The Paris Prefecture of Police has announced that, due to the tragic events that took place on November 13, the Global Climate March planned for November 29, and the December 12 mobilisations planned will not be allowed to proceed in Paris.
Juliette Rousseau, coordinator of the Coalition Climat 21. Photo credit: www.humanite.fr
The Coalition Climat 21 has expressed regret that no alternative has been found to allow its mobilisation plans to go ahead. It states however that “we are more determined than ever to make our voices heard on climate justice and throughout both weeks.”
“We realise the gravity of the situation, but now more than ever, we need to find creative ideas to call on people to unite around climate action,” Juliette Rousseau, coordinator of the Coalition Climat 21, the network of NGOS coordinating the mobilisations.
“There will be no COP21 without civil society and our voices will be heard inside that conference centre and in capitals around the world,” said Wael Hmaidan, director of Climate Action Network International.
On the weekend of November 28 and 29, on the eve of COP21, millions of people throughout the world are expected to march for climate justice. Over 2,173 events are going ahead in more than 150 countries, including 57 major marches across all continents and dozens of marches across France.
“We call on people across the world to join in and march for us in solidarity, to express our demands and echo our voices,” said Alix Mazounie, international policy coordinator for RAC France.
Regarding both November 29 and December 12 in Paris, the French Coalition is already at work to find creative ways to take action and ensure that the future climate agreement will not be the work only of government negotiators but of the people around the world.
The Citizens Climate Summit to be held on December 5 and 6 in Montreuil (Seine Saint-Denis) and the Action Zone Climate (ZAC), to be held from December 7 to 11 at Paris-CENTQUATRE should go forward as planned, declared Coalition Climat 21, adding that these mobilisations will be two great opportunities to demonstrate that civil society is fighting and implementing the solutions to climate change, and determined to fight against the climate crisis.
The Paris Climate Summit is not an end in itself, it add. “As citizens of the world, we will continue to build a movement that will be strengthened after this summit and beyond to call for a just energy transformation to tackle the common threat of climate change.”
Nicolas Haeringer, France Campaigner for 350.org, said, “The government can prohibit these demonstrations, but our voices will not be silenced. While this makes it difficult to go forward with our original plans, we will still find a way for people in Paris to make the call for climate justice heard, and we encourage everyone around the world to join a Global Climate March and raise their voices louder than ever. There’s never been a greater need.
“While our plans for Paris must change, the movement for climate justice will not slow down. Around the world, marches, demonstrations, and civil disobedience are all planned for the weeks and months ahead. Together, we will continue to stand against violence and hatred with our peace and resolve.
“For people around the world, join the Global Climate March in your community to show your support for climate justice. For those who were planning to travel to Paris, still come and join us, and together we’ll find a way to take action together.”
The Global Canopy Programme’s ‘Forest 500’, the world’s first rainforest ratings agency that analyses the most influential companies, investors and governments in the race towards a deforestation-free global economy, on Wednesday launched its annual results. It revealed that while the corporate sector improved marginally overall, many laggards are yet to make public sustainability commitments. Commercial agriculture drives at least two thirds of tropical deforestation yet only 8% of all the 250 powerbroker companies assessed have zero or zero net commitments in place that apply across forest risk commodities (palm oil, soya, beef, leather, paper, and timber). The investment community has made even more limited progress, with the exception of BNP Paribas (France) who has become the first Forest 500 investor to make a commitment to zero net deforestation in their agricultural lendings.
Andrew Mitchell, Founder and Executive Director of the Global Canopy Programme. Photo credit: c1.staticflickr.com
The 2015 Forest 500, assessed and ranked 250 companies, with total annual revenues in excess of $4.5 trillion; 150 investors and lenders; 50 countries and regions; and 50 other influential actors in this space. These 500 powerbrokers play a major role in supply chains for commodities fuelling deforestation, which accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions, a key contributor to climate change.
Andrew Mitchell, Founder and Executive Director of the Global Canopy Programme, said, “GCP’s Forest 500 holds the most influential global players to account for their role in the deforestation economy. Together, these 500 powerbrokers control the complex supply chains of key ‘forest risk commodities’ that are found in over 50% of packaged products in supermarkets. Through these commodities, we are all part of a hidden deforestation economy – from our toothpaste, to our pensions. At this crucial time leading up to the international climate change negotiations, GCP is calling on these companies and investors to take the first critical step in addressing tropical deforestation by adopting, strengthening and implementing deforestation policies in their value chains.”
The 2015 Forest 500 found:
Despite 2020 being a key deadline set by the New York Declaration on Forests, one year on since its publication, few powerbrokers have made new or strengthened procurement and production commitments.
Whilst the corporate sector has improved marginally overall, many laggards are yet to make public sustainability commitments. Only 8% of all the 250 powerbroker companies now have zero or zero net commitments in place that apply across all forest risk commodities.
The corporate leader board remains unchanged, with Groupe Danone (France),Kao Corp. (Japan), Nestlé S.A. (Switzerland), Procter & Gamble (US), Reckitt Benckiser Group (UK), and Unilever (UK) the only companies to score 5 points.
New York Declaration signatories lead the way towards achieving zero deforestation in agricultural supply chains scoring on average three times higher than non-signatories.
The investment community has made even more limited progress with less than 1% of investors adopting zero or zero net commitments that apply to all of their investments or lendings in agricultural supply chains.
BNP Paribas (France) has become the first Forest 500 investor to make a commitment to zero net deforestation in their agricultural lendings and joins HSBC (UK) in the top score band. Of the jurisdictions assessed, none has significantly strengthened their national or state-level deforestation policies to improve their Forest 500 score.
Séverin Fischer, BNP Paribas, Head of Environment and Extra Financial Accountability, said, “BNP Paribas has taken the strategic decision to make a zero net deforestation commitment that will be implemented by 2020. This applies to all our lendings in agricultural commodities as it makes both commercial and environmental sense, we are managing risk over the long term. The Forest 500 is an important benchmarking tool that helps us recognise risk in our portfolios and we are delighted that our leadership position has been recognised, we hope others will follow.”
Tom Bregman, Project Manager of the Forest 500, said, “The Forest 500 platform now includes significant enhancements which enable users to compare progress across sectors and target their engagement with powerbrokers to incentivise change. In the coming months, the Forest 500 is going to be working with others, together we hope to create a race to the top.”
A new report packed with best practice climate policies from across the world reveals a wealth of existing opportunities to immediately scale up reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while powering up ambition to keep the global average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.
Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary
“Climate Action Now – A Summary for Policymakers 2015” http://climateaction2020.unfccc.int/spm/introduction/ underlines how nations can deploy a wide range of proven policies and utilize existing initiatives to meet the common challenge of climate change and sustainable development. The report also sits on a new microsite http://climateaction2020.unfccc.int/ highlighting the potential for greater climate action and ambition before 2020, when the new Paris Agreement comes into effect.
It also highlights both national and international cooperative actions while underling the vital role of non-State actors such as companies, cities, regions and provinces in realising bigger reductions in current and future emissions.
The report, released by the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the request of governments, provides a straightforward, inspiring go-to-reference to assist ministers, advisors and policymakers pursuing climate actions now and over the years and decades to come.
The findings spotlight how effective policies across six key thematic areas not only reduce emissions rapidly but also advance goals in 15 other critical economic, social and environmental areas.
The report underlines that the intended national climate action plans which almost 170 countries have already submitted towards the new climate change agreement in Paris, in December, have an inordinate potential to go further and faster, assisting nations to over-achieve on their pledges.
“Under the UNFCCC, governments have over the past few years led a significant effort during a series of technical expert meetings to identify and scope out the policies that lead to effective climate action – this report is the fruit of that effort,” said Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.
“It underlines the myriad of remarkable transitions that are already occurring nationally and internationally in areas ranging from renewable energy to transportation and land use. In doing so it provides governments and their partners with the blueprints and tool-kits to cost-effectively catalyse action now and take the Paris agreement to the next level of long term ambition,” she added.
“The remarkable reality revealed in this report is that the very policies that deal most effectively with climate change also offer a ready-made portfolio of actions that can equally assist the Sustainable Development Goals and achieve everyone’s ultimate aim of a prosperous, stable and environmentally healthy world for all,” said Ms. Figueres.
Barriers to Greater Ambition
The report pinpoints broadly four areas that are holding back taking climate action to scale.
Carbon Pricing – putting an adequate price on carbon will encourage investment in and use of low-carbon technologies and fuels
An estimated 40 national and more than 20 subnational jurisdictions have or are planning to introduce a price on carbon. The report urges more to follow suit.
Inefficient Subsidies – close to $550 billion was spent on direct fossil fuel subsidies in 2013 which in turn works against investments in low carbon fuels and clean energy
The report notes that the G20 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum have all pledged to reduce such subsides with several developing countries like Angola, Egypt, Indonesia and Morocco ‘taking advantage of low oil prices to cut fossil fuel subsidies’.
Finance and Capacity-Building – Developing countries need enhanced support to access technologies and finance up-front costs.
The report notes that additional investment averaging $1 trillion a year will be needed in the energy sector until 2050 ‘in order to stay below the 2 degrees C threshold’.
Institutional, Regulatory and Legal Frameworks – the institutions charged with implementing or overseeing climate action need to be equipped with appropriate resources and mandates says the report
It calls for governments to ramp up the strategies, regulations and laws including the engagement of civil society and private sector actors in order to catalyse further national and non-State actor action.
The potential for non-state actors to play a significant collaborative role with governments is being showcased via the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) portal
The UNFCCC secretariat has just recorded the biggest wave yet of new climate actions by cities, states, regions and businesses. A total 2,245 fresh commitments were recently entered into the NAZCA portal http://climateaction.unfccc.int/ , which has collected well over 6,600 separate pledges worldwide … and counting.
Larger cooperative initiatives between governments, the UN, agencies, non-State actors and civil society will also be brought forward at the UN climate conference in Paris under the Lima-Paris Action Agenda http://climateaction.unfccc.int/
Climate Policies at Work World-Wide
The report is full of good practice climate policies across six thematic areas: renewable energy, energy efficiency, transport, land use, carbon capture, use and storage and controlling non-CO2 greenhouse gases. Immediate action by all nations has the potential to reduce emissions by 2020 by between 10 Gigatons and 19 Gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Renewable Energy
Excluding hydropower, renewables accounted for just over nine per cent of global electricity generation in 2014, up from 1.8 per cent in 2004. This momentum has led to approximately 58 per cent of net additions to global power capacity in 2014 coming from renewables, which is more than from coal and gas combined.
The Republic of Korea smart grid initiative – “Smart grids” that use digital technology to manage flows of power more efficiently are vital for integrating a large volume of distributed, intermittent, low-carbon generation while improving energy efficiency
African Group Renewable Energy Partnership – to establish a global partnership to accelerate energy transformation in Africa to wider use of renewables via the deployment of, for example, feed-in tariffs and other incentives. By 2020 the partnership could enable the installation of at least 10 GW of renewable energy capacity in Africa
Energy Efficiency
Scaling up investment in energy efficiency could generate a net increase in global economic output of $18 trillion by 2035, says the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Denmark – The National Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme offers cost-neutrality for participants by allowing them to pass costs on to end users and flexibility to trade credits received
UN–World Bank Sustainable Energy for All – its Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform could double the rate of energy efficiency improvement by 2030 by driving action and commitments by national and subnational leaders at all levels, using integrated policy and investment road maps to guide project implementation
Transport
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates reductions of emissions from land transport, aviation and shipping of 1.7–2.5 Gt CO2 equivalent – from one quarter to more than one third of current emissions from the sector – are possible by 2020.
Mexico – Mexico City has consistently expanded its bus rapid transport system since 2005. One tenth of its users have shifted from private cars
The SLoCaT Partnership on Sustainable Transport – brings together over 90 organisations working on freight and passenger land transport to mobilise global support to promote sustainable low-carbon transport in developing countries and maximise the role of transport in poverty eradication and sustainable development
Carbon Capture, Use and Storage
Globally, there are 12 operational carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) projects, with a further 10 under construction. The IEA estimates that if sufficient support is provided and financing is secured, CCS projects could capture 50 Mt CO2/year by 2020.
Within the power sector, it is estimated the emission reduction potential for CCS is 0.2–0.4 Gt CO2 equivalent in 2020.
Norway – A carbon tax, established in 1991, has increased over time, creating an incentive to store CO2 and resulting in sequestration of 0.9 Mt of CO2 each year
Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum – a ministerial-level initiative to facilitate development and deployment of cost-effective CCS technologies. Membership is open to national government entities that are significant producers or users of fossil fuels and committed to investing in CCS research, development and demonstration
Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases
The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates 2.7 Gt CO2 equivalent of global non-CO2 GHG emissions could be mitigated by 2020 at a cost below $50/t CO2 equivalent.
Almost one-quarter of these reductions could be made at or below a breakeven cost with a substantial portion generating an immediate financial return.
European Union – The EU Emissions Trading System helped reduce N2O emissions from nitric acid plants. N2O emissions in 2013 were 85 per cent lower than in 1990
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer – an international treaty to phase out the production of numerous substances responsible for ozone depletion. Over 98 per cent of consumption of all ozone-depleting substances has now been phased out since its entry into force in 1989
Meeting in Dubai in early November this year, nations agreed on a pathway to control the growth of hydroflurocarbons (HFCs) – chemicals that are harmless to the ozone layer but which have significant climate impacts.
Land Use
The UN estimates that at marginal costs of less than $50–100 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, the direct emission reduction potential of agriculture lies in the range of 1.1–4.3 Gt CO2 equivalent and of forestry in the range of 1.3–4.2 Gt CO2 equivalent in 2020, or as much as two thirds of current emissions from these sectors.
China – In order to increase net forest area by 40 million hectares by the end of 2020 compared with 2005, China is combining afforestation, forest protection and sustainable forest management policies and practices and is also integrating forest carbon into its national carbon emissions trading system pilot programme
The Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 – a public-private partnership to create zero deforestation supply chain models in South-East Asia, Central and West Africa and regions of South America.
It engages with governments, civil society groups active in both producer and consumer nations, smallholder farmers and indigenous representatives and multinational corporations
Policies Also Boost Resilience
The report also underlines the critical connection between reducing emissions fast enough in order to avoid the worst climate change impacts and therefore reduce the scale of future adaptation required but also to enable many immediate adaptation co-benefits.
Energy efficiency, for example, can improve the ability of communities to adapt to climate change by reducing the peak demand they put on power systems during high temperatures or unexpected weather while improving the comfort level of buildings in uncertain weather.
“This report underlines that many of the specific and cooperative actions needed to reduce emissions also have multiple co-benefits including in the area of adaptation and building more resilient countries and communities,” said Ms Figueres.
“These include improved agricultural practices, efficient land-use management, forest management food security, environmental sustainability, and socio-economic development, she added.
An internationally-renowned environmental human rights defender, Nasako Besingi, is being pursued in the courts in Cameroon for defending his own community’s land rights. However, the company he is peacefully protesting against is seeking favourable treatment from the state for its own lawsuits, according to new evidence obtained by Greenpeace Africa and the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP).
Besingi had his pending case for unlawful assembly adjourned until December 3 last week. The charges pertain to peaceful meetings he organised to protest the plans of US agribusiness company Herakles Farms to establish a huge palm oil plantation on forested land near his home village of Mundemba, South West Region.
“Nasako has committed no crime other than exercising his democratic right to protest at what he believes to be a project detrimental to his community, his environment and local livelihoods,” said Irène Wabiwa Betoko, forest campaign manager with Greenpeace Africa.
The Herakles Farms project, originally aimed at clearing some 70,000 hectares of mainly dense forest, has run into financial problems in recent years and scores of former employees have now taken legal action seeking unpaid wages and claiming racial discrimination among other grievances.
However, according to evidence seen by Greenpeace Africa and FPP, the company has requested that the presidency of Cameroon help them enforce an arbitration clause in their employment contracts that means such grievances can only be heard in New York. Yet the Herakles Cameroon subsidiary, SGSOC, has no office in the United States.
“The fact that Herakles Farms is using the Cameroon legal system to both punish its critics and trying to involve the highest authorities in its own legal problems is an alarming discovery.” Wabiwa says. “That an employee can only take up a grievance in a foreign country places an unfair insurmountable burden on employees and the independence of the judiciary has to be upheld at all times.”
It has also emerged that Herakles Farms appears to have withdrawn from day to day operations on its plantation. Jonathan Watts has been named as the new chief executive and also runs the Volta Red palm oil in Ghana, a plantation that was also acquired from Herakles Farms. This change in structure comes despite the fact the company reportedly received a bill for unpaid taxes in May this year for nearly $40,000.
The company’s palm oil project has faced fierce local and international opposition since it was announced. Originally operating without a valid land lease it would destroy an area of natural forest, surrounded by protected areas that supports the livelihoods of thousands of people and is home to rare and endangered wildlife including the chimpanzee and drill.
According to Greenpeace Africa, Besingi has been “repeatedly threatened and physically assaulted because of his peaceful opposition to the project.” Last week, he was found guilty of several charges including defamation and was threatened with a three-year jail term if he did not pay a fine and legal costs.
In recent years, the Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest rainforested area, has been targeted by palm oil investors from around the world who view it as “a new frontier” for production. Many projects are opaque in nature and are pushed through without adequate Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of local communities, creating social conflict and harmful deforestation.
Washington Bolivar, an indigenous activist in Peru, has received another sinister death threat in the immediate wake of his efforts to challenge the destruction of Amazon rainforest for timber extraction and conversion to oil palm.
Washington Bolivar
In the course of the last month, human rights defender, Mr Bolivar, received the following handwritten and explicit notes in quick succession:
“WASHINGTON…WE ARE GOING TO KILL YOU IF YOU KEEP ON SCREWING US. THOSE LANDS ARE NOT YOURS… YOU AND YOUR FAMILY WILL NOT LIVE. LET US WORK IF YOU DO NOT WANT ALL OF YOU TO DIE…”
The precise source of the threat is unknown at this time, but local activists and community leaders suspect that it refers to Mr Bolivar’s well publicised support of the struggle of the Shipibo community of Santa Clara de Uchunya in the Ucayali region of Peru. Over the last year the community has been actively opposing the destruction of over 5000 ha of their traditional forests for conversion to a palm oil plantation by a Peruvian palm oil company, Plantaciones de Pucallpa.
Plantaciones de Pucallpa is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and is linked to a group of companies controlled by businessman Dennis Melka and known in Peru to be part of the so called ‘Melka group’.
As highlighted by a recent FPP press release marking the visit of a community representative to the UK, the community’s struggle has been partly successful. On the 2nd September 2015, Peru’s central government concluded that the deforestation was illegal and suspended the operations (report in Spanish only).
As a result of the denunciation, FPP now understands that the RSPO will initiate independent investigations into the case.
Mr Bolivar has informed the relevant authorities about the latest threat including the Human rights ombudsman and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, while he lodged similar complaints in September 2015 after receiving other death threats at that time, he feels that the Government has failed to take any effective measures to protect him, his family and the community.
Understandably, Mr Bolivar remains extremely concerned given the climate of fear and violence in Peru in which almost 60 human rights and environmental defenders have been killed between 2002 and 2014. These include the assassinations of Edwin Chota and three other Asháninka leaders from the village of Saweto in Ucayali in 2014.
“I am concerned but won’t remain silent, the world should know what Melka’s companies are doing to our lands. They destroy our forest and our biodiversity. The Government fails to stop this tragedy and then leaves our human rights defenders exposed to death threats and homicides. The company benefits from this environment while our people and the forests suffer.”
Meanwhile, Tom Griffiths from FPP’s Responsible Finance Programme highlighted that “the Forest Peoples Programme is glad RSPO is going to investigate these violations of its standards. We also trust that the RSPO will use all its influence with the concerned companies to ensure that no harm comes to community activists like Mr Bolivar. Mr Bolivar is now very well known internationally. All eyes are closely watching both the behavior of the Government and the Company in Ucayali.”
Robert Guimaraes, President of FECONAU, the indigenous organisation that represents the village of Santa Clara de Uchunya, has reiterated that behind the violence lies the failure of Peru’s government to address its obligation to provide secure legal recognition for indigenous peoples’ lands and rights and to follow through on its international pledges to protect forests.
“Community lands were issued to the company by the regional government of Ucayali in complete disregard for their legal rights to their traditional lands and with no process of consultation or consent. I am calling on human rights agencies and the international donors supporting Peru’s forest protection plans to insist that the State meet its obligations to protect indigenous peoples’ lands and rights”.
Peru has made ambitious commitments to stop deforestation as part of its climate change mitigation strategy, pledging to reduce net deforestation to zero by 2021. However, as exposed by this case and a 2014 report these promises are undermined by gaping loopholes in Peru’s legal framework and endemic corruption.
On repeated occasions since 2010, Peru’s government has recognised the centrality of securing indigenous peoples’ land rights as part of its climate change mitigation and adaptation strategy. As a result it has secured high profile financial support from international donors including the World Bank and the governments of Norway and Germany. Despite this, these promises have failed to materialize and approximately 20 million ha of indigenous lands remain untitled and continue to be issued to mining, oil, gas and agribusiness interests.
In December at the UN’s Climate conference in Paris, Peru will announce its own voluntary commitment to climate change mitigation referred to as INDC’s. The measures include actions to protect forests yet other than a cursory reference to promoting participation of indigenous peoples, there are no clear commitments to safeguard indigenous lands and protect those defending the forests.
Plantaciones de Pucallpa is one of many companies registered in Peru with links to a complex corporate network effectively controlled by Dennis Melka. Mr Melka is a businessman who founded the Malaysian agribusiness company Asian Plantations whose operations have been similarly controversial in Sarawak, Malaysia.
A global re-assessment of polar bears highlights loss of sea ice habitat due to climate warming as the single most important threat to the long-term survival of the species, according to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species released on Wednesday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Polar bear. Photo credit upload.wikimedia.org
According to the group, this update also highlights habitat degradation as a main threat to many fungus species and over-fishing as the key driver of decline in marine bony fish. The IUCN Red List now includes 79,837 assessed species, of which 23,250 are threatened with extinction.
The re-assessment of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) used the most current sea ice and sub-population data, along with computer simulation and statistical models, to project potential changes in the size of polar bear sub-populations due to changes in sea ice. It is the most comprehensive assessment of this data to date. The results show that there is a high probability that the global polar bear population will decline by more than 30% over the next 35 to 40 years. The assessment supports the current Vulnerable status of the polar bear on The IUCN Red List.
“Based on the latest, most robust science, this assessment provides evidence that climate change will continue to seriously threaten polar bear survival in the future,” says Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. “Climate change impacts go far beyond this iconic species, and present a threat our planet has never faced before. Governments meeting at the climate summit in Paris later this month will need to go all out to strike a deal strong enough to confront this unprecedented challenge.”
Recent studies show that the loss of Arctic sea ice has progressed faster than most climate models had predicted, with September sea ice extent declining at a linear rate of 14% per decade from 1979 through 2011. As polar bears rely on sea ice to access their prey, an annual ice-free period of five months or more will cause extended fasting for the species, which is likely to lead to increased reproductive failure and starvation in some areas. According to recent sea ice projections, large regions of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago will be ice free for more than five months by the late 21stcentury; and in other parts of the Arctic, the five-month ice-free threshold may be reached by the middle of the 21st century. Warming Arctic temperatures could also reduce habitat and increase the incidence of disease for prey species such as ice seals, placing the polar bear at further risk.
Polar bears are important to the livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples and, as apex predators, are essential to maintaining ecosystem balance in the Arctic region. Along with sea ice loss, other potential threats to the species include pollution, resource exploration and habitat change due to development. Oil development in the Arctic, for example, poses a wide range of threats, from oil spills to increased human-bear interaction.
“Whilst sea ice loss is the major threat to polar bears, the full range of current and potential threats must be considered in polar bear management plans,” says Dag Vongraven, Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission’s (SSC) Polar Bear Specialist Group. “It is encouraging that polar bear range states have recently agreed on a Circumpolar Action Plan – the first global conservation strategy to strive for the long-term persistence of polar bears in the wild. IUCN is actively working with those countries, providing scientific data and advice to help implement the agreed plan in the most efficient and cohesive way possible. We truly hope that the action plan will make a difference for polar bear conservation.”
Twenty-nine fungi have been assessed in this update, more than doubling the number of fungi on The IUCN Red List. The main threats affecting the species are habitat loss and degradation, mostly from changing land use practices. The colourful Leptonia carnea, which has been listed as Vulnerable, is confined to the coastal redwood forest of California, USA. Changes in the Californian climate – increased droughts and reduced occurrence of fog – are impacting the habitat. Continued logging of the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) which is listed as Endangered, is another major threat to the fungus.
Fungi provide essential ecosystem services which support animals and plants. They have a symbiotic relationship with 80% of all plants and form a crucial part of the digestive system of ruminants such as sheep and cows. Fungi are also extremely important to humans as medicine and food. The antibiotic Penicillin was derived from the fungus Penicillium, and today most antibiotics and statins (commonly used to lower blood cholesterol), are fungal in origin. Fungi are also used to make bread, beer, wine, cheese and many other foods.
This IUCN Red List update also reveals that the degradation of sensitive coastal habitats, pollution, overexploitation and destructive fishing practices are putting many marine bony fishes at risk of extinction in the East Central Atlantic and Greater Caribbean regions with the invasive lionfish placing further pressure in the Caribbean. The global assessment of the 1,400 marine bony fishes including both nearshore fishes and deep-sea fishes of the Eastern Central Atlantic – covering the area from Mauritania to Angola – shows that 3% are threatened with extinction. The roundnose grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris), is listed as Critically Endangered due to overexploitation. In the Caribbean, 1,340 species were assessed, and of these 5% are threatened with extinction, including the golden tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps) which is listed as Endangered. An important commercial fishery species, it is the largest species of tilefish and can reach up to 1.25 metres in length. Its population has declined by 66% over the last 48 years due to over-fishing.
Marine bony fishes are the largest group of fish and are both ecologically and economically important. The loss of these species would pose a serious threat to the food security and livelihoods of more than 340 million people in these regions. With the human population expected to double in the next 20 to 25 years, this new data will be used to guide fisheries management and conservation priorities in the regions, including the identification of priority sites for conservation action.
“These assessments are the first of their kind, providing comprehensive baseline information within a specified region, which is critical for the designation and improved management of marine protected areas and threatened marine species,” says Kent Carpenter, Manager of IUCN’s Marine Biodiversity Unit. “The data should also lead to the development of more effective initiatives to improve national and regional fisheries management to maximise conservation benefits.”
A total of 24 newly assessed Critically Endangered species are highlighted as being possibly extinct, primarily due to threats from invasive species and habitat destruction. Haha (Cyanea kolekoleensis), a plant species native to the island of Kauai, Hawaiʻi, is listed as Possibly Extinct. Its habitat is threatened by pigs and several invasive plant species, and there have been no recorded sightings since 1998. Eleven orchid species found only in Madagascar have been listed as Critically Endangered/(Possibly Extinct) including Bulbophyllum tampoketsens, which is threatened due to illegal collection and deforestation. Arico water frog (Telmatobius pefauri) is listed as Critically Endangered/(Possibly Extinct) because it has not been seen since 1976. This frog is threatened by water extraction for human use and for cattle ranching; it may also be affected by cattle trampling the stream habitats according to the experts.
First report on last year’s New York Declaration on Forests warns progress must accelerate to achieve goals laid out in historic commitment
Charlotte Streck, co-founder and director of Climate Focus. Photo credit: www.uwehub.org
Unprecedented collaboration among corporate, government, indigenous and civil society leaders, often at odds about deforestation, gives hope that pledges to halt global forest loss can be met by 2030, according to a report released on Wednesday by Climate Focus and backed by a coalition of think tanks and NGOs. The New York Declaration on Forests, endorsed in September 2014 by more than 150 signatories worldwide now up to 180, commits to 10 goals translating into 4.5 to 8.8 billion tons of greenhouse gas emission reductions per year by 2030.
“By bringing together actors from all sectors and all geographies, the declaration has invigorated the world’s resolve to tackle deforestation worldwide,” said Charlotte Streck, co-founder and director of Climate Focus.
Progress on the New York Declaration on Forests – An Assessment Framework and Initial Report tracks headway towards meeting the declaration’s goals. By bringing together and analyzing forest data according to a set of indicators, the study provides a clear snapshot of what’s happening to protect forests in advance of the Paris climate talks.
Forest Loss, Forest Gain
One of the report’s starkest conclusions is that progress is sluggish towards the declaration’s first and most important goal: halving natural forest loss by 2020 and eliminating it by 2030. “Unfortunately, there are no signs that the annual rate of forest loss is slowing. But battling deforestation is a massive challenge that can’t be turned around overnight. It’s remarkable that a little more than a year after the declaration was signed, we are seeing elements come into place that could pave the way towards major reductions in deforestation,” said Streck.
The report, for example, finds a silver lining in progress towards Goal 5, which aims to restore 150 million hectares of degraded land by 2020, and an additional 200 million hectares by 2030. The primary activity under this goal, replanting trees, is a key tactic for offsetting forest loss. Since 2011, when signers of the Bonn Challenge pledged to restore 150 million hectares of forests, they have already pledged to restore 62.59 million hectares, approximately 42 percent of the 2020 restoration target.
“We need new restoration pledges to close the 90 million hectare gap,” Streck said. “Even then, it’s important to note that replanted trees can’t replace the value of natural forests to people and the planet.”
Since early 2015, 68 parties to the UN climate change convention have submitted mitigation pledges containing land sector targets. The total forest restoration, reforestation, and afforestation pledges are estimated at 121.7 million hectares – equal to 41 percent of the 300 million hectare 2030 restoration target.
Commercial agriculture companies engaged in palm oil, soy, paper and beef production play an outsize role in stemming natural forest loss. This is reflected in the declaration’s Goal 2, which aims to support companies’ pledges to remove deforestation from their supply chains by 2020. Since 2009, at least 300 corporations – from consumer companies like Unilever and Dunkin’ Donuts to supplier companies like Asia Pulp and Paper and APRIL – have made policy commitments to reduce or eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. About a third of these pledges have been made since 2014, and companies that signed the New York Declaration generally score better on their deforestation commitments.
“No single sector can defeat deforestation alone. But commercial agriculture is responsible for most deforestation and for the highest rates of carbon emissions. It is essential that these companies make good on their commitments to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains. The impact could be transformative,” Streck said.
Private Sector is Pivotal
Private sector commitments already seem to be paying off, as evidenced by the increased market share of sustainable forest products. Half of forests providing pulp for paper are certified, and certified sustainable palm oil has grown to 18 percent of the global market. There is room for improvement in the soy and beef sectors, however. Certified sustainable soy is only two percent of the global market, and there is no data on beef.
Agriculture isn’t the only private sector behind deforestation. Between 2000 and 2010, infrastructure – including the construction of roads, pipelines and hydroelectric dams – and human settlements were each responsible for 10 percent of all tropical forest loss, while mining accounted for seven percent of all tropical deforestation. During the same time period, timber extraction and logging accounted for approximately 52 percent of all tropical forest degradation, making them the main drivers of total forest degradation.
Despite the large role it plays, reducing deforestation derived from non-agricultural economic sectors, Goal 3 – is difficult to track due to a dearth of data. The report indicates that few, if any, comprehensive efforts have emerged to reduce the impact of these sectors on forests.
Poor and rural communities – albeit on a vastly smaller scale and in a less direct way – also contribute to deforestation in meeting their need for food and firewood. In Goal 4, the declaration calls for alternatives to deforestation driven by such basic needs in ways that alleviate poverty and promote sustainable and equitable development. An increase in the adoption of clean cookstoves, which reduce or replace the use of firewood, is accelerating rapidly, almost doubling year on year from 2008 to 2013.
Governments Must Step Up
While the private sector plays a significant role in causing deforestation, the public sector is also a crucial player in battling deforestation. Four of the declaration’s Goals (7, 8, 9 and 10) stress the role that national governments can play in ending forest loss within their borders. Among these, Goal 7 calls on governments to agree in 2015 to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation as part of a post-2020 global climate agreement.
“If the national climate pledges, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), submitted to the United Nations to date are any indication, countries must take their role in tackling deforestation more seriously,” Streck said. According to the report, of the 122 countries that have submitted their INDCs, only 40 have included specific actions on land use and forests in their target, while 18 have excluded land use and forests from their target.
The onus is also on governments to clean up forest governance, the report argues. Goal 10 of the declaration calls for strengthening forest governance, transparency and the rule of law, while also empowering communities and recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples, especially those pertaining to their lands and resources.
The report finds that countries have “modestly” improved the management and monitoring of their forests in recent years, mostly due to financial support from donor countries. Nonetheless, illegality is still rife in the wood-based products market, which includes furniture and other products that end up in showrooms in Europe and the US.
And, according to the UK-based NGO Global Witness, forest communities continue to live under the threat of violence, with killings related to land disputes continuing unabated. The report found that at least 523 activists working on land and resource conflicts were murdered worldwide between 2010 and 2014.
In addition, the proportion of total forests over which Indigenous People and local communities have recognised rights has increased by over one third since 2002. However, a recent report shows that the rate of recognition has plateaued in recent years, according to Rights and Resources Initiative research.
“Countries are talking a good talk, but they urgently need to back it up with clear action,” Streck said. “The climate talks in Paris will give them the opportunity to do so. Progress on forests at the meeting will serve as a bellwether for the fate of the declaration – and forests.”
She added that even if the climate agreement meaningfully integrates forests, the report indicates that there is more to be done to end deforestation.
Encouraging Trends
Encouraging trends are paving the way for the declaration’s success. Highlights follow:
A spike in the number of commitments made by and among forest players to reduce deforestation or restore forests. These include the Central African Forest Initiative, a pledge signed last month between six forested nations of Africa and European donor countries to preserve and restore the forests of the Congo Basin.
The increased attention large institutional investors are paying to the impact of their investments on forests. The Norwegian Pension Fund, for example, is divesting in companies associated with unsustainable palm oil production, and has introduced new guidelines to exclude investment in companies whose activities entail unacceptable greenhouse gas emissions.
The inclusion in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals of a deforestation target is a major development that tackles Goal 6 of the declaration. The UN goal calls for halving deforestation by 2020.
Finance for clean cookstoves has accelerated at a dramatic rate.
“We’re seeing an increase in action on forests because of the New York Declaration. Monitoring progress on its implementation can help that accelerate,” said Streck
Global Chief Executive Officer of consumer health and hygiene company RB (Reckitt Benckiser), Mr. Rakesh Kapoor, has said that RB’s vision for Nigeria is a nation where people are healthier and live better. According to him, RB will continue in making a difference by giving Nigerians innovative solutions for healthier lives and happier homes.
Global Chief Executive Officer RB (Reckitt Benckiser), Mr. Rakesh Kapoor. Photo credit: i.dailymail.co.uk
Mr. Kapoor who was on a working visit to Nigeria said this in Lagos during a visit to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode. He said RB has been in Nigeria for over five decades, adding that he is very happy with the operations of the company in Nigeria which he described as one of the most important growth markets and the reference point for other African business development growth strategies.
“RB’s heritage in Nigeria spans over 53 years with health, hygiene and home portfolio led by global brands like Dettol, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Durex, Dettol, Harpic, Mortein, and Air Wick. Nigeria also serves as the West African hub driving business development, opening up new markets and portfolio expansion across the West African Coast,” he said.
Speaking on the company’s vision for Nigeria and other emerging markets, Kapoor said RB is creating a long term model for success which includes educating millions of children and families on better hygiene. “RB has a long term vision for Nigeria to set more ambitious goals on how Dettol plays a larger role in diarrhea prevention and Mortein in malaria prevention. We also plan to bring right innovations to support the government to improve health and hygiene habits across Nigeria.” he added.
Kapoor told the governor how RB through brands like Dettol, Mortein and Harpic has been partnering with the Federal / Lagos State Ministry of Health, Nigerian Medical Association and Save the Children on programmes to create awareness on best hygiene practices.
“RB is committed to raising £35 million over four years to launch a ground-breaking and sustainable ‘Save a Child a Minute’ programmes to help eradicate child deaths from diarrhea in three main markets. Nigeria and India are getting a substantial part of the fund followed by Pakistan,” he said.
He added that every year Dettol reaches over one million new moms in hospitals and one million school children through hand washing programmes in schools to reduce infant deaths and improve maternal health through its Dettol grassroots hygiene programmes.
Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State. Photo credit: ecomium.org
Speaking on investment opportunities in Nigeria, Kapoor said Nigeria’s new government has a great opportunity to assure investors that nothing would harm their confidence in investing in Nigeria for the long term. He advised that the Nigerian government should have more progressive and open economic policies because Nigeria has the potential to be a massive magnet for investment.
Responding, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode expressed his pleasure in receiving the RB Global Group CEO and his team, commending them for the leadership role the company has been playing to ensure a germ-free environment in Lagos State in particular and Nigeria in general.
Accompanied the Global Group CEO on his visit to the Governor’s office were Mr. Alan Thompson, Senior Vice President RB, Africa; Mr. Rahul Murgai, General Manager RB West Africa; and Mr. Oguzhan Silivrili, Marketing Director RB West Africa.
A fresh initiative that incorporates low carbon systems in power generation and supply is expected to increase the production of renewable energy in Nigeria by up to 10 percent in 2020.
The project may pilot the implementation of the NAMA activities around a 100 MW private sector solar PV plant in Bauchi State. Photo credit: greenchipstocks.com
Titled: Promoting Low Carbon Energy Solutions in Nigeria Energy/Power Supply”, the project is being promoted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Power generation under the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) supported scheme designed to transform the nation’s sector however excludes large hydro-electric systems.
The NAMA is a mitigation action tailored to the national context and capabilities, which is in accordance with national sustainable development priorities. Introduced in the Bali Action Plan in 2007/INDC (intended nationally determined contribution) in Lima 2014, NAMAs provide opportunities for national mitigation efforts to receive appropriate support.
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has estimated that it will cost up to $250-270 billion per year to shift developing countries to 20 percent renewable energy by 2025 to meet the combined challenges of energy access, energy security and climate change.
At a stakeholders’ review and validation meeting in Abuja last week, participants expressed the fact that despite high potential for private sector interest and involvement, barriers to the implementation of low-carbon energy systems will increase the cost of capital by increasing the risks to investments.
According to them, higher risks reduce the financial attractiveness of investments in low-emission systems, thereby preventing or slowing down the required transformation in energy systems.
In a presentation titled: “Derisking renewable energy NAMA for the Nigerian power sector,” Prof Emmanuel Oladipo of the University of Lagos described leveraging financing to low-emission energy pathways in a timely manner as a challenge in the energy sector.
He stressed that the UNDP-GEF project will support the Federal Government to implement the component of its INDC related to the power sector, particularly with respect to utilising solar PV – in line with government’s endorsement of the Copenhagen Accord.
Prof Oladipo noted that low-carbon development pathway will allow Nigeria to achieve the objectives of the Vision 20:2020 at a lower cost than the reference scenario, even as he broke the Derisking Renewable Energy Investment (DREI) down into four stages: Risk Environment, Public Instruments, Levelised Cost and Evaluation.
He said: “Besides supporting government in the development and implementation of a NAMA in the energy sector, the project will contribute to the reduction of GHGs related to the renewable electricity targets established voluntarily by government, which aims to achieve a contribution of 10% installed capacity of various sources of renewables by 2030.”
In designing the project, Prof Oladipo stated that officials will:
Apply relevant NAMA methodologies and guidance for identifying and designing solar PV
Pilot the implementation of the NAMA activities around a 100 MW private sector solar PV plant in Bauchi State.
Develop a standardised baseline for the electricity sector as part of the development of an MRV system for quantifying GHG emission reductions.
Develop a GIS-based tool to guide private developers in siting geographical locations for PV, wind and biomass projects across Nigeria based on several criteria, including renewable energy resource potential, grid coverage and stability, environmentally sensitive areas, and physical infrastructure, among others.
The GIS-based tool will be accompanied by a geographically-differentiated risk approach using UNDP’s DREI methodology.
Identify and capitalise financial instruments to catalyse the necessary levels of private financing to implement the RE NAMA
Link these financial instruments to the MRV system to catalyse climate financing.
The Federal Government’s determination to diversify the economy as a result of the challenges in the oil sector has set it to develop immutable strategies that would ensure the creation of no fewer than 25,000 jobs annually from the biotechnology sector.
Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NABMA), Mr. Rufus Ebegba
A statement by the Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NABMA), Mr. Rufus Ebegba, issued on Tuesday said modern biotechnology under legal biosafety regime had great potential to develop products, materials and living systems that could be used to expand the economy, especially in the area of agriculture.
According to him, the direct and indirect jobs would be created along the value chain of biotechnology products, which is being regulated by the biosafety Agency in the country.
Ebegba disclosed that analysis already concluded indicates that about 25,000 jobs could be generated annually in Nigeria from the biotechnology sector.
“With a well-regulated biotechnology sector, up to 25,000 jobs can be created annually and this will increase with time because more biotechnology products will be made available in the market and activities will be more. Job creation is critical in this sector,” he stated.
The Director-General noted that, with an agency in place to regulate the sector, the biotech industry would be more vibrant. “You now have people who will be employed in the biotech industry. The companies are in place, doing research, producing genetically modified organisms and deploying the technology. So along the line, there will be increased direct and indirect employment through the distribution chain of biotechnology products.
“Also, more labs will be established. We can now produce more food for our domestic consumption and for export. The Agency will also be generating revenue through permits and licensing charges,” Ebegba stressed.
Noting that the Nigerian textile industry was in comatose because of inadequate quantity of locally produced cotton to drive the textile industry, the DG observed that countries like Burkina Faso had recorded success stories in producing genetically modified cottons that were resistant to insects.
Ebegba equally disclosed that Nigeria was now ready to deploy modern biotechnology in achieving food security, safely. He said: “We are looking at the situation where we have food in abundance in the Nigerian system. Now you can have improved crops, improved animals and other organisms; you develop new plants that can have higher productivity, and are disease and pest resistant and herbicides tolerant. So, with such stress on crops being reduced, you discover that these crops will attain their full potential.”
He emphasised that with modern biotechnology, which he described as safe, there would be more raw materials for the industry and diversifying the economy would be more feasible than it used to be.
Ebegba stated that the NBMA would enforce rules to ensure that only healthy and environmentally friendly modern biotechnology products are produced in in the country.
He also reminded companies, Institutions, organisations, laboratories and all those carrying out modern biotechnology activities as well as those dealing in Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to conclude the formalisation of their dealings with the Agency on or before 31st December 2015, as earlier directed.
The DG warned that there were consequences against those who violate the National Biosafety Management Agency Act 2015 and other extant Biosafety laws and regulations.
