensive response to the challenge of climate change.
Another key issue is to ensure that the $100 billion, pledged by developed countries to developing ones, is truly building in the run up to 2020 and that even larger sums are being leveraged from investors, banks and the private sector that can build towards the $5 to $7 trillion needed to support a world-wide transformation.
Securing a world which is safer from the extreme climate change that would undermine any attempt at future sustainable development will still take decades of rising action and constant improvement.
“The entry into force of the Paris Agreement is more than a step on the road. It is an extraordinary political achievement which has opened the door to a fundamental shift in the way the world sees, prepares for and acts on climate change through stronger action at all levels of government, business, investment and civil society,” said Ms Espinosa.
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.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at COP21 in Paris, where the treaty was adopted. Photo credit: ibtimes.co.uk
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.
Mrs. Laurentia Laraba Mallam
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 Nigerian government is demanding $406.75 million 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 Phase II of Harnessing Opportunities for Productivity and Enhancement (HOPE), an initiative intended to help farmers of millet and sorghum in Nigeria, is being implemented with new seeds varieties provided farmers in four states in the country.
Millet farm
The programme is being supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation under the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Team leader for the millet component of HOPE, who is also the Director of the Centre for Agriculture and Pastoral Research of Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto (UDUS), Prof. Lawali Abubakar, disclosed during the 2016 Farmers Field Day that took place at a demonstration plot in Gwadabawa town of Sokoto state, that the programme is being undertaken in six African countries, including Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
According to him, the sorghum and millet components were being coordinated by the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria and UDUS respectively in Nigeria Sokoto, Kebbi, Kano and Jigawa states.
“We are at this experimental plot for farmers to share their experience about this programme. They should be able to tell us any noticeable shortcomings. The improved seeds, which are resistant to striga (also known as witch weed), are planted alongside the conventional ones so that farmers can easily note the differences,” Prof. Abubakar said.
He added that the objective was to provide improved seeds of millet and sorghum, which have nutritional value because of their vitamins, protein and micronutrients contents.
The programme in Sokoto state, according to the professor, was being carried on in Gwadabawa, Yabo and Wamakko local government areas.
Dr. Umar Aliyu of the Department of Crop Science at UDUS, who conductes the Integrated Striga and Soil Fertility Management, said that four varieties – super sossat, Jirani, UDUS sossat and Maina sossat – were developed for long, medium and short harvest period.
The Project Manager of the Sokoto State Agricultural Development Project (ADP), Comrade Abubakar Shehu Malami, who was represented by his deputy, Malami Abubakar, said: “The improved variety, which is harvested within 70 days, provides more yield than the conventional seeds.”
While promising that the ADP was ready to implement all government agricultural policies, Malami called on farmers to follow expert advise on how to grow the new varieties.
One of the farmers, Tukur Ibrahim, explained that the new millet variety was planted with cowpea. “To provide for crop rotation, two ridges of the new millet variety are planted side by side with three ridges of cowpea. We have witnessed great difference between the new variety and the conventional millet seed,” he said, adding that “the millet that is being harvested now was planted on June 27th 2016.”
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.
Director General (DG) of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Muhammad Sani Sidi. The agency has recommended the rebuilding of tremor affected houses in Kaduna
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.
For those that may not be aware, our atmosphere is interconnected – irrespective of carbon emissions sources, and the resultant negative impacts courtesy of carbon emissions cuts across countries and continents. That’s why measures for emissions reduction require and should be our joint efforts, and nobody warrants exclusion.
Air pollution typified by carbon emissions
In view of the unabating pollution level, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has affirmed that dirty air attributes to “tiny particulates (PM2.5s) from cars, power plants and other sources are killing seven million people worldwide each year”. As tiny as PM2.5s is, air polluted with PM2.5s is a major causative agent for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, which often times lead to death.
Owing to this, there is an urgency to rid out these deadly microscopic particulates. In jealously safe guarding the earth and health of its inhabitants, it is expedient to unleash our arsenals on the polluters. In fairness and justice, virtually everyone is guilty and could be regarded as polluters.
That aside, some industries are fond and culpable of emitting unprecedented amount of carbon and other poisonous gases. Due to environmental hazards constituted to the nearby inhabitants – normally caused by improper disposal of chemicals, pharmaceutical industries bear the brunt of safely disposing such chemicals off – but, face serious sanction for failing to do so. Similarly, there is no tangible reason why industries discharging poisonous gases into the atmosphere – owing to their devastating damage on earth and health – shouldn’t be held responsible and sanctioned.
Carbon tax remains an effective mechanism of discouraging and reducing carbon emissions to the barest minimum. For efficiency, the tax should be levied at the extraction and importation stage. This would gear polluters to gauge and control their importation and, especially, their hitherto flagrant pollution via gas flaring – knowing full well of expensive tax that they would incur.
In Nigeria, the Niger Delta region witnesses oil spills and leakages from crude extraction which keeps destroying land terrains, making water polluted beyond normal and unprecedentedly killing aquatic animals. The devastation is applicable to other countries where crude oil extraction and refinement takes place. The spills abound because of lack of sincere commitments by world leaders/legislators towards its eradication. A realistic way of reducing oil spills is by imposing heavy tax and fines on all leaked and spilled oils. Through this, crude oil extracting industries would be conscious, work tirelessly and adopt proactive measures to reducing the oil spills at all costs, thereby saving aquatic habitat and land from unnecessary exposure to pollution.
While concerted effort is ongoing towards seeing that the polluters pay through their noses for the damages, our focus as individuals should also be on finding ways of absorbing/controlling the suspended carbon emissions in the atmosphere, which keeps wreaking havoc on humans and the entire planet.
Pending the time an ideal technology for absorbing the trapped gases – albeit without side effects – is developed, tree planting should be considered since it is scientifically proven in reducing carbon dioxide and purifying the atmosphere. Trees absorb pollutant gases, filter suspended particulates, cool the temperature, used in controlling desertification (like the ongoing Green Wall Project in Africa) and serve to control erosion.
It is high time payment modalities for damages are instituted and enforced by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), world leaders and legislatures on unrepentant polluters at the forthcoming 22nd Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP22) — the proceeds to be used in climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.
