Authors of the Intergovernmental Report on Climate Change (IPCC) have finished drafting the Synthesis Report of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) and sent the draft to governments for comments on the text.
The Synthesis Report is the final product of the Fifth Assessment cycle. It will integrate key messages from the three recent working group reports: the physical science basis (September 2013), impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability (March 2014), and mitigation of climate change (April 2014).
Pachauri
“This Synthesis Report, integrating the findings of the three working group contributions to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report and two special reports, will provide policymakers with a scientific foundation to tackle the challenge of climate change. It would help governments and other stakeholders work together at various levels, including a new international agreement to limit climate change,” said IPCC Chairman Rajendra K. Pachauri.
The review period runs from 25 August to 10 October 2014. The comments received from governments will prepare the way for the meeting in Copenhagen on 27-31 October at which the IPCC will finalise the Synthesis Report. At that meeting the IPCC’s member governments will examine the report’s Summary for Policymakers line-by-line and the longer report section-by-section in a dialogue with the authors that have written the report. The report will be released at a press conference on 2 November.
The IPCC received around 6,000 comments in the review of the first draft of the Synthesis Report held between 21 April and 13 June 2014. Besides government, experts from the scientific community were invited to take part in that review. According to the IPCC’s procedures, the authors of a report must respond to every comment received in the review process. To ensure transparency, all the comments and the responses from the authors will be published together with the drafts after the report is published.
A new guide released recently by WWF explains how banks can go beyond reputation and risk management to embrace transformative change. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Integration for Banks: A Guide to Starting Implementation shows how financial institutions acting as lenders, financial advisors and capital raising agents can adopt sustainable practices.
Stampe
This is the first guide that maps out ‘how to’ steps for financial institutions in the earlier stages of their ESG journey. It shows them how to manage their risk exposure to unsustainable business practices and lead the trend toward green business,” said Jeanne Stampe, WWF Asia Finance and Commodities Specialist.
Banks can no longer ignore credit risks brought on by severe weather patterns impacting infrastructure or agricultural production, water stress affecting production across sectors, or regulations that affect the value of carbon assets or carbon-related infrastructure. Banks increasingly need to adapt to these emerging challenges through sustainable solutions.
The guide provides banks with a toolkit to develop an ESG strategy and an operational framework to integrate ESG issues into their practices. This is an expertise that financial institutions across Asia are seeking with urgency.
Ben Ridley, Asia Pacific Head of Sustainability Affairs at Credit Suisse, commented: “Credit Suisse is proud to sponsor this guide. It provides Asian banks with the background, knowledge and tools to develop a strategy and action plan to embed consideration of key ESG issues into their core business.”
“The call to address environmental concerns has grown increasingly louder over time. Businesses, whether upstream or downstream, need to work together to do what is right and banks can play a significant role in promoting sustainability. While change will not happen overnight, the WWF guide can serve as a roadmap to provide insights on how ESG issues can be integrated into business processes to achieve this purpose,” said Samuel Tsien, Chairman of The Association of Banks in Singapore.
Singapore Exchange (SGX) will be hosting the first in a series of WWF-organised workshops to discuss the key ESG issues facing the banking sector. The workshop will also demonstrate how ESG risk management can be integrated into their own institutions using WWF’s guide as a roadmap. The workshop will be run in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore and Singapore Business Federation on 9 September 2014.
Magnus Böcker, CEO of SGX and Chairperson of the company’s Sustainability Committee, said: “SGX is delighted to support WWF in its efforts to raise awareness on Environmental, Social, and Governance issues. This guidebook parallels efforts SGX has made with its own Sustainability Reporting Guide for listed companies. Together with like-minded parties including WWF, SGX hopes more corporate leaders will embrace sustainability including diversity and governance.”
“SBF is delighted to support WWF’s Environmental, Social, and Governance Integration Guide. The knowledge and expertise provided will have significant influence on the wider business community,” said Ho Meng Kit of the Singapore Business Federation. “SBF actively promotes the sustainability agenda through many programmes – such as its flagship Singapore Sustainability Awards – and welcomes WWF’s initiative to promote ESG in the financial sector.”
Connected Development (CODE), with support from the New Venture Fund through the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), brought together 17 young women from different spheres of life in Abuja to build their capacities in identifying issues faced when overcoming barriers to girl child education in Nigeria.
Participants at the event
The workshop took place from 22-23 August 2014 as a step-down training of an aftermath workshop of the Women Leadership4girls’ Education (WL4GE) Fellowship, which Ojonwa Deborah Miachi, A World At School Global Youth Ambassador and the Policy & Advocacy Advisor of CODE, is a Fellow.
The lead facilitator, Ojonwa, noted: “Female champions working passionately to reducing the barriers to girls’ education came together for a two-day workshop on leadership training; technical assistance to document best practices; training on advocacy for girls’ education and support to access global opportunities in girls’ education. The process of advocacy and leadership was broken down to the most minimum level.
“The leadership skills of young women at the workshop interested in girls’ education were developed. There was also training on advocacy techniques, networking skills and the creation of mentoring opportunities between participants and instructors to enable the young women explore numerous leadership opportunities that can build their experience and most importantly, Increase the enrollment of girls in schools.”
Agbeje Naomi, a student of City Royal International Academy, stated: “As a 12-year-old girl, I now know I can take on the role of leadership at any point in my life. I have learned a lot about the challenges other girls face when trying to have access to education and from this training exercise, I know I can now contribute in doing something about it.”
Hamzat Lawal, the Chief Executive of CODE, stressed that this would be a starting phase for the young women activist.
“It is important for young women and girls to take leadership roles in ensuring girls have more access to education. Girls have so much potential to contribute to sustainable development and with the combined efforts of dedicated female champions, every girl can have that chance of going to school, which helps her grow into a powerful and independent person that can change the world,” he stated.
He added: “With the right tools in engaging our communities and policy makers, we would reduce numbers the out of school children and drive demand for quality education in Nigeria. This is why we shared with them our Education Budget Tracker, a web-based mobile tool with SMS integrated to track government & international aid spending as an incentive to hold government to account on providing access to quality education in Nigeria.”
At the end of the two-day training, participants came to a consensus to act more on data advocacy and information for girl child education and also agreed to work together as a team to reduce all barriers to girls’ education in Nigeria.
CODE is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose mission is to improve access to information and empower local communities in Africa by creating platforms for dialogue, enabling informed debates, and building capacities of marginalised communities which will bring about social and economic progress within communities, while promoting transparency and accountability.
Over 2,500 politicians, business leaders, innovators, thought leaders and practitioners are set to meet in Stockholm in a few days for the 24thannual World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden. This year’s focus is on energy and water, two resources that are inseparable from sustainable development and therefore must be tirelessly promoted in global decision-making.
Stockholm, Sweden
In over 100 seminars, workshops and events spread throughout the 31 August-5 September World Water Week, delegates will discuss ongoing and future work and collaboration between the energy and water communities, essential if we are to successfully meet some of the biggest challenges of our time, such as providing clean water and energy for a growing world population.
Water and energy are interdependent in more ways than not. We need energy for pumping, storing, transporting and treating water, we need water for producing almost all sorts of energy. An increase or decrease in one will immediately affect the other. To feed into discussions at the Week, SIWI has just released two must-read reports: the arguments for tighter links between the two communities are explored in “Energy and Water: The Vital Link for a Sustainable Future”. One energy field that has been hotly debated in recent years is hydraulic fracturing for shale gas, commonly known as “fracking”. In “Shale Gas and Hydraulic Fracturing: Framing the Water Issue”, fracking and its impact on freshwater is critically assessed by leading researchers in the field.
At World Water Week, the main global annual forum for water and water-related issues, ministers and high-level government officials will be joined this year by CEOs, scientists, heads of UN bodies and participants from over 270 convening organisations and more than 130 countries.
Speakers at the opening session on Monday September 1 include Mr. Torgny Holmgren, SIWI’s Executive Director, Ms. Hillevi Engström, Sweden’s Minister for Development Cooperation, Ms. Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, South Africa, Dr. John Briscoe, 2014 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate, Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, CEO Sustainable Energy for All, Ms. Anita Marangoly George, Senior Director, Energy and Extractives at the World Bank, Dr. Junaid Ahmad, Senior Director, Global Water Practice at the World Bank, Ms. Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of IUCN, Ms. Héloise Chicou, AGWA, French Water Partnership. Mr. Sten Nordin, Mayor of Stockholm, and Ms. Karin Lexén, director of World Water Week.
During the Week, the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize will be awarded to Prof. John Briscoe of South Africa, for his unparalleled contributions to global and local water management, inspired by an unwavering commitment to improving the lives of people on the ground. The prize will be awarded to Prof. Briscoe by H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, during a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall on Thursday 4th September.
Other prizes that will be presented are the Stockholm Industry Water Award, which will be awarded, on Tuesday 2nd September, to eThekwini Water and Sanitation serving the Durban Metropolitan Area, for its transformative and inclusive approach to providing water and sanitation services, and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize which, on Wednesday 3rd September, is given to one national team from 29 competing nations by H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Musa Sada, said that Federal Government had targeted coal to contribute 30 per cent of power generation in the country by 2015.
Sada told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the Federal Government was determined to address the country’s power challenge through coal.
He said that the ministry was taking steps towards meeting the target by making effort to determine the amount of coal deposit in the country.
The minister explained that the quantity and life span of coal deposit in the country would determine the basis of designing the coal power plant to generate power supply.
He said that Federal Government would ensure that gas, solar and wind energy contributed to power generation, adding that all the countries that have steady power supply did same.
“What we are looking at now is the targeted contribution from coal and we must take the right step towards achieving it so that we don’t get stocked along the way.
“It is very important that we determine the amount of coal deposit that we have because that is the basis for the designing of power plant itself, otherwise, our efforts will be speculative.
“The problem in the gas power plant is that pipelines have not reached where some of the power plants are located and we don’t want that to happen with coal,” he said.
Sada said that there were no coal power plants operating in the country currently because there were factors to consider in designing and running them.
“For you to be able to build a coal power plant, you must determine the amount of coal deposit you have and how many years it can last.
“Once you start a coal power plant, you cannot switch it off and that is why we at the stage we are now.
“Most of the companies we have engaged now are working on the quantity of coal we have because that is the basis upon which power plant can be built,” he said.
The minister said that he was not aware of any power generation company in the country that imports coal from South Africa or any other part of the world.
Sada explained that those importing coal may be doing so for other purposes and certainly not for power generation.
He explained that some of the cement factories that use coal only used it to fire the limestone they used for cement making to save the power that they could have used for that.
“Coal is as volatile as any combustible mineral because if you pack a heap of coals here, it has a very high tendency to catch fire.
“Storage of coal is not an easy thing because you cannot put coal in a container or in a room; it must be stored in the open and consistently watered.
“I am not sure there are facilities to handle coal at our ports currently,” he said. (NAN)
Companies belonging to Total in Nigeria, made up of units in both the upstream and downstream sectors of Nigeria’s oil industry, have boosted the fight against the Ebola Virus Disease in the country with the donation of five brand new vehicles to the cause.
The vans, of the Ford Pick-up specifications and with electronic fueling cards, have been handed over to the Ebola Emergency Operation Centre, Yaba, Lagos.
The company said the donation of the vans is part of its support to complement efforts by the Federal Government and a number of state governments to curb the spread of the disease in the country.
Deputy managing director of the firm, Charles Ngoka, represented the managing Director of Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Elisabeth Proust, at the event, saying as corporate citizens, the Total Companies in Nigeria had opted to be part of the efforts to fight EVD.
“This prompted the companies to send representations to this centre earlier this month. The recommendations submitted necessitated the decision to do something urgently.
“This is why the Total Companies in Nigeria decided to provide these vehicles as a means of mobility for this centre because of the obvious need to transport cases from wherever they are in this vast state to the centre and back to their homes after treatment,” Ngoka noted.
In the same vein, managing director of Total Nigeria Plc, Alexis Vovk, disclosed that with the electronic fuel cards, the centre could refuel the vehicles at any Total filling station nationwide.
Project Director of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, Prof. Abdulsalami Nasidi, thanked Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria for the donation, stating that the pick-up vans would enhance their movement and speed of response to investigating suspected cases of infection before isolation.
“I’m pleased to receive these brand new vehicles on behalf of the Federal Government. I thank Total Companies in Nigeria for this kind gesture, which comes at a time we are facing a national emergency on the Ebola Virus. “Before now, we have had to rely on hiring taxis and deploying private vehicles, with the attendant impact on our activities. We will put the vehicles to good use to improve our operations,” Nasidi said.
Three people lost their lives while one person was reported injured late Tuesday as a helicopter belonging to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) crashed.
Information released to the press by the the mission indicate that three members of the crew aboard the helicopter died while another was wounded when the crash occurred in the Unity State area of South Sudan.
The location of the crash is near Bentiu, the capital where government troops have been locked in intense fighting with rebels led by former Vice President, Riek Machar.
“The United Nations Mission in South Sudan confirms that one of its MI-8 helicopters has crashed about 10 km south of Bentiu in Unity State,” the mission said.
UNMISS reported losing contact with the helicopter, which was on a routine cargo flight from Wau to Bentiu at 14:28 hours on Tuesday.
The mission dispatched a search and rescue team to the site of the incident shortly after news of the incident surfaced, adding that “Investigations regarding the cause of the incident will begin as soon as possible.”
A conspiracy theory has it that the helicopter might have been targeted by the rebels although it has been neither confirmed by the South Sudanese government nor the UN mission.
The incident took place only one day after the South Sudanese government and the rebels reached a fresh truce in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), who mediated the truce, gave the warring parties 45 days to reach an agreement on the formation of a transitional government of national unity.
Nigeria has successfully reduced the number of Ebola cases in the country to one, the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said.
As of Tuesday, only one Ebola patient remained in isolation in Nigeria, down from the 13 cases the country confirmed since the outbreak of the virus in July, Mr. Chukwu said at a press conference. The deadly virus was first brought to Nigeria 38 days ago by a Liberian-American man, Patrick Sawyer. Mr. Sawyer later died, but after health workers who treated him had contracted the virus.
Mr. Chukwu said so far Nigeria has had 13 cases including the index case. Five of those infected died, while seven have successfully recovered and were discharged. Two of the nurses who managed Mr. Sawyer were discharged Monday at the isolation centre in Lago, Mr. Chukwu said. He said Nigeria has been able to curtail Ebola in the country.
All the 129 people who were under surveillance have completed the 21day observation incubation period and only one person was found to be symptomatic and is still being observed, he added.
State Security Services, SSS, agents on Tuesday arrested the Chairman of the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF, Aminu Maigari, halting the federation’s meeting scheduled to take place in Abuja.
Mr. Maigari was arrested alongside Musa Amadu, the NFF Secretary-General, and Chris Green, a board member.
The NFF has been rocked by leadership crisis for months. The Minister of Sports and Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Tammy Danagogo, was quoted Monday as saying that the tenure of Mr. Maigari had ended.
The embattled NFF chairman was first arrested in July as he returned from the World Cup in Brazil. The arrest followed an order issued by a Plateau State court asking the NFF executives to step aside. Mr. Maigari’s removal as the NFF chairman led to the suspension of Nigeria by world football governing body, FIFA.
The suspension was lifted after Mr. Maigari was reinstated but he was controversially impeached thereafter, accused of financial abuse and corruption.
Shortly after the impeachment July 31, Mr. Maigari was again whisked away by SSS operatives from the Serob Legacy Hotel, Abuja where the NFF held a congress. He was again reinstated after the intervention of FIFA.
The Board of United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) Monday announced the appointment of Mr. Tony O. Elumelu as Chairman, succeeding Ambassador Joe Keshi.
The announcement was made in a statement signed by the Divisional Head, Marketing and Corporate Relations, UBA Plc, Charles Aigbe.
Elumelu is Chairman/CEO of Heirs Holdings, the pan-African proprietary investment company he founded in 2010, which holds stakes in a number of leading African businesses, including Transcorp, Nigeria’s largest listed conglomerate by market capitalisation, as well as UBA.
Elumelu retired as Group Managing Director and CEO of UBA in 2010, following the introduction by the Central Bank of Nigeria of 10-year tenure limits for bank CEOs.
He had served as CEO of the UBA Group for 13 years, where he was responsible for the creation of today’s UBA, a financial services institution that built a reputation for innovation and the democratisation of banking services and now spans Africa, providing services to more than 10 million customers, across the continent and in London, Paris and New York.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential business leaders in Africa, Elumelu has developed a reputation for identifying value and bringing a long term investment orientation and discipline to sectors critical to Africa’s development, including financial services, power, oil and gas, agribusiness, real estate and hospitality. As the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, an Africa-based and African-funded philanthropy, Elumelu is committed to the promotion of entrepreneurship in Africa, based on his championing of Africapitalism, the philosophy that the African private sector is the critical enabler of the continent’s economic and social transformation.
The Chairmanship of UBA will complement Elumelu’s existing positions with other Heirs Holdings’ portfolio businesses, including the Chairmanships of Tenoil Petroleum & Energy Services Limited and Seadrill Limited.
“Tony Elumelu’s track record at UBA speaks for itself,” said Phillips Oduoza, Group Managing Director/CEO UBA. “His return to the Board brings a depth of knowledge and experience in the African financial services industry that is second to none. We are privileged to have him lead the Board at this critical stage in our development.”
Analysts and leaders of shareholder groups also welcomed Elumelu’s return. “Banking in Africa is a dynamic, exciting and an increasingly competitive and challenging industry,” said economic and financial analyst, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, Chief Executive of Financial Derivatives. “Tony is visionary, courageous and has shown an ability to both, think for the long term, and to create significant shareholder value. The drive, dynamism and competitiveness that we saw during his period as CEO of UBA, was one of the catalysts of the enormous changes in the Nigerian banking sector.”
President, Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr. Farouk Umar, said, “We are delighted with this appointment. It bodes well for UBA and the banking industry, now and in the future. Elumelu is a transformer and value creator for shareholders. We are excited about his return.”
With operations in 19 African countries and presence in New York, London and Paris, UBA is one of the largest financial services institutions in Africa. The Bank recently unveiled its Project Alpha, a three-year roadmap of key transformation initiatives, designed to consolidate the Group’s strategic positioning and fully exploit the opportunities provided by Africa’s economic renaissance and the UBA Group’s unique platform.
“I am very much looking forward to returning to the Group – UBA represents a tremendous investment opportunity, and is at an inflection point in its growth path. We have an extremely powerful executive team and I am looking forward to bringing my experience and energy, to guide UBA’s long-term strategy.
“Financial services remain one of the key drivers of African growth, both in terms of social inclusion and regional integration, and the UBA Group provides a unique platform to deliver both extraordinary value and drive Africa’s economic success.
“I would also like to thank my predecessor, Ambassador Keshi and the entire board for their contributions to the growth and development of the bank,” Elumelu said.
