Currently, only three countries are producing shale gas through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on a commercial scale: the United States, Canada, and China. But as several other countries undertake shale resource exploration efforts, a key question remains: What are the impacts of shale gas mining on local economies and the environment? In the Worldwatch Institute’s latest Vital Sign, Research Fellow Christoph von Friedeburg concludes that any strong national reliance on shale gas (domestic or foreign) could have undesirable consequences in both the near and long term.
Worldwide, an estimated 7,299 trillion cubic feet of shale gas is considered “technically recoverable.” However, continued exploration could lead to substantial revisions of deposits that are not merely technically, but also economically recoverable.
Discussions about fracking are ongoing in several European countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and Bulgaria. But recoverable quantities of shale gas across the region remain uncertain, and many supplies are located deep underground, some in densely populated areas. Additional factors inhibiting the development of Europe’s shale gas resources include disputes about the ownership of mineral rights, and substantial environmental and safety concerns.
The U.K. government appears to be in favour of shale gas development. However, the single shale well that has been fracked in the country so far, in 2011, caused two earth tremors, leading to a temporary ban on fracking that was in effect until 2012. Since then, a handful of exploration wells have been drilled, but none have been fracked so far. In Romania, expectations for the country’s shale gas future have soured because of lower and less-profitable projections of available reserves, growing public opposition to fracking, and lower oil prices, which have rendered natural gas less economically viable.
China has invested more than $1 billion in shale gas exploration so far. But most of the country’s deposits are located in hard-to-access mountainous areas, either at great depths or too far from the considerable water resources required for the fracking process. This makes drilling wells, as well as establishing the needed infrastructure, such as roads and pipelines, more challenging and expensive.
The United States is by far the dominant producer of shale gas, producing a record 32.9 billion cubic feet per day in 2014. Proponents of fracking have touted shale gas development as a boon for local job creation. However, most of the associated jobs are temporary, and many are filled by out-of-area workers whose short-lived influx provides only passing benefit to local economies. The development of clean, renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, has been shown in many cases to be more successful in creating employment.
The costs of damages to local roads from the heavy-truck fleets needed for well construction and wastewater transport amount to hundreds of millions of dollars. Air pollution emissions from vehicles and from well-pad diesel generators can harm human health. And the toxic wastewater that flows out from the wells after the fracking fluid is pumped underground-containing a mixture of chemicals, water, and sand-is often inadequately treated, presenting a danger to soils and aquifers. Such impacts need to be assessed closely within the United States as well as in other countries that are considering shale gas development.
The shift in the United States from coal to natural gas for power generation has helped to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions in the short term. But the long-term, global benefit of this reduction is dubious, as fracking releases large quantities of methane-a more potent contributor to atmospheric warming than carbon dioxide-and because growing amounts of U.S. coal have found their way to export markets. Furthermore, optimistic projections of future U.S. shale gas production have been called into question.
Nigeria’s dream of joining the league of countries using cutting edge technology to boost economic development appears to have come true following the signing into law on Saturday, April 18, 2015 the National Biosafety Agency Bill by President Goodluck Jonathan.
Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria
Observers have described the development as a milestone in the domestication of modern biotechnology in the country, saying that it will create more employment, boost food production and improve the prospects of farming.
Prof. Lucy Ogbadu, Director-General/CEO, National Biotechnology Development Agency, in a media statement described the National Biosafety Act as crucial in the management of modern biotechnology in the country.
She said: “Modern biotechnology has been identified as an important tool that can help countries to achieve food sufficiency/food security, industrial growth, health improvement and environmental sustainability while the Biosafety Act will give the legal framework to check the activities of modern biotechnology locally as well as imported GM crops into the country as well as providing avenue to engage Nigerian scientists/experts from different fields to identify and pursue solutions to our local challenges.
“The Biosafety Law also recognises the complex issues to be addressed by central authorities in the judicious application of modern biotechnology; it bases the deliberate release of GMO on Advance Informed Agreement (AIA).”
According to her, the issue of Biosafety Regulation in Africa is rapidly gaining momentum as more African Countries are embracing GMOs. Republic of South Africa, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Egypt already have biosafety laws and are currently growing and consuming GM crops. Kenya, Togo, Tanzania and Mali also have Biosafety laws.
“The African Union has developed a model biosafety law to assist member states develop their Biosafety Laws. However, to further strengthen Biosafety system in Africa, the AU-NEPAD-African Biosafety Network of Expertise project has been put in place to develop the capacity of member states in biotechnology and Biosafety. The ECOWAS Commission is also currently developing a common Biosafety Regulation in line with National Biosafety laws/Regulations for the sub-region,” she added .
Rose Gidado, Assistant Director, National Biotechnology development Agency/OFAB Nigeria Chapter Coordinator, submitted that Nigeria can without delay commercialise Bt-cotton, Bt-maize, Herbicide Tolerant (HT)-soya beans, which are already in South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt.
“This can lead to increased yield productivity to ensure food security and industrial growth especially in the ailing Textile Industries. It will also promote the quantity and quality of cotton that the Nigeria can export to other international countries,” she stated.
Gidado added: “The passage of this law will also ensure the much desired in-flux of foreign direct investment from notable world leading companies in Biotechnology thereby improving gross domestic product growth rate and increase job creation.
“The law will promote national security through the application of DNA finger printing for crime detection, paternity testing and identification. It will also promote active commercialisation of the research and development projects in our various universities and research institutes hence improves our economy as well as support the country to become one of the leaders in Biotechnology, particularly in Africa.”
Prof Ogbadu said: “At this juncture I would like to thank and appreciate very greatly, the National Assembly Members for the timely passage of the Bill and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for his quick assent. I have not also forgotten our strength and pillars of support: the Ministers of Science and Technology, Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as Environment (Dr Abdu Bulama, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and Mrs L.L. Malam respectively). We would ever remain grateful to you for this great and historical milestone achieved.
“Also on record, are our abled, tenacious and committed stakeholders: African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), United States Agency for International Department (USAID), United States Department for Agriculture (USDA), Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR), Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv), National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), National Agricultural Seed Council of Nigeria (NASCN), National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), Michigan State University (MSU), African Biosafety Network of Expertise (AU-NEPAD ABNE), All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), Cotton Ginnery Association of Nigeria (CGAN), Niger State Government, Gombe State Government, Imo State Government, Katsina State Government, Universities, Biotechnology Society of Nigeria (BSN), Genetic Society of Nigeria (GSN), Nigerian Society of Microbiologists (NSM), Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST), Nigerian Institute for Oil Research (NIFOR) and Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), who guided us all the way through in driving this process to its logical conclusion.
“You stood strongly behind and beside us even when things became tough and hopeless, when there seemed to ne no way, you never gave up. Keeping hope alive is what has brought us this success. God will surely take us to the Promise Land!”
Climate change, which refers to any long-term trends in climate over many years or decades, around which climate variability may be evident year on year, is one of the greatest socio-economic and ecological challenges facing us today. By its definition, a single warmer or cooler year on its own is not sufficient evidence to assert that climate is changing, but systematic changes in average conditions over many years do provide evidence of a changing climate. Climate change continues to be discussed as the overarching issue this generation and those to follow must address.
Prof. Emmanuel Olukayode Oladipo
The general consensus is that it is undermining development and increasing the burdens on the poorest people in the world, who are often hardest hit by weather catastrophes, desertification, and rising sea levels, among others. In general it is regarded as capable of having serious devastating effects on the three dimensions or pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. The scientific basis of climate change may be known to experts and professionals, but society is increasingly seeking information about the nature of the evidence and what can be done in response to a changing climate. This article provides some of that much-needed simplified information on the science of climate change.
In its natural state, the Earth’s climate system is a dynamic system, always in transformation from one state to another, sometimes smoothly and sometimes turbulently. Thus, looking back to the Earth’s history, it is not surprising that its climate system has always changed. In general, global temperatures have been cycling or alternating between geological intervals of warmer global average temperature known as Interglacial Periods, and periods of colder global average temperature, known as Glacial Periods. In general, long glacial periods are therefore separated by more temperate but shorter interglacials. These changes are driven by both external influences and dynamics internal to the Earth system. Key external influences include fluctuations in the amount of energy emitted by the Sun, and changes in the Earth’s orbit and axial tilt that affect the intensity and distribution of the Sun’s energy across the Earth. Internal influences on climate include changes in the surface reflectivity due to the presence or absence of ice, changes in atmospheric composition of greenhouse gases, variations in ocean currents, drifting continents, the cooling effect of volcanic dust, and other geological processes.
If climate has always varied in the past, why are we so concerned about the recent warming? The concern is that modern climate is changing far more quickly than in the geological past. In addition, scientific evidences are indicating that recent climate changes cannot be explained by natural causes alone. In general, research indicates that while climate changes prior to the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s can be explained by natural causes, such as changes in solar energy, volcanic eruptions, and natural changes in atmospheric gas concentrations, natural causes are very unlikely to explain most observed warming, especially warming since the mid-20th century. There is no record of temperatures within human history ever having increased as rapidly as they have over the past 100 years. Rather, human activities can very likely explain most of that warming, especially because of the way we have been affecting and changing the amount of the gases in the earth’s atmosphere (a thin layer of air that envelops the Earth).
The Sun, which powers the Earth’s climate system, radiates energy at very short wavelengths. About 33% the solar energy that reaches the top of earth’s atmosphere is reflected directly back to space. The remaining 67% is absorbed by the surface and, to a lesser extent, by the atmosphere. To balance the absorbed incoming energy, the earth must, on average, radiate the same amount of energy back to space. Because the Earth is much colder than the Sun, it radiates at much longer wavelengths (thermal radiation). Much of this thermal radiation emitted by the land and ocean is absorbed by the atmosphere, including clouds, and reradiated back to earth.
Gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide and water vapour, are essential to retain heat and keep the planet warm enough to sustain life – hence the reference to them as greenhouse gases. They absorb the radiation released by the Earth’s surface and then radiate heat in all directions, including back towards the ground – adding to the heat the ground receives from the Sun. This is the so called greenhouse effect, which is analogous to the glass walls in a greenhouse which reduce airflow and increase the temperature of the air inside. The Earth’s greenhouse effect warms the surface of the planet. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the average temperature at earth’s surface would be more than 30oC cooler than it is now, and life as we know it would not be possible. Thus, earth’s natural greenhouse effect makes life as we know it possible.
If the greenhouse effect is essential for our living, so why the current concern about greenhouse effect-induced warming and what makes the climate change we are now experiencing different? There is now strong evidence that recent rapid climate changes are driven largely by a range of human activities. Greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, clearing forests, cement manufacture, and by many other industrial and agricultural activities, thereby increasing the amount of radiation trapped near the Earth’s surface and driving accelerated warming. Because of this, the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are higher today than they have been over the last half-million years or longer. Thus, human activities have greatly intensified the natural greenhouse effect, causing global warming. This process, called the enhanced greenhouse effect, is caused by a forced release of greenhouse gases from their terrestrial store into the atmosphere that has no precedent in history. The net effect could throw the climate system into a tumultuous state of extreme weather and climatic conditions.
To further understand the situation, we can look at it with a simple analogy, considering salt and human health. A small amount of salt is essential for human life, and slightly more salt in our diet often makes food tastier. However, too much salt can be harmful to our health. In a similar way, greenhouse gases are essential for our planet; the planet may be able to deal with slightly increased levels of such gases, but too much will affect the health of the whole planet.
Since the beginning of the industrial era (about 1750), the overall effect of human activities has resulted in the increase of CO2 from 280 parts per million (ppm) to about 390 ppm today, with an annual growth rate of 1.5 to 2.0 ppm. This build-up of GHGs threatens to set the earth inexorably on the path to an unpredictably different climate, particularly in terms of temperature and precipitation changes.
Despite global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) atmospheric concentrations that have been largely blamed for global warming induced changes in the climate, the recent Greenhouse Gas Bulletin released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) indicated that the atmospheric concentrations of the GHGs are increasing. The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) reached 390.9 parts per million in 2011, or 140% of the pre-industrial level. Atmospheric methane also reached a new high of about 1813 parts per billion in 2011, or 259% of the pre-industrial level. Atmospheric nitrous oxide in 2011 was about 324.2 parts per billion, or 120% of the pre-industrial level. Further, radiative forcing by long-lived GHGs increased by 30% from 1990-2011, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Annual Greenhouse Gas Index. Carbon dioxide accounts for about 80% of this increase.
Anthropogenic-induced global warming and associated changes in climate are now a reality. The global warming is a reality in the light of current developments of temperatures observed since the 19th century. The observed temperatures show a general upward trend across the globe. The average surface temperature has risen by 0.6OC+ or – 0.2OC since 1860. The observations indicate that the 20th century probably experienced the greatest warming of all ages since 1 000 years in the Northern hemisphere. The decades 1990 and 2000 were the warmest of the 20th century. The years 1998, 2005, 2003 and 2002 were the warmest on record since 1861.
Since 1976, the rise in temperature has been sharp, reaching 0.18OC per decade. The linear trend of warming over the last 50 years, from 1956 to 2005 (0.13OC per decade) is almost twice that of 100 years, from 1906 to 2005 (IPCC, 2007). According to the recent Bulletin of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the year 2013 was among the top ten warmest years since modern records began in 1850. It tied with 2007 as the sixth warmest year, with a global land and ocean surface temperature that was 0.50OC (0.90OF) above the 1961–1990 average and 0.03OC (0.05OF) higher than the most recent 2001–2010 decadal average.
Human-amplified global warming and the associated increases in global temperatures are changing fundamental climate processes. Some of those changes may be beneficial in some areas, but it is expected that most will cause more harm than good. Oceans are reportedly becoming more acidic as a result of the carbon dioxide uptake, with serious potential repercussions for coral reefs and the underwater food chain. All these point to the fact that the world may continue to face climate change-induced decrease in food security, less predictable availability of fresh water, and adverse health effects with increasing concentrations of GHGs, as predicted in many scientific models.
The past, present and future climate change scenarios in Nigeria will be discussed in the next article.
By Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo (Climate Change Specialist and Adjunct Professor,Department of Geography, University of Lagos, Nigeria. olukayode_oladipo@yahoo.co.uk)
The importance of communication and awareness are entrenched in the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework on Climate Change) system – Article 6 of the Convention which talked about public awareness while protocol Article10 emphasised training, public awareness and access to information on climate change.
Prince Lekan Fadina
This piece looks at the impact of communication and how the public can be carried along through public awareness and engaging communicators to be responsive to the challenges and opportunities in climate change.
At a media conference, former head of the UNFCCC, Yvo de Boer, in June 2010, said: “When l took on this job the issue of climate change was hardly being reported in developing countries at all and if it was being reported it must be an issue in which the West is interested but which is not of particular concern to the South.”
He went further to say: “I think that, that has fundamentally changed. I think that the media has played a modest role in creating awareness and deepened attention in the South.”
COP organisers have also provided opportunity for media and communication organisations and individuals for participation at different activities during the COPs. There are also various institutions and organisations such as EnviroNews Nigeria, IISD and others that produce and provide reporting services, bulletins, handbills and newsletters on a continuous basis to cover various activities before, during and after the COP and other UN activities. They provide information, create awareness, and make available research materials for governments, the academia, business, non-governmental organisations, students and all segments of the society. There are also others who play critical roles in ensuring the spreading of knowledge and also influence the way things are done.
There are organisations who support and sponsor journalists from developing countries for training and to attend conferences. The objective is for them to be more knowledgeable to report the climate change negotiations, side events and, beyond that, to create awareness and enhance public knowledge.
We all have the responsibility to ensure that effective and purpose-driven messages about climate change and COP sessions are put into the public space in a simple language that can ensure ownership, shared vision “buy-in.” Yvo de Boer at the press conference mentioned above noted “that the dominant Western media rarely tells such stories from the perspectives of developing nations whose journalists can rarely afford to travel to major meetings.”
We are aware that some institutions like the Federal Ministry of Environment, its agencies, other ministries, UNDP and a host of others have at one time or the other supported, sponsored, briefed and also engaged journalists and others before, during and after COP meetings. We thank them for the support.
There are tool kits for journalists worldwide on how to report on climate change and sustainable development. The journalists need to have access to the information and the man in charge of information because having the right information at the appropriate time means a lot and the society is the ultimate beneficiary. In short, access to information is an important element in addressing climate change and the attendant issues.
We believe that, as communicators, we have a duty to use the information at our disposal to the overall interest of the greater number of people and also to educate, mobilise, inform, create awareness and ensure that we carry people along as we go through the road to Paris. It is imperative that we have a lot of responsibility to carry and we must live up because we must set the pace and the agenda that will ensure the overall interest of our nation.
Climate change is real and affects all aspects of our lives. We have a duty to put it at the centre of public discourse especially now that the President-elect has emphasised climate diplomacy as one of the issues this administration will address. It is important that we embark on a high level advocacy to sustain it at the centre of public discuss.
The world is in the thick of discussion on climate agreement with world leaders signing an agreement in December. We cannot leave the discussion to a few people because it is an issue that all of us must be involved. In the next few days the Editor of the Guardian of London will be bowing out after 25 years to devote more time to climate change and the attendant issues. There are others around the world that see the climate matters as more than discussion because it is now a development issue. The amount of money available for renewable energy globally is huge and there are others. The recent French support to Africa is substantial and Nigeria must benefit from it.
In a presentation, the Climate Leadership Conference, Edward Maibach of George Mason University Centre for Climate Change Communication, USA in his paper titled: “Communicating Climate Change and the case for Action” talked on the need for quality information management and posed the need to answer four key questions:
What does the public think of climate change?
Who are they listening to?
Who do they expect to take action?
What do they want to see done?
We must have passion and determination for finding great stories and reporting them in ways that are relevant to our people. Climate change is a hard nut which we must crack. We must all work together to help millions of Nigerians about climate issues and what they mean to us and our lives.
We also must let the developed countries know that we need finance to address the challenges and we need the right technology to tap the opportunities and we need the right capacity building mechanism to train our people towards the path of low carbon economy and move towards green homes, green banking and green way of life.
We all have a common objective which is to improve the lot of our people. We are all stakeholders in the Nigeria project.
By Prince Lekan Fadina (Executive Director, Centre for Investment, Sustainable Development, Management and Environment (CISME). (He is a member of the Nigeria Negotiation Team, Africa Group of Negotiators and member, AGN Finance Co-ordination Committee). Website: www.cismenigeria.com. Email: cismevision@gmail.com. Twitter: @cismevision
The Ivorian Ministry of Economic Infrastructure has awarded a contract valued at about 1.65 million euro ($1.76 million) to a consortium led by the firm of Louis Berger. The construction supervision contract is being financed through the French Agency for Development’s debt relief and development programme for Côte d’Ivoire.
The consortium will supervise the construction of a 45 kilometre (28 miles) road between Ferkessédougou, the second largest town in northern Côte d’Ivoire, and Ouangolodougou, a northern town near the country’s border with Burkina Faso. Work also will include the rehabilitation of various road crossings.
“This road, when complete, will help local Ivorian producers transport their products to market faster and under better conditions,” said Jean-Pierre Dupacq, head of Louis Berger’s operations in Africa. “The road also will generate additional regional trade and economic benefits because it links the Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Mali.”
In a related development, the African Finance Corporation (AFC) is partnering with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Ivorian government to invest N52.65 billion (270 million euro) in financing the Henri Konan Bedie (HKB) Bridge, which is the third in the city of Abidjan.
The others are the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Bridge and Charles de Gaulle Bridge and, passing over the Ebire Lagoon, link the districts of Reviera and Marcory.
However, the new toll bridge is expected to reduce transportation time and costs by easing congestion over the existing two (non-tolled) bridges crossing the lagoon within the city.
Key project sponsor – Bouygues Group of France – is building the bridge under a turnkey fixed price arrangement, while the Government of Ivory Coast is providing a 30-year concession with a strong support.
Louis Berger has more than 50 years of experience in Africa and 20 years of experience working in the Côte d’Ivoire, where the firm has implemented nearly 15 projects covering a broad range of professional services in the agriculture and transportation sectors.
If you keep going in the same direction, you will inevitably end up at where you are going – Proverb
Nnimmo Bassey
The climate paradox is that while governments agree that it is an imminent crisis, they are unwilling to act in a manner that shows that they assimilate this truth. Indeed, climate negotiations have remained largely a political exercise that commits large amounts of money to access climate science and yet pays scant attention to it. This is what we learn from the tonnes of information generated by the IPCC compared to the decisions that come out from the (Conference of Parties) COPs.
Climate Intentions
We note particularly that by the subversive decision of the 2009 COP at Copenhagen the world stopped talking of binding commitment to emissions reduction by nations and rather stepped on to the path of voluntary actions. The world also slashed ambition on climate finance and was forced to comply with a $100 billion per year climate fund a year by 2020. What happens before 2020 was left hanging.
Another degenerate milestone was reached at the Conference of Parties five years later on at Lima, Peru. The Lima Call for Climate Action sought to actualise the intent of the so-called Copenhagen Accord. Rather than demanding binding emissions cut that would add up to meet targets indicated by science, nations are expected to toe the path of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). As the name suggests, nations are to suggest what they intend to (not what they must) do as their contributions to tackle the menace of climate change.
As at mid-April 2015, about 34 countries have so far submitted their INDCs to the UNFCCC. By the time of COP 21 in Paris, it is expected that about 90% of the nations of the world would have submitted their INDCs and that, with no incentive and no compulsion to do what will meaningfully add up to tackle the menace of climate change, their cumulative intended contributions would in no way be anything necessary to cut emissions at levels that would produce a less than 2 degrees Celsius temperature increase above pre-industrial levels. With a 2 degrees Celsius temperature rise Africa and some other parts of the world would already be literally on fire.
We should also note at this juncture that whatever is agreed to at Paris would only come into effect by 2020 as previously set by the Copenhagen Accord. This suits political temperaments of leaders that are content to shift responsibility to take action to future administrations while they do nothing at the present. The further away the dates for ambitious actions are, the easier it is for political leaders to agree to such plans. The nearer the implementation of these targets is, the more improbable it is to expect enthusiastic support from political leaders.
Not everything in the Lima outcome document pointed at a lack of ambition. The outcome retained the concepts of common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities (CBDR) as well as openings for gender action and another on loss and damage. While the CBDR speaks strongly to justice, fairness and equity, it is possible that arguments for payment of ecological and climate debt could be brought up under the loss and damage radar. This holds particular possibilities for support to Small Island states and other nations that have already been battered (and are still being battered) by freak weather events.
Fossils Underground
One thing that the COPs have consistently refused to acknowledge, as they should, is the central role played by human’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy and power generation. The World Bank and the International Energy Agency as well as the IPCC have acknowledged that substantial percentage of known reserves of fossil fuels must not be burned, that is, they must be left underground if catastrophic temperature increase is to be avoided. This reality which Oilwatch has been demanding for over 15 years now makes it urgent for nations to close their fossil shops and for corporations to shift their attention to clean energy and other forms of production. Is that what we see? No.
Rather than work on urgent transition from fossil fuels, nations and corporations are embarking on more extreme and reckless modes of exploration and extraction of fossil fuels, including fracking and deep seas drilling. Rather than shifting to safer and cleaner energy forms, many countries, including many on the African continent, are celebrating new oil and gas finds. They are delirious with joy and getting set to enjoy the pyrrhic bounties that the sector promises. While anti-fracking movements denounce moves towards the reprehensible mode of extraction in Europe we hear of the announcement of massive oil find at a location near Gatwick airport in the United Kingdom. When shall we learn?
Without the new finds, it was already estimated that the value of fossils to be left underground topped $22 trillion. The fact that such fossils to be left underground are often referred to as stranded resources suggests that corporations and governments will don the saviour toga to rescue the resources from being stranded!
Finance for Action
As already mentioned, the COPs hope that by 2020 there would be $100 billion a year in the kitty for climate finance. A Green Climate Fund (GCF) has been set up. The means of raising that money – from private or public sources was not stipulated – and this has led to various interpretations including counting development aid as climate finance. As we write this in mid-April 2015 only $10.2 billion is in that account.
Raising climate finance should not be such a hard thing if politicians especially from rich nations agree to do the right thing. For one, the huge expenditure on warfare amount to over a trillion dollars a year. 10% of the amount of money wasted on wars and other acts of aggression would already exceed the financial target for the GCF. Secondly, equity, fairness and justice demands that accumulated climate debt be paid. This would meet the huge financial demands been saddled on nations that neither contribute significantly to climate change nor are in a position to fund adaptation measures.
False Solutions
If the UNFCCC is serious about carbon offset mechanisms, countries that leave fossils in the ground should be accorded carbon credits to the value of the fossils locked underground. This means that the Ogoni people should be paid handsomely for keeping millions of tonnes of carbon underground since they expelled Shell from their territory in 1993. This would also mean that Ecuador would not have to desecrate Yasuni because of the quest for cash at the expense of lives and a rich biodiversity. This means that countries like Kenya would not have to open up the protected Lake Turkana area for oil extraction and that Mozambique would defend its rich biodiversity rather than celebrate gas finds on its territory. The truth is that leaving fossils underground is more valuable than cash as a liveable planet offers opportunities that money cannot provide. If the whole carbon trade is not a fabricated lie the logic should be extended to fossils left underground.
The urgency of the climate crisis demands that the world decarbonises urgently. We cannot allow politicians to intentionally refuse to act now and shift responsibility for action to generations yet unborn. No. We must not allow that.
This is why we reject all false solutions that lock in pollution and snuffs life out of our peoples. False solutions such as agro-fuels and REDD have already had serious negative impacts on our peoples. Geo-engineering experiments have failed spectacularly, and even if they were to succeed, all scenarios reviewed by scientists and by the ETC Group show that Africa would suffer severe negative impacts from such moves. As one highly regarded physicist told a recent meeting, “geo-engineering experiments have shown that it is totally useless.” It is a silver bullet that permits polluters to keep polluting and cannot deliver on its promise to suck released carbon from the atmosphere.
Simple Solutions
Complex problems can be solved with simple solutions. The climate crisis can be tackled by working with nature and not against her. We need to resolve to respect the rights of Mother Earth to maintain her natural cycles without human disruptions. We have to halt activities that have known negative impacts, including dependence on industrial agriculture and its litany of artificial and chemical inputs. We have to say yes to life and no to mining. It may be inconveniencing, but the pleasures and so-called easy life of today cannot justify a knowing condemnation of the planet and peoples to unacceptable future. We must all sand up, speak and ac against climate crimes.
Climate action can only appear to be expensive if we continue to refuse to discern that the cost of inaction is far higher and intolerable. Inaction is attractive when polluters do not care about the impacted and refuse to accept the fact that ultimately everyone on planet Earth is vulnerable.
Mass movements can press this message at local and national levels. And then all must coalesce in the global space to demand the urgent halting of intentional climate crimes and inaction.
By Nnimmo Bassey (Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation – HOMEF)
Ministerial Declaration on Monday, 13 April 2015 at the 7th World Water Forum in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea
A session during the 7th World Water Forum 2015. Photo credit: flickr.com
We, the Ministers and Heads of Delegations assembled in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea, on 13 April 2015 on the occasion of the Ministerial Conference of the 7th World Water Forum, “Water for Our Future”,
Reaffirming the United Nations General Assembly Resolutions entitled “The Human Right to Water and Sanitation”(A/RES/64/292), “The Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation”(A/RES/68/157), “International Decade for Action, Water for Life, 2005-2015”(A/RES/58/217), “International Year of Water Cooperation, 2013”(A/RES/65/154) as well as the Human Rights Council Resolution entitled “The Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation”(A/HRC/27/7),
Reaffirming the commitments made in the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (“Rio+20”), “The Future We Want”,
Recognising the key water-related challenges the world is facing as well as the urgent need to address them in a sustainable manner,
Welcoming the proposed water-related Sustainable Development Goals by the Open Working Group of the United Nations General Assembly,
Recognising the significant contributions previous World Water Fora and the Budapest Water Summit have made in committing to address water-related challenges, and reaffirming the Ministerial Declaration of the 6th World Water Forum, “Time for Solutions” held in Marseille, France, in 2012,
Further recognising that sustainable management of water resources is a collective responsibility of all stakeholders,
Acknowledging that water resources is vital for sustainable development for all countries in the world, in particular, for developing countries including the least developed countries,
Stressing the need to promote good governance at all levels including basin level, based on, inter alia, water planning, public participation and sound management of physical infrastructure and natural systems as a means to effectively tackle the water security challenges,
Recognising the need to move from “solutions” identified during the previous World Water Fora for resolving water-related challenges to “implementation”,
Taking into consideration, as appropriate, the “Daegu-Gyeongbuk Recommendations” which have been submitted to the Ministers, and welcoming the many contributions and efforts from the Thematic, Regional and Science and Technology Processes,
Declare our political will to translate our commitments made in this Declaration into national policies, plans and actions and to intensify our joint efforts to advance water-related cooperation at a global scale as follows:
We reaffirm that water is at the core of sustainable development and support the inclusion of one dedicated water goal and water-related targets in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. We note that Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and its balanced relation with food and energy is important to effectively cope with increasing food and energy requirements towards sustainable development.
We reaffirm our commitment to the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation and ensuring progressive access to water and sanitation for all.
We stress that water is one of the major issues in tackling climate change. In this regard, we are committed to working together to ensure a successful outcome at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in full recognition of the importance of water-related issues in climate change.
We recognise the leading role that riparian countries have on advancing cooperation on transboundary waters. We recognise that transboundary water cooperation based on win-win solutions can contribute to sustainable development and sound management of the transboundary waters between riparian countries and peace and stability of the nations. We are determined to further build upon the commitments and recommendations regarding transboundary water cooperation made in the previous World Water Fora and the 7th World Water Forum. We note the key role of the United Nations in promoting international water cooperation at the global level. Several of the principles of the relevant international Conventions on water can be useful in this regard.
Taking note of the outcome of the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, we acknowledge the pressing need to take preventive actions and enhance resilience and preparedness towards water-related disasters at national, regional, and international levels. Developing systematic and effective response mechanisms is crucial to deal with increased risks and uncertainties of water-related disasters. We emphasise that IWRM supported by appropriate land management at the basin level is crucial to sustainable water management and planning. This includes enhancing prevention, resilience and preparedness towards water-related disasters, based on sound management of natural systems and adequate water infrastructures.
We underscore the importance of international cooperation and partnership between developed and developing countries, among international aid agencies, financial institutions and related intergovernmental organisations and other stakeholders. We highlight the partnership between public and private sectors, as appropriate, in tackling water-related global challenges, including climate related institutions such as the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
We underline the critical role of science and technology in paving the way from “solutions” for resolving water-related challenges to “implementation” by applying innovative and applicable technologies to policies as well as building sound and effective action plans linking science, technologies, policies and practices. We share a common understanding of the need to establish sound science-based public policies and regulations supported by appropriate institutional mechanisms. We stress in particular the importance of convergence of information and communications technologies (ICT) on smart water management and planning. We call upon nations to promote knowledge sharing and the development and deployment of scientific knowledge and innovative technologies to facilitate financing, investment, education, training and capacity building, particularly for developing countries and as well as to develop and diffuse concrete business models with a view to promote cooperation among water-related stakeholders. In this regard, we welcome the inauguration of the Science and Technology Process in the World Water Forum and resolve to build on its progress and further strengthen participation in the Process.
We support the results of the 7th World Water Forum and look forward to the “Implementation Roadmap”, along with its relevant Monitoring System, which could be considered as a reference for establishing implementation and monitoring guidelines for water-related goals in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. We further welcome the outcomes of the 7th World Water Forum’s Process, “Daegu-Gyeongbuk Water Action for Sustainable Cities and Regions” and its network of Local and Regional Authorities, as well as the ongoing process in the World Water Fora regarding establishment of the “Water Legislation Helpdesk” aimed to serve as a support tool for networks of parliamentarians.
We thank the Government and the people of the Republic of Korea, the Metropolitan City of Daegu, the Province of Gyeongsangbuk-do and the World Water Council for their support in organizing the Ministerial Conference of the 7th World Water Forum and recommend to the Government of the Republic of Korea to submit this Declaration to the United Nations Member States and appropriate bodies of the United Nations for their consideration.
As a follow up to the awareness campaign on rural energy for policymakers in Eastern Africa, held in Arusha, Tanzania in June last year, SmartVillages Initiative has launched a Smart Villages and Practical Action off-grid village energy workshop in Nepal.
A micro-hydro plant. Photo credit: negrosforests.org
The Arusha workshop explored the East African/Tanzanian environment for village energy, local case studies, challenges and opportunities, with a view to formulating policy recommendations for policymakers, funders, NGOs and other stakeholders in that region.
The Smart Villages Kathmandu Workshop held on April 10th was directed at learning “from the Nepalese expertise in off-grid energy provision that might help other countries in South Asia and beyond. In particular, mini-hydro was identified as an under-utilised technology with massive global potential,” Communications Officer of SmartVillages, Meredith Thomas, said in a release.
The workshop brought together a cross-section of participants in the Nepali off-grid energy sector.
Co-leader of the Initiative, John Holmes, stated: “Energy provision is on the agenda for the new Sustainability Goals and both ourselves and Practical Action are looking to provide policy guidance on how best to reach ‘last mile’ remote off-grid communities. Holding workshops in key regions enables us to gain a better understanding of local solutions and experience that might yield broader lessons.”
The workshop’s agenda harped on the necessary conditions that would ensure that development benefits flowed directly from energy access. “It also sought to develop an appreciation of the distinctive challenges encountered in Nepal and how they have been overcome,” the statement added.
The Nepalese Government-run centre, the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, including other stakeholders in the private sector, shared their experiences in promoting off-grid renewable energy projects.
The discussions that followed dwelled on rural electricity access transformation “by use of market mapping to identify barriers to the development of village mini-grid markets and possible interventions.”
The workshop also identified that “small hydroelectric plants installed on naturally occurring rivers and streams, were seen as a promising technology.”
The Nepal Micro Hydropower Development Association said that the technology had successfully generated approximately 28MW of electricity in Nepal, adding that a total of 2,900 micro-hydro plants of different sizes and capacities, had been installed and grants access to 350,000 households.
The workshop provided new insights from the experiences of installing micro-hydro mini-grids in remote villages in Nepal.
“We also received an update on the initiatives being taken to catalyse productive enterprises at the village level enabled by access to electricity,” Holmes explained.
Further, the discussion delved into the mini-grid ownership model and the respective roles of the community and private sector in its implementation as well as the importance of integrating energy access initiatives with the development of local productive enterprises.
Participatory Market System Development, formulated by Practical Action, was proposed as a tool to identify barriers to the development of markets that is able to produce high-value energy-enabled goods and services. “This approach has implications for the future of the 1.3 billion people worldwide who lack access to electricity,” the statement concluded.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday in New York called on business leaders to expand investment in low-carbon growth and opportunities to advance sustainable energy for all and tackle climate change. He made this submission in a statement to The Future of Energy Summit 2015, organised by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
Noting that global investment in renewable power and fuels in 2014 spiked by more than 15 per cent over 2013, with investments in developing countries growing by more than a third, he pointed out that renewable energies still contribute less than 10 per cent of global electricity, but that incentives can shift this forward.
“Energy is a story of global progress,” the Secretary-General said. “Smart investors are opening new markets, facilitating new business models, and supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries. I am here to urge you to take action for sustainable energy.”
Pointing to a new UN-led Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform with the potential to double efficiency by 2030, save more than a gigaton of carbon emissions each year and save tens of billions of dollars, as well as partnerships with banks and investment institutions that can mobilise another $120 billion a year in sustainable energy investments, he told the business leaders, “These significant sums are just part of what is possible. I count on your help to realise the enormous potential out there.”
Recalling also that the private sector, at the Climate Summit last September, announced plans to mobilise over $200 billion in financial assets towards low-carbon and climate-resilient development, Ki-moon said that the Paris Climate Conference in December would only succeed with a strong, credible climate finance package, and he urged the private sector to help move this process forward. To put the global economy on a path to low-carbon growth, he called for carbon pricing, the phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and stronger energy efficiency standards.
UN Sustainable Energy for All Forum to spur solutions
Ki-moon also announced that the United Nations will convene the second annual UN Sustainable Energy for All Forum on 17-21 May in New York, working with the World Bank and other key partners. Starting with a day of public engagement activities on Sunday, 17 May, the Forum continues on 18-19 May with two days of events at the Sheraton Hotel that will bring together over a thousand sustainable energy innovators to share solutions and spur action; New York Mayor Bill De Blasio is expected to speak at the opening plenary.
The first-ever Global Energy Ministerial, on 20 May, will gather leaders from government, business and civil society for cutting-edge discussions on key energy issues, including financing. Ministers from Brazil, China, the European Commission, France, Ghana and South Africa are among those who have indicated they plan to attend. Major public and private sector actions and commitments towards sustainable energy will be featured on 21 May. Speakers will include Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu, who is Chairman of Heirs Holdings. Both these high-level events will take place in the UN General Assembly Hall.
Tony Elumelu
Currently one out of five people lives without access to electricity, and nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population rely on wood, coal, charcoal or animal waste to cook and heat their homes, leading to over four million deaths each year, mostly women and children, from the effects of indoor smoke. Addressing this energy poverty while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling climate change is a crucial global challenge.
Launched by the UN Secretary-General in 2011, the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, a multi-stakeholder partnership, aims to achieve three inter-linked global targets: to ensure universal access to modern energy services, to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and to double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, all by 2030. At the UN, governments have already identified sustainable energy as one of the new generation of sustainable development goals that are expected to be adopted in September.
Kandeh Yumkella, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and chief executive of the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, called on the private sector to seize the opportunity by innovating and investing to help achieve the initiative’s objectives.
“The speed and scale of interventions we need to transform our current energy system and ensure shared prosperity lie in the private sector,” said Yumkella
Ministers from governments across Africa including Nigeria have renewed their call for a strong and universal climate change agreement with increased flows of funds, including through market and finance opportunities, sufficient to fulfil Africa’s development aspirations.
Mrs. Laurentia Laraba Mallam, Nigera’s Minister of Environment
With countries set to approve a new climate change agreement under the UN in Paris in December, African ministers stressed the region’s readiness and requirement for accelerated private and public financing of low-carbon development. Africa, with its vulnerable populations and vast potential, has perhaps the most to lose from climate change and the most to gain from an effective climate change agreement.
“I agree with Ministers that the last 10 years in the implementation of the Clean Development Mechanism is a very valuable asset and that market mechanisms can play a significant role in raising the level of ambition, and supporting climate action,” said Ms. Hakima El Haite, Delegate Minister in charge of Environment of Morocco.
“In these last eight months before Paris, the focus must shift from restating negotiating positions to finding common ground solutions,” said UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary Richard Kinley at a day-long ministerial segment at the Africa Carbon Forum 2015 hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco.
“All countries have something to gain from the Paris agreement and it is in everyone’s interests to reach a strong conclusion as soon as possible this year. If Heads of State come to Paris, it must be to adopt an agreement that is robust and ready for them.”
Clean Energy to Unlock African Sustainable Development Potential
The African Carbon Forum 2015 focused on programmes to unleash private sector finance, such as through the Clean Development Mechanism, and scale up other forms of climate finance to strengthen the sustainable development of African countries.
According to the International Energy Agency Africa Energy Outlook 2014, 625 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa, about two-thirds of the population, are without secure access to electricity. Some 730 million people in the region still rely on cooking mostly with wood, harming health and destroying vital forest cover.
“The coming months provide African countries with a significant opportunity to align their contributions to the Paris climate agreement with their own long-term sustainable development priorities,” said Mr. Kinley.
Countries are busy detailing their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), which they will submit as their contribution to climate action under the Paris agreement. INDCs for 35 countries have been submitted to date. On April 1, Gabon became the first African country to submit an INDC.
Climate Finance and a Strong CDM Are Key to Success
Two clear messages emerged from participants at the African Carbon Forum. First, linking climate finance to results is essential to stimulate greater funding for both mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Second, developing countries, including Africa, need tools like the Clean Development Mechanism if they are to successfully shift to a low-carbon emitting development path. Paris provides the continent with a unique opportunity to anchor carbon markets in the long-term climate agenda in line with scaling up climate action and sustainable development based on their national priorities.
A consistent theme during the Forum was the need to preserve and improve the CDM beyond 2020 as a tool for providing continued climate finance and technology to developing countries, especially in Africa. This would capitalise on the capacity and infrastructure already built up by countries and stakeholders. It is widely expected that this will be one of the issues
to be resolved in Paris.
Participants particularly highlighted the usefulness of the CDM’s established rules in measuring, reporting and verifying results and its possible role to help define and clarify the content of INDCs. The workshop also concluded that African countries could look at how best to link and leverage finance through the Green Climate Fund at the same time as increasing use of the CDM.
The Forum noted that the INDCs provide Africa with an ideal vehicle through which public policy developments can be transparently displayed by countries to shift toward a low-carbon and sustainable development path.
What the Forum organisers said about climate change and development in
Africa
“Throughout this African Carbon Forum, I have sensed the extraordinary will of the continent to act, and to use the tools that are functioning and at their disposal now, such as the Clean Development Mechanism. I share the sentiment expressed by many participants here, that it is time to support Africa’s dynamism in particular by exploring how the GCF can channel climate finance for the implementation of CDM projects in Africa, and finally unleash the continent’s mitigation potential. With the Paris agreement in mind, I trust that African countries will reflect this reality in their INDCs.” John Kilani, Director, Sustainable Development Mechanisms programme, UNFCCC
“The African Carbon Forum 2015 has clearly demonstrated the engagement and commitment by countries in the region to contribute to a balanced and fair outcome at the COP in Paris. Countries are preparing their INDCs, and presentations at the Forum indicate that these will have both ambition and at the same time send clear signals of the need to balance adaptation and mitigation aspects within a broader green economy development framework.” John Christensen, Director, United Nations Environment Programme DTU Partnership
“Here’s what participants at the Forum are saying: a clear and fair global climate architecture, which can protect the more vulnerable regions, such as Africa, needs to be a part of the Paris narrative. Participants are demonstrating a very high level of commitment to helping the Paris process hear Africa’s voice in getting climate policies right.” Neeraj Prasad, Manager, Climate Change Group, World Bank Group
“As we move towards the goal of a global climate change agreement in Paris in December, the 7th Africa Carbon Forum reinforced the need to have adequate, predictable, sustainable climate finance resources to address Africa’s challenges in transitioning to low carbon development, smart agriculture, and sustainable urban development key topics at this year’s
ACF. These areas should be at the core of Africa’s development priorities and how they are integrated into the countries’ INDCs will help determine the successful implementation of INDCs beyond Paris. We all know current climate financial flows are currently insufficient to meet all of Africa’s climate change challenges, but it will be critical for African countries to
demonstrate the ability to effectively deploy those resources that are available to help contribute to the global climate change goals.” Kurt Lonsway, Manager, Environment and Climate Change Division, African Development Bank
“As we’ve heard over the past couple of days, there is a great opportunity for the private sector to invest in a low carbon future for Africa, using market forces to bring innovative technologies so that the continent can develop in a sustainable way. The Paris agreement can help facilitate this by setting the right parameters for business to invest, including agreeing
rules and guidelines for carbon markets.” Dirk Forrister, President and CEO of International Emissions Trading Association
This year’s Africa Carbon Forum attracted over 600 participants of 53 countries, including 23 ministers or senior officials, policymakers, project developers and investors, and built on the success of last year’s forum in Windhoek, Namibia. Discussions centered on international and
national policies and operational issues related to carbon markets, mechanisms and finance.
The Forum is organised under the umbrella of the Nairobi Framework by the UNFCCC, United Nations Environment Programme along with the UNEP-DTU Partnership, World Bank, African Development Bank and the International Emissions Trading Association.
The Nairobi Framework was launched in 2006 by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to assist developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, to improve their level of participation in the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism.
Worldwide, an estimated 7,299 trillion cubic feet of shale gas is considered “technically recoverable.” However, continued exploration could lead to substantial revisions of deposits that are not merely technically, but also economically recoverable.
