Africa has abundant renewable energy resources. Traditionally reliant on hydropower, the continent is turning to solar photovoltaics (PV) to bolster energy security and support rapid economic growth in a sustainable manner.
A solar grill stove in use by rural women
With recent substantial cost reductions, solar PV offers a rapid, cost-effective way to provide utility-scale electricity for the grid and modern energy services to the approximately 600 million Africans who lack electricity access.
According to a recently released report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) titled “Solar PV in Africa: Costs and Markets”, installed costs for power generated by utility-scale solar PV projects in Africa have decreased as much as 61 per cent since 2012 to as low as $1.30 per watt in Africa, compared to the global average of $1.80 per watt.
The report shows that mini-grids utilising solar PV and off-grid solar home systems also provide higher quality energy services at the same or lower costs than the alternatives. Stand-alone solar PV mini-grids have installed costs in Africa as low as $1.90 per watt for systems larger than 200 kilowatt. Solar home systems provide the annual electricity needs of off-grid households for as little as $56 per year, less than the average price for poor quality energy services.
IRENA estimates that, with the right enabling policies, Africa could be home to more than 70 gigawatts of solar PV capacity by 2030. The report discusses challenges in policy making and proposes a co-ordinated effort to collect data on the installed costs of solar PV in Africa, across all market segments. Such information will improve the efficiency of policy support and accelerate deployment.
Leaders from over 100 countries are calling for ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs, even as donors announce intent to provide $80 million of support
Kigali in Rwanda will host the 28th Meeting of the Parties (MOP 28) to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in October The meeting will adopt an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs
The United States on Thursday hosted a gathering of countries in New York to provide a boost of momentum to the upcoming international negotiations to adopt an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down the potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The event highlighted two significant announcements.
First, more than 100 countries called for securing an ambitious amendment with an “early freeze date.” This group includes the United States, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, all 28 countries in the European Union, all 54 countries in Africa, and several island states that are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Complementing this announcement, more than 500 companies and organisations and hundreds of sub-national governments called upon world leaders to take strong action on HFCs.
Second, a group of donor countries and philanthropists announced their intent to provide $80 million in support to help countries in need of assistance (i.e., Article 5 countries) implement an ambitious amendment and improve energy efficiency. The philanthropic component of this is the largest-ever private grant made for energy efficiency in this sector.
HFCs are factory-made chemicals that are primarily used in air conditioning, refrigeration, and foam insulation, and they can be hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide in contributing to climate change. If left unchecked, global HFC emissions could grow to be equivalent to 19 percent of total carbon dioxide emissions in 2050. There are alternative refrigerants available that have comparable performance to HFCs but with significantly reduced climate-changing properties.
Securing an ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs could avoid up to 0.5°C of warming by the end of the century, making a major contribution to the Paris Agreement goal to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C. Countries agreed last November to “work within the Montreal Protocol to an HFC amendment in 2016,” and they have subsequently worked intensively during a series of negotiations this year toward consensus on the terms of such an amendment. Next month, countries will gather at the Montreal Protocol Meeting of the Parties in Rwanda for final negotiations on the amendment.
Launch of the Coalition to Secure an Ambitious HFC Amendment At an event hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry, senior government officials representing over 100 governments released the “New York Declaration of the Coalition to Secure an Ambitious HFC Amendment.” The declaration calls for adopting an ambitious HFC phasedown amendment at the upcoming Meeting of the Parties with an early freeze date for Article 5 countries, in addition to an early first reduction step for non-Article 5 countries.
In addition to the broad support for an ambitious amendment overall, the commitment for an “early freeze date” is a key element for achieving a strong climate outcome. The freeze date is the year when countries stop increasing the production and consumption of HFCs and begin the process of phasing them down, and it is therefore critical to achieving the emissions reductions associated with an amendment.
New Finance Announcements In tandem with the declaration for an ambitious amendment, a group of donor countries and philanthropists announced their intent to provide $80 million in assistance to Article 5 countries to implement an amendment and improve energy efficiency.
A group of 16 donor countries – consisting of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and New Zealand – announced their intent to provide $27 million in 2017 to the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund to provide fast-start support for implementation if an ambitious amendment with a sufficient early freeze date is adopted this year. Such funding is one-time in nature and will not displace donor contributions going forward.
Complementing the funding announced by donor countries on Thursday, the following group of 19 philanthropists announced their intent to provide $53 million to Article 5 countries to support improvements in energy efficiency: Barr Foundation; Bill Gates; Children’s Investment Fund Foundation; ClimateWorks Foundation; David and Lucile Packard Foundation; Heising-Simons Foundation; Hewlett Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Josh and Anita Bekenstein; John and Ann Doerr; Laura and John Arnold; Oak Foundation; Open Philanthropy Project; Pirojsha Godrej Foundation; Pisces Foundation; Sandler Foundation; Sea Change Foundation; Tom Steyer; and Wyss Foundation. This support reflects a strong recognition from private philanthropists of the dual benefits associated with taking advantage of the transition to HFC alternatives to also improve energy efficiency.
Together, this funding will enable Article 5 countries to begin developing programs to track and reduce HFCs and help their consumers and businesses realise the net economic benefits from energy efficiency as they transition to HFC alternatives. Thursday’s announcement from philanthropists represents the single largest private grant ever made in this sector for energy efficiency. Based on experience in the United States, this scale of investment could yield billions of dollars in economic benefits for Article 5 countries and help to offset any upfront costs associated with transitioning past HFCs.
Technical Progress Demonstrating that in addition to galvanizing support for an ambitious amendment and providing new resources, the United States is also committed to addressing technical questions associated with phasing down HFCs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday published the results of a testing programme to evaluate the performance of HFC alternatives in rooftop air conditioning units in high ambient temperatures. The testing programme was launched in response to questions over whether HFC alternatives can perform well in hot and extremely hot temperatures.
The results demonstrate that several viable replacements exist for both HCFC-22 and HFC-410A – two of the most common refrigerants used today – and that these potential replacements perform just as well at high temperatures as today’s refrigerants. The testing programme was conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and guided by a panel of prominent technical experts from Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Peru, Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). The new report can be found here.
Last year, ORNL conducted a similar testing programme for mini-split air conditioning units. The results of that testing programme can be found here.
Call to Action from Companies and Sub-National Governments Building on the announcements in New York on Thursday, more than 500 national and international companies and organisations and hundreds of sub-national governments are also calling – individually and/or through their associations – for an ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol and have issued the following statement:
By avoiding up to 0.5°C of warming by the end of the century, a Montreal Protocol hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phasedown amendment is one of the most significant steps the world can take now to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement. Today, we call upon world leaders to adopt in October an ambitious amendment to the Montreal Protocol, including an early first reduction step for Article 2 countries and a freeze date for Article 5 countries that is as early as practicable, and we declare our intent to work to reduce the use and emissions of high-global-warming-potential HFCs and transition over time to more sustainable alternatives in a manner that maintains or increases energy efficiency.
Signatories of the statement include the following companies, organisations, and associations: 3M; Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI); Airgas; The Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy; Arkema; Aspen Skiing Company; Aveda; Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc.; Berkshire Hathaway Energy; BioAmber Inc.; Brazilian Association for HVAC-R (ABRAVA); Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP); CA Technologies; Cap & Seal Co.; Catalyst Paper; Ceres; CH2M; The Chemours Company; Daikin U.S. Corporation; Danfoss; Dell Inc.; The Dow Chemical Company; DSM; Dynatemp International; Eileen Fisher; Emerson Climate Technologies; Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2); European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE); Falcon Safety Products; Gap Inc.; General Mills; Godrej Group; Golden Refrigerant; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Honeywell; Hudson Technologies; ICP Adhesives & Sealants, Inc.; Ingersoll Rand; The Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA); Johnson Controls; Lapolla Industries, Inc.; Lennox International; Mexichem; Microsoft; Midwest Refrigerants; Mission Pharmacal Company; National Refrigerants; Nike; Red Bull; Refrigerants Australia; Refrigerants, Naturally!; Rheem Manufacturing Company; RM2; SEVO Systems, Inc.; shecco america; Solvay; Symantec; Tri Global Energy; True Refrigeration; Unilever; and Virginia Mason Health System.
These companies include producers of the chemicals, manufacturers of equipment that use HFCs, and end-users, which demonstrates that companies throughout the HFC supply chain support strong global action on HFCs.
Signatories of the aforementioned statement also include ICLEI USA, which represents hundreds of sub-national governments; Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Mayors’ National Climate Action Agenda Member and Compact of Mayors Member; Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, C40 Vice-Chair and Mayors’ National Climate Action Agenda Member; Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, C40 Vice-Chair and Mayors’ National Climate Action Agenda Co-Founder; Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, Mayors’ National Climate Action Agenda Member; San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Mayors’ National Climate Action Agenda Member; and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, C40 Member and Mayors’ National Climate Action Agenda Member.
Rights activist, Nnimmo Bassey, at the Nigerian side event – Taking Climate Action for Sustainable Development – on Thursday at the UNGA in New York, submits that it is time to robustly enthrone climate justice in the climate negotiations
Nnimmo Bassey is captured on the screens as he reflects on climate finance and climate justice at the UNGA side event
I thank my president and the minister of environment for providing this August space to outline the strides Nigeria is making on tackling climate as well as overall environmental change.
The Niger Delta clean-up based on the UNEP Report on the Assessment of the Ogoni Environment is an excellent example of government concern for the health of the peoples and the environment as opposed to corporate focus on only profit. Coupled with the plans to end routine gas flaring, we can say that these will add up to reduce green house emissions, tackle global warming and allow the people a chance to breathe fresh air after decades of ecological despoliation. This task requires the support of the global community. Thank you Mr President.
It is good that Nigeria spent time studying the Paris Agreement before signing it. The importance of taking such steps makes deep reflections a necessity. The big questions now are with regard to the implications at a global level of contributions determined at national levels. Overall, such contributions are largely shots in the dark since they are not predicated on some scientifically allotted quantities towards meeting global emissions reduction targets.
Mechanisms should be put in place to encourage countries to urgently review their NDCs, on the basis of historical responsibility and on equitably assigned targets based on a fair sharing of the global carbon budget. The aggregate commitments currently on the table simply do not measure up to what is needed.
Currently, we see countries like ours setting targets that would see them doing more than their fair share in terms of emissions cuts – than the powerful nations that are also the most polluting whose NDCs do not generally rise to much more than 20 percent of what they ought to do.
Nigeria proposes to stop routine gas flaring, invest more on solar and other renewable energy sources. She also plans to ensure efficient resource utilisation, including through mass transit. Reforestation and “climate smart” agriculture are also on the cards. On that point we believe that what is needed are culture smart, ecologically sound agriculture devoid of genetic engineering or gene drives.
But who will fund the lofty NDCs that Nigeria has committed to? We submit that it is time to robustly enthrone climate justice in the climate negotiations. It is time to elevate the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) beyond being a mere notion as it now is in the Paris Agreement. It is also time to to support the vulnerable on the critical issue of loss and damage caused by climate impacts.
Permit us to repeat the crucial issue of historical responsibility. Historical responsibility cannot be denied for ever. Someone has eaten up the climate budget. I’m sure our president could characterise this as climate corruption. If someone has polluted through the years and somebody else is condemned to suffer the impacts, the call for payment of the ecological or climate debt should not be denied or delayed. This will pay for the technology and finance much needed for the transition to clean energy far more than what their national incomes could hope to do in the near term. Climate debt trumps the current Green Climate Fund (GCF) plans.
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change has demonstrated Nigeria’s commitment to a global effort to reverse the effects of the negative trend.
Mr President and participants at the meeting on Taking Climate Action for Sustainable Development in New York. He says his signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change has demonstrated the country’s commitment to a global effort to reverse the effects of the negative trend
The President said this while addressing the opening of the meeting on Taking Climate Action for Sustainable Development in New York, co-hosted by Nigeria and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as one of the Side Events of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA71).
President Buhari had, shortly before this event, signed the Paris Agreement, where he committed Nigeria to reducing “Green House Gas Emissions unconditionally by 20 per cent and conditionally by 45 per cent” in line with Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions.”
Describing the signing as historic, he also expressed confidence that, with support from development partners, Nigeria would meet stated targets.
The President also promised to ensure the ratification of the Paris Agreement before the 22nd Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) holding in Marrakesh, Morocco in November 2016.
He stressed that it was to demonstrate his personal dedication to the process of implementing the Agreement that he was hosting the side event on Taking Climate Action Towards Sustainable Development.
President Buhari, who said he was privileged to have been part of the Paris Agreement, expressed appreciation to what he called “the genuine efforts by President Francois Hollande of France in drawing global attention to reviving the Lake Chad Basin,” and for galvanising the political will that led to the global consensus in reaching the Paris Agreement.
The Nigerian President said his country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement is articulated through its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) “that strive to build a climate resilient society across the diverse terrain of Nigeria. We have instituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change to govern implementation of my country’s NDCs, thereby ensuring a strong cross-sectoral approach, coherence and synergy for Climate Action.”
President Buhari, while admitting that implementing the Roadmap would not be easy in the face of dwindling national revenues, however, indicated that both internal and external resources would be mobilised to meet Nigeria’s targets. He added that the 2017 Budget would reflect Nigeria’s efforts to accord priority to realising its NDCs.
“In addition, we are set to launch our first ever Green Bonds in the first quarter of 2017 to fund a pipeline of projects all targeted at reducing emissions towards a greener economy,” he said.
While urging global support to transit to a low-carbon climate resilient economy, the President specifically reminded industrialised nations “to play their role and deliver on their commitments on access to climate finance and technology transfer and help with capacity-building,” adding that, “Expectations are high for their leaders to deliver $100 billion per year by 2020 in support of developing countries to take climate action, thus keeping the promise to billions of people.”
President Buhari, who thanked the Presidents of Chad, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Niger for attending the event, also called on the international community to “give special recognition to the plight of Lake Chad and support our effort to resuscitate the livelihoods of over 5 million people in the region. This will reinforce our efforts to reintegrate the thousands of Boko Haram victims and returning Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).”
The President noted that the Niger Delta region is a unique biodiversity rich in coastal environment that is highly prone to adverse environmental changes occasioned by climate change, such as sea level rise, coastal erosion, exacerbated by poverty and many decades of oil pollution leading to loss of livelihoods and ecosystems.
He added however, that “through an integrated approach, implementation of the NDCs, and our efforts to clean up Ogoniland, we will improve livelihoods, protect the environment and take climate action, and ensure the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Nigeria on Thursday, 22 September 2016, signed the Paris Agreement, bringing the total number of signatories to 188. President Muhammadu Buhari signed on behalf of the nation during a brief ceremony at the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) holding at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA.
President Buhari of Nigeria signs the global treaty. President Buhari with R-L: Mr. Stephen Mathias, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, United Nations; Mr. Santiago Villalpando, Chief of the Treaty Section, OLA, United Nations; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; and Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed as he signs Paris Agreement on Climate Change at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York September 22, 2016.
This follows the signing of the Paris Agreement by the Republic of Moldova and Kyrgyzstan on 21 September, as well as by Malawi, Armenia, Zambia and Chile on 20 September.
On 22 April this year, 175 world leaders signed the Paris Agreement, the most to ever sign a treaty on a single day.
It was projected that, by the end of this week, 190 would have signed the Agreement, including Armenia, Chile, Kyrgyz Republic, Malawi, Moldova, Nigeria, Togo, Turkmenistan, Yemen and Zambia.
At the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP), held in Paris, France, the Parties adopted the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was opened for signature on 22 April 2016.
On this date, 174 States as well as the European Union signed the Agreement and 15 States also deposited their instruments of ratification.
The number of Parties having ratified the Paris Agreement presently stands at 60 States.
Finally, Nigeria has joined the list of nations that have signed the Paris Agreement on climate change. The country is however yet to ratify the global and widely-accepted treaty.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who is attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN Headquarters in New York, signed the dotted lines on Thursday on behalf of the nation.
All set and waiting for President Muhammadu Buhari…Still awaiting Mr President…Finally, Mr President puts pen on paper. Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed, and others look onMr President listens as an official explains a pointMr President briefs an audienceSome members of the Nigerian delegation. Lagos governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, is second right
In the first of its decarbonisation series, the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) analysis looks at transport, a sector that is key to achieving the deep cuts in emissions required by the Paris Agreement.
The World Advanced Vehicle Expedition (WAVE), world’s largest electric vehicle rally, in respect of which the 2016 held on the Place des Nations in front of the UN European headquarters in Geneva, aims at promoting zero-emission vehicles, considered crucial to limiting warming to 1.5°C
In this series the CAT examines specific energy-intensive sectors, and how emissions can be reduced to be in line with the Paris Agreement’s long term warming limits, namely, to keep global temperature rise “well below” 2°C, and to “pursue efforts” to limit warming to 1.5°C.
The CAT’s latest analysis shows that if governments were to double fuel economy standards in new passenger cars by 2030, and achieve a 50% EV uptake by 2050, then most get close to – or even reach – a 2°C warming pathway. But a 1.5°C pathway requires more action.
“Emissions standards only get the transport fleet to a certain point – it is clear that in order to get to the Paris Agreement’s lower temperature goal of 1.5°C, the world needs to make a paradigm shift to zero emissions vehicles,” said Markus Hagemann of NewClimate Institute.
“Attention must also be paid to the recent discovery that some car manufacturers have been deliberately manipulating emissions tests,” he noted.
Perhaps a positive outcome of this scandal is that it has brought to light major shortcomings in the emissions tests themselves, sparking a move towards more realistic tests, hopefully leading to smaller discrepancies between laboratory and road emissions intensities.”
“Aside from much-needed shifts in transport behaviour, for the transport sector to decarbonise there is no choice but to adopt zero-emission vehicles. For electric vehicles this would mean that they also need to be powered by renewable electricity,” said Yvonne Deng of Ecofys.
To avoid exceeding a 1.5°C warming trajectory, zero global aggregate emissions would need to be reached around the middle of the century, implying that the last fossil gasoline or diesel-powered passenger vehicle would have to be sold around 2035 (assuming a new car would be on the road for an average of 15 years).
“Even a date of 2035 or so for the last new fossil-fuel powered passenger car could be late: the earlier we decarbonise the transport system, the less we will need to rely on negative emissions that largely require technologies still awaiting large-scale deployment,” said Michiel Schaeffer of Climate Analytics.
The analysis looks at two scenarios comparing a range of big emitters: the EU, China, US, Japan, India, Mexico and Brazil. Scenario 1 would see a doubling of new car fuel economy standards by 2030, and Scenario 2 a doubling of new car fuel economy standards by 2030, plus 50% (zero emission) EV’s by 2050.
In the EU and the USA, the increased deployment of EVs would keep overall emissions on a downward trend in line with a 2°C pathway.
In India, the projected rise in vehicle numbers (activity) is so high that absolute emissions from passenger cars would keep rising even under Scenario 2. However, this would still be in line with the IEA’s 2°C pathway for India, which foresees a similar rise in emissions, reflecting this strong expected growth.
The situation in China, Brazil and Mexico lies between these two cases, with emissions under Scenario 2 stabilising as the effects of increased activity and reduced intensity approximately balance out. The resulting decreasing emissions trend is just enough to comply with a 2°C pathway.
Overall emissions are expected to decrease most strongly in Japan (in both scenarios), partly due to declining activity levels.
The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) is an independent scientific analysis produced by four research organisations (Climate Analytics, Ecofys, NewClimate Institute and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) tracking climate action and global efforts towards the globally agreed aim of holding warming below 2°C, since 2009.
Toyin Ayinde, former Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning & Urban Development, in a review of “The Citizen’s Guide to Planning in Nigeria: How to get your voice heard” written by urban planner Yacoob Abiodun, says the book should be read because the author has bravely attempted to bring the awareness of planning afore to those who hitherto had very little or distorted knowledge of it
The author, Yacoob Abiodun, signing autographs on copies of the book on Citizen’s Guide to Planning
The book is structured into 12 chapters, preceded by quotes on planning by “President Planners”, and a validation of the manual by some distinguished Nigerians.
Yacoob Abiodun is an accomplished town planner who, having paid his dues in a meritorious service delivered over two decades in the Nigerian Federal Civil Service, retired as Deputy Director (Urban Planning).
Of himself, he declares that he is “retired but not tired” and, to prove his point, he has produced two books in 10 years of retirement – not bad for one who is not a professional writer. He ranks amongst the Senior Citizens of the nation, as well as senior practitioners of town and regional planning who must be listened to when they choose to their mouths to speak.
Toyin Ayinde, book reviewer and erstwhile Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning & Urban Development
In this book, Abiodun sets forth in a two-pronged manner to address the uninformed and the informed in the field of urban and regional planning. He dexterously pilots his reader from the rudimentary level to a more advanced setting, yet putting it in such an intelligible manner to ensure that the reader is never tempted to go in search of the author’s phone number in order to seek answers to knotty areas of the book.
Well researched and articulately presented, this book is set to break the backbone of ignorance of the uninitiated in the discipline of town planning, as well as help the initiated to correct past mistakes and take up a new determination to do things better that before.
Abiodun offers a departure from the style we are accustomed to: that of identifying the problem, but never proffering any solution. His opening chapter, which is introductory, observes the existence of a “great misconception and very limited knowledge among the citizenry concerning what planning is, what it is for and the way it works. On the part of professional colleagues also lies the erroneous belief that planning is autocratic, that ‘the-king-can-do-no-wrong’ which is the cause of constant conflict between planners and the citizens.”
While I agree with the author, I just continue to wonder why it always takes them retirement from office to see it this way, or to talk about it. So he uses the chapter to prepare a base upon which to launch other facts as he seeks to explain the purpose of the book which he ensured is “devoid of technical planning jargon, mathematical models and statistical analysis” to make it appealing to the ordinary citizen-reader.
He seeks to define urban planning in his second chapter, explaining the purpose and benefits derivable from the exercise which is indeed a process. For the first time, the citizen-reader would be shocked to learn that placing the “RED X” mark on buildings is not urban planning. Thank you sir for this elucidation.
The book in Chapter 3 confirms that the country is replete with legal and policy provisions for urban planning. In many ways, lack of laws has never been the problem in Nigeria. We always have many of them, sometimes replicated in other agencies but we have always lacked the capacity to follow through with the laws.
He emphasises in Chapter 4 that the city belongs to all, planners and non-planners, and that is why survival cannot be left to planners alone. The case is therefore well made for other stakeholders, NGOs, FBOs, community leaders, planning advocates and citizens in general to get involved and build settlements of our dream.
When we all come together to set a vision of a sustainable living environment the result is a planned and well managed settlement. The converse is also true.
The author in Chapter 9 provides a refresher course for practitioners, just for the records, to remind us of what we should never forget. For the citizens it forms a checklist by which you can be certain that your planner has not gone off mark. It is about planning to plan, an analysis of the process of planning.
Chapter 10 s Abiodun’s “Epistle to the Citizens”. He discusses the subject of citizen participation in the planning process, the very reason this book is written. When citizens fully participate in the process of plan preparation, they will give unalloyed support for its implementation because they will assume ownership of such plan.
The author thus encourages the invitation of memoranda from a wide range of stakeholders including members of the public as entrenched in Section D. 13(1) of the National Urban & Regional Planning Law. You must get involved in the planning process by seeking information about local planning activities, keeping abreast with planning information, attending city consultations, participating in focus groups and exploring other forms of engagement. Don’t let the planners hijack the plans of the city. They are only facilitators. I do not agree less.
The author believes that the professional urban planner has a role to play in promoting citizen participation. Rising from the years of military rule which most elderly planners are familiar with, the penchant for dictatorial attitude can be understood but it is not the way with panning if our cities are ever going to reflect beauty and order.
In the last chapter of the book, the author makes the point that innovation in urban planning makes room for improvement in the quality of life available to us while providing opportunity for economic vibrancy. He identifies the key stakeholders that should get involved in this and the role each of them has to play.
In concluding this review, I would like to acknowledge the depth of work that the author has put in. In my opinion, this is the most relevant book today on Citizen Participation for the enhancement of planning practice.
As it coincides the the 70th birthday anniversary of the author, I seize the opportunity to wish him sound health and longevity of life as he joins the Septuagenarian Club.
The UN Headquaters in New York on Wednesday hosted an event in which the development of the new Least Developed Countries (LDC) Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative was highlighted. It was moderated by Chair of the LDC Group, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu.
Chair of the LDC group, Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu
The initiative is a collaborative effort to align sustainable development and climate change goals by enabling universal access to clean, renewable energy in the world’s poorest nations. It gained international support in Bonn in May this year and is to be launched at COP22 in Marrakech in November 2016, the next international climate conference.
Mr. Mpanu-Mpanu said: “COP22 will be an action and implementation COP, providing the opportunity to begin implementation of the Paris Agreement through concrete action in the renewables sector. This is a chance for our developed country partners to fulfil their support responsibilities under the Paris Agreement, which should be a priority given their commitment to enhance the capacity and the ability of developing countries to take effective climate change action.
“All LDCs face major challenges in scaling up renewable energy and ensuring energy access to our poorest communities. This initiative will ensure no LDC is left behind. With clean and renewable energy also comes jobs and opportunities to vastly improve the livelihoods of our people.”
The LDC Initiative will develop under the umbrella of a Global Initiative on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, which will provide a space for developing synergies and sharing best practices amongst similar initiatives, including the African Renewable Energy Initiative and initiatives proposed by the Small Island Developing States.
“This Global Initiative exemplifies how the international climate process can generate new global partnerships, powering towards a more prosperous future for the world’s poor and amplifying the charge towards a clean energy economy,” he added.
On Wednesday, 31 countries deposited their instruments of ratification at the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special event to accelerate the entry into force of the historic Paris Agreement. 60 countries have now ratified the Agreement, which requires 55 countries representing 55% of greenhouse gas emissions to enter into force.
“With today’s 31 ratifications the Paris Agreement has surpassed the country barrier and is now on the brink of early entry into force. This is a powerful political symbol that governments of the world recognise the need to take urgent action against climate change,” said Mr Mpanu-Mpanu, adding:
“The Paris Agreement is a dynamic and inclusive agreement which focuses on supporting the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. With entry into force imminent, it is vital that we build on this growing global unity and carry out our commitments agreed in Paris, to safeguard our planet for future generations. This requires developed countries to provide much needed support to developing countries, including the LDCs, to enable us to develop sustainably and adapt to the enormous challenges climate change presents to our communities.”
Governments have been asked not to build new fossil fuel extraction or transportation infrastructure, and that they should not grant new permits for them.
Fossil fuel infrastructure: oil installation
This submission forms part of the recommendations in a new study released on Thursday by Oil Change International (OCI).
The OCI, in partnership with 14 organisations from around the world, scientifically grounds the growing movement to keep carbon in the ground by revealing the need to stop all new fossil fuel infrastructure and industry expansion.
The report, titled: The Sky’s Limit – Why the Paris Climate Goals Require a Managed Decline of Fossil Fuel Production,” also recommended that some fields and mines – primarily in rich countries – should be closed before fully exploiting their resources, and financial support should be provided for non-carbon development in poorer countries.
The report focuses on the potential carbon emissions from developed reserves – where the wells are already drilled, the pits dug, and the pipelines, processing facilities, railways, and export terminals constructed.
According to the report, suggestions put forward does not mean stopping the use of all fossil fuels overnight. Rather, it added, governments and companies should conduct a managed decline of the fossil fuel industry and ensure a just transition for the workers and communities that depend on it.
Key findings are listed to include:
The potential carbon emissions from the oil, gas, and coal in the world’s currently operating fields and mines would take us beyond 2°C of warming.
The reserves in currently operating oil and gas fields alone, even with no coal, would take the world beyond 1.5°C.
With the necessary decline in production over the coming decades to meet climate goals, clean energy can be scaled up at a corresponding pace, expanding the total number of energy jobs.
The report is published by the OCI, in collaboration with Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), 350.org, Amazon Watch, APMDD, AYCC, Bold Alliance, Christian Aid, Earthworks, Équiterre, Global Catholic Climate Movement, Indigenous Environmental Network, IndyAct, Rainforest Action Network and Stand.earth.
