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UNEP, partners devise agenda on sustainable real estate

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UNEP, partners devise agenda on sustainable real estate

On 12th December 2015, history was made in Paris when 195 countries agreed to work together to substantially curb global warming by limiting it to a maximum of to 2°C, possibly 1.5°C, and phase out fossil fuels by the end of the 21st century.

Tatiana Bosteels
Tatiana Bosteels

More than ever before, governments all over the world are now constrained to find cost-effective ways to curb pollution, with every sector and every economic actor coming under close scrutiny. The buildings sector is said to have one of the highest carbon footprints – it currently contributes to 30% of global annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and consumes around 40% of the world’s energy. Following through on the commitments made in Paris means avoiding 77% in total CO2 emissions in the buildings sector by 2050 compared to today’s levels. At the same time, the sector’s mitigation potential is huge, experts say, adding that even though achieving this potential will be critical, it however requires massive investments to be made.

To support real estate investors with this work, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and its global partners (IGCC, IIGCC, Ceres INCR, PRI and the RICS) have come together to create clear signposts for action for real estate stakeholders, regardless of size or existing level of sophistication of ESG and climate issues.

Eric Usher
Eric Usher

The result is a framework and practical guide that distil all available materials published over the last five years, reviewing and filtering those most relevant for each of the real estate stakeholders and the different steps in the investment process.  It is meant for real estate investors and their professional advisors to use in order to address climate risk and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from property portfolios – through attention to environmental, social and governance (ESG) and climate change risks within their standard business processes.

Prepared by the UNEP Finance Initiative, PRI, RICS and investor groups from Europe (IIGCC), North America (INCR Ceres) and Australasia (IGCC), the publication was officially released on Monday.

Tagged “Sustainable Real Estate Investment. Implementing the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement – An action framework,” the document sets out the measures to improve returns and better protect the future value of real estate investments through engagement with the ESG and climate agendas.

Launching the framework in London, co-author Tatiana Bosteels, head of responsible property investments at Hermes IM, chair of UNEP FI’s property working group and IIGCC’s property work programme said, “Buildings consume around 40% of the world’s energy and contribute up to 30% of its annual GHG emissions, so the people who manage global real estate assets – valued at around US$50 trillion – have a vital role to play if humanity is to curb emissions in line with the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. With this framework now available, real estate investors have no reason to delay taking concrete steps to transform their routine business practice so that it addresses the climate challenge.”

Eric Usher, acting head of UNEP FI – a unique global partnership between UNEP and the financial sector – added: “Not least after COP, governments must now find new and costeffective ways to curb pollution. Public private collaboration will be essential to finance a lowcarbon economy, including the buildings sector. This new framework will allow real estate investors to play their role in making this transition happen.”

Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of IIGCC – a European network of 120 institutional investors with €13 trillion assets under management – added, “As part of wider efforts to implement the Paris Agreement, every property asset owner, investor and stakeholder concerned to preserve asset values and returns over the longer term will need to actively manage ESG and climate-related risks as a routine component of their business thinking, practices and management processes. “

Martin Brühl, RICS President said, “This framework is important for investors and for our qualified professionals. It is a user-friendly map of tools and guidance that can support us with the actual implementation of ESG and climate risk strategies. Professional standards are a means to fulfil ESG goals and to mitigate climate change risk. The standards RICS promotes provide a basis for reliable and consistent energy metrics and emissions monitoring. They also make it easier to value sustainable buildings and, ultimately, enhance market transparency as well as de-risk investments.”

Fiona Reynolds, Managing Director of the Principles for Responsible Investment – an international network of investors representing over $59 trillion in assets under management – added: “This timely and well-designed framework will become a recommended guide that we will encourage PRI signatories who invest in or manage real estate to use as a routine part of their work to meet their reporting obligations to the PRI. “

Mindy S. Lubber, President, Ceres, INCR – a North American network of more than 110 institutional investors managing $13 trillion in assets – said, “To make the Paris Agreement real and prevent dangerous climate change, investors must find ways to channel at least $1 trillion per year into low-carbon and clean-energy activities worldwide. This new framework is a valuable tool for portfolio managers looking to boost property investments that will help drive the low-carbon energy transition.”

Emma Herd, CEO IGCC (Australia) added, “The property sector has a crucial role to play in reducing global emissions and increasing community resilience to climate impacts. Developing the investment tools to adapt existing property stock, along with ensuring new developments perform far better than current infrastructure, will help asset owners or managers secure investment returns and tackle climate change.“

Access an interactive copy of the framework.

Land title to be granted within 90 days in Osun – Aregbesola

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Land title to be granted within 90 days in Osun – Aregbesola

Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has assured investors and residents in the state of speedy processing of Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os) to legitimately acquired property within 90 days of commencement of processing.

Rauf Aregbesola, governor of Osun State
Rauf Aregbesola, governor of Osun State

The governor stated this recently at the presentation of a N50 million cheque in support of Osun Certificate of Occupancy Fast track project (OCOFO) by Sterling Bank PLC at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Osogbo, the state capital.

Aregbesola commended the bank for its partnership with the state, noting that the support from Sterling Bank will go a long way in strengthening the resolve of his administration to fast track the issuance of C-of-Os in the state.

He added that, with the OCOFO project, the 90 days of getting a C-of-O for legitimately acquired property would be made possible as opposed to the old regime where it may take eternity to obtain the document.

The governor called on investors, residents and citizens of the state to take the opportunity of the new C-of-O regime and get titles for their landed property within the stipulated 90 days.

Aregbesola assured Sterling Bank that the state would account for every Naira the bank has given to support the scheme, saying the relationship shall be a win-win situation.

He said, “I want to use the occasion to call on our people to take this opportunity to have title for their property, a land gets value because of its title.

“A government title on a land is the only way you can identify your property. We have put up this scheme to fast track the issuance of your Certificate of Occupancy like never before.

“With the scheme, you should rest assure that your title will be ready after 90 days of the commencement of the procedure.”

He highlighted some of the areas in which the bank has partnered with government such as support for the on-going construction of Oba Adesoji Aderemi Road, building of some schools and providing backbone for the school feeding system.

He added that support for his government by the bank is a support for the people of the state as well as for a turnaround of the economic situation of the state.

Speaking earlier, the Regional Director of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Ademola Adeyemi, said the bank is living up to its promise of supporting the state to give people the dividend of democracy.

He stated that the bank, out of promise, to support the state to succeed has increased the support to the OCOFO project from the initial sum of N20million to the present N50 million.

According to Adeyemi, “What we are doing today is as a result of the promise of our bank to this state at inception, we have promised and living to our promise to partner with the government to give dividend of democracy to our people.

“We are willing to help the state considering the relationship that we have with the present government that we approached our management to increase the grant from N20 million and we are here today to present a cheque of N50 million for the scheme.”

Gully erosion: Before the entire East sinks

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Gully erosion: Before the entire East sinks

The critical issues surrounding our environment in Nigeria are distinctly shared across the varying climatic belts, seeing as while the southern part of the country is inundated with phenomena relating to the continuous supply of rainfall in particular, the northern part is dominated by situations arising from the relative lack of it. When talking excess supply of rainfall, flooding easily comes to mind as the dominant puzzle to solve as cases in the commercial capital, Lagos, Ibadan and Lokoja in our recent history must have also proven to an extent. The problem here is both our eyes have been on flooding so long that another problem partly induced by rainfall also, has been allowed to develop from bad to worse over the years with little or no concern: erosion, gully erosion.

A gully erosion site
A gully erosion site

In a country where environmental hazards are often treated with the approach of curing rather than preventing, it comes as no surprise that the dangers of erosion, as is manifesting in the South-eastern part for the country, is being treated thus far, with lip-service even after many have had to abandon their homes and many high-traffic roads, federal highways included, are metamorphosing into baseless bridges. For how long will we play blind?

It is easily fathomable that, by this age, relevant authorities will see that the key to environmental sustainability lies in being proactive rather than being reactive. The approach always taken in the past where we wait to see what say erosion can do before we see what we can do about it has always come at a higher cost to our habitat and the inhabitants, and is thus one mistake that, seeing as a new government is in place centrally, we should be looking to put an end to. And that is why the situation in the south-eastern part of the country must be seen and treated as what it is: an emergency.

I had served in the East for one year and seen the level of erosive degradation first hand and many locals had described it as an anomaly and a problem. But No, an anomaly is something that is out of place. The problem of erosion in these parts is however not out of place, it is the expected result of an identified process which is understandable and preventable to some extent by appropriate land management measures. This has however been ignored for way too long.

While the point has been made that erosivity is a strong factor in the South East gully situation, the erodibility of the topography looks the bigger factor. The sedimentology of land in this part of the country is particularly dominated by a clayey topsoil which covers a deeper lying Nanka Sandstone, a type of soil which is white, of loose texture, and easily breakable. These may not be under the control of man. What is however under the control of man is the choice to manage this topography.

Oftentimes, what happens is that sheet erosion occurs firstly, washing off the top level of soil continuously, this as a result of rainfall generally, but surface runoff in particular. Are people even aware that by paving their surroundings, they are impeding infiltration capacity and thus increasing runoff? No, because ecological funds that should be disbursed towards such awareness campaigns are largely diverted. After all, they may say to themselves, I promised roads, power, but never environmental preservation during the campaigns and no one questioned me. Which is where our lack of environmental consciousness as a people is also damning.

When the topsoil is being washed off, it is a preliminary stage of a bigger problem and more or less, a warning signal. If ignored, as we have time and again, chosen to do, it leaves the weaker Nanka Sandstone with a much higher exposure to agents of denudation which brings about the development of gullies. So clearly, where a serious gully is sited, it did not develop overnight, it must have gone through several stages where it could have been nipped in the bud. That so many sites have developed across the region in even high-traffic areas only underlines how little importance, successive governments have attached to our habitat.

It was reassuring that after President Buhari assumed office, one of his first decisions was to revive the clean-up of Ogoniland which was demonstrative of how our environment must be cared for. The President went ahead to name Amina Mohammed, a former aide to the United Nations Secretary General as Minister of Environment and personally led a strong contingent to the Conference of Paris to discuss climate change. Asides that, one of the assignments carried out by the 8th Senate was the visit of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee of Works led by Senator Barnabas Gemade to some erosion sites in the South-East for first-hand appraisal. So it does appear that the environment will finally get the necessary attention under the new dispensation but one must wait and observe if action will match with words, it is a controllable situation; land management measures like tree planting must be encouraged, public awareness on corrective measures must be given emergency status, and early detection as they say, is key. It is a time for all proactive rather than wait to be pushed, but this is Nigeria and the more you look… Well, you know the rest.

By Gbolahan Yusuf, Lagos-based youthful environmentalist (gbolly1992@gmail.com, @G1gbolahan)

Radioactive water leaks at New York plant

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Radioactive water leaks at New York plant

Radioactive water overflowed into groundwater at the Indian Point nuclear facility in New York on Saturday, resulting in increased radioactivity at the site. The contamination did not go offsite and doesn’t pose a threat to the public. Indian Point is located about 35 miles north of New York City and has been under more scrutiny from Governor Andrew Cuomo for a string of incidents in the past

The Indian Point nuclear facility reported “alarming levels” of radioactivity in three water monitoring wells. Photo credit: Julie Jacobson/AP
The Indian Point nuclear facility reported “alarming levels” of radioactivity in three water monitoring wells. Photo credit: Julie Jacobson/AP

Radioactive water overflowed into the groundwater at the upstate Indian Point nuclear power plant, officials said on Saturday.

Gov. Cuomo said the plant’s operator, Entergy, reported “alarming levels” of radioactivity at three monitoring wells, with one well’s radioactivity increasing nearly 65,000%.

The Buchanan plant reported that the contamination did not migrate offsite and does not pose a threat to public health.

Cuomo said he was informed of the tritium-contaminated water leak on Friday and asked the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health to investigate the incident.

“Our first concern is for the health and safety of the residents close to the facility and ensuring the groundwater leak does not pose a threat,” Cuomo said.

The site, roughly 35 miles north of New York City, has been under increased scrutiny from Cuomo and other officials following several incidents. In December, Cuomo ordered an investigation into Indian Point after a series of unplanned shutdowns, citing potential risks to both the city and surrounding suburbs.

Cuomo said the “latest failure at Indian Point is unacceptable.”

According to Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the leak occurred after a drain overflowed during a maintenance exercise while workers were transferring water containing high levels of radioactive contamination.

A sump pump that would normally filter the water into another treatment system was out of service, Sheehan said.

Other state officials also blasted the controversial nuclear facility’s most recent mishap.

Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee (D-Suffern) said she was concerned not only for the surrounding community but also for the “impact this radioactive water may have on public health and our environment,” Jaffee added.

By Dennis Slattery (New York Daily News)

Greenpeace tasks Spain, France, Gabon on ship’s timber cargo

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Greenpeace tasks Spain, France, Gabon on ship’s timber cargo

Greanpeace has called on Spain, France and Gabon to urgently investigate circumstances surrounding a ship carrying timber believed to have been illegally logged in Africa and destined for the European market.

Kumi Naidoo, CEO of Greenpeace. Photo credit: Bas Beentjas/Greenpeace
Kumi Naidoo, CEO of Greenpeace. Photo credit: Bas Beentjas/Greenpeace

Officials of the Amsterdam, Netherlands-based non-governmental environmental organisation with offices in over 40 countries believe that Modern Express, which is a car carrier, was recently towed away from the French coast, and has safely entered the port of Bilbao, Spain. It was on its way to Le Havre, France, presumably the cargo’s destination.

“The controversy surrounds its origin and legality,” says Hellen Dena, Greenpeace Africa’s spokesperson, adding that Gabonese authorities are reported to have investigated the case and have called upon Interpol to open an international investigation.

“All countries that could potentially be the origin of the timber are part of the Congo Basin, a region where illegal logging is a widespread problem. The forestry sector in the region is beset by rampant corruption, a lack of transparency and a lack of proper monitoring and law enforcement on the ground whilst significant amounts of illegal timber are still exported to international markets every year,” she adds.

The European Timber Regulation (EUTR) prohibits the placing of illegal timber on the European market and requires that operators exercise due diligence to prevent the contamination of their supply chain.

But Greenpeace insists that both France and Spain have been slow in the implementation of this law, and that authorities have so far failed to conduct sufficient and effective checks.

Dena submits: “Greenpeace urges both countries to take immediate steps, seize the timber and determine whether the operators involved acted in compliance with their obligations under the EUTR. In the case of non-compliance with the timber regulation, sanctions should be imposed.

“Greenpeace also urges the Gabonese government to start an immediate investigation and give the Spanish and French authorities full access to all the documents required to investigate this case.”

Biosafety Law: How Nigeria is building confidence in MEAs

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Biosafety Law: How Nigeria is building confidence in MEAs

Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) are international legal instruments whose goals include environmental protection, which entails measures to remedy, mitigate or otherwise deal with global and/or regional environmental concerns. These agreements are entered into by a considerable number of states or international organisations as Parties, and embodied in a single instrument or more related instruments.

Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NABMA), Mr. Rufus Ebegba
Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NABMA), Mr. Rufus Ebegba

On the other hand, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is an international agreement that aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. It was adopted by the Conference of Parties to the CBD on 29th January 2000 and entered into force on 11th September 2003.

All participatory nations in these MEAs are expected to, having signed and ratified, domesticate them to suit various national goals with respect to the environment. In line with this, added to the growing need for the application of modern biotechnology by Nigerian farmers and pharmaceutical companies, 15 years after Nigeria signed and ratified the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the Protocol was domesticated in the National Biosafety Law on April 18, 2015. The law was also to address Nigeria’s needs aside from the domestication.

The law, in turn, established the National Biosafety Management Agency (NABMA), an agency that is charged with the responsibility of providing regulatory framework, institutional and administrative mechanism for safety measures in the application of modern biotechnology in Nigeria. The country also signed the Nagoya Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to Cartagena Protocol in 2012.

According to observers, Nigeria’s action portrayed its readiness to take charge of its environment by providing adequate protection to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the application of modern biotechnology as well as the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). To effectively achieve this, an inter-ministerial collaboration brought the Federal Ministries of Environment; Justice; Health; Agriculture and Rural Development; Science and Technology; Foreign Affairs; Industry, Trade and Investment; and Education. Agencies that also took part in the process included the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Veterinary Research Institute, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

Issues of the environmental are transnational and their impacts are global. These make countries to partner in order to check environmental challenges by collaborating to tackle them. In Africa, the African Union (AU) in collaboration with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) established the African Biosafety Network of Expertise (ABNE) in order to help those countries that are signatories to the Cartagena Protocol in developing the right biosafety regulations.

Nigeria is the 111th of the 170 countries that have signed the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, one of the multilateral environment agreements. While Nigeria signed the Cartagena Protocol on May 24, 2000, the instrument of ratification (rtf)/acceptance (acs) was deposited on July 15, 2003 and the Protocol entered into force in Nigeria on October 13, 2003.

It is one of the 46 African countries including Algeria, Benin Republic, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe that are signatories to the Protocol.

While the law is aimed at ensuring the safety in the use of modern biotechnology as well as providing holistic regulation of GMOs, it is also meant to safeguard human health, biodiversity and the environment from any potential adverse effect of GMOs, including food safety. This is as provided for in the Protocol.

During the public hearing on the Biosafety Bill before its passage into law, former Senate President, David Mark, said, “The issue of Biotechnology is an international one and Nigeria is a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. But we must domesticate the issues involved so as to benefit from modern technology. The bill will provide guidance in the areas of agriculture, stable environment and wealth creation.”

Former Minister for Agriculture and now President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, said, “Nigeria has put in place a Biosafety law to regulate the practices of modern biotechnology. Consumer and environmental safety are Nigeria’s priority. Responsible use of technologies, while managing and preserving biodiversity and the environment and consumer safety is the role of government.”

Already, the Biosafety Law is in force and the Federal Government gave a six-month moratorium to companies involved in the importation and use of GMOs to comply with the law or be prosecuted.

“It is a good thing for any country to honour all MEAs and domesticate them as well. Nigeria is on course and any organisation or government agency that does not respect the Biosafety Law will be prosecuted. The offence attracts a five years’ imprisonment or a fine of N2.5 million or both,” the Director General of NABMA, Rufus Ebegba, said.

Director General of NABDA, Prof. Lucy Ogbadu, posits: “Nigeria’s Biosafety Law will provide derived benefit from modern biotechnology under a legal framework for economic growth, improved agriculture, job and wealth creation, industry growth and sustainable environment.” She observed that Nigerian scientists would now operate at their highest potentials like their counterparts in other parts of the world, “with the presence of a biosafety law.”

Last year in October, the Environmental Compliance Institute (ECI) in collaboration with the Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (MESHA) and UNEP organised a capacity building workshop for African Journalists on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) in Nairobi, Kenya. Participants were drawn from countries that are signatories to one multilateral environmental agreement or another.

The workshop dwelled extensively on “The Environmental Challenges in Africa and The Existing Response Platforms.” Edward Wabwolo, an environmental lawyer, made presentations on “Multilateral Environmental Agreements” as well as “Negotiation Processes and Implementation Mechanisms.”

An “Overview of the Handbook on Multilateral Environmental Agreements for African Journalists” developed by ECI, left participants at the workshop better informed than they were before the workshop. David Ongare of Kenya’s NEMA presented the Principles of Environmental Communication while Joe Ageyo shed light on the Approaches and Strategies for Effective Environmental Journalism.

Daniel Aghan’s “Beyond the Workshop Sustaining the Environment Agenda through Journalism” challenged participants to, while back in their home countries, understudy individual country’s implementation of multilateral environmental agreements.

Indeed, respect for and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements by member countries, especially at this time when climate change is a major challenge, is vital.

By Abdallah el-Kurebe (@Damyiloh19)

New York State creates $5 billion clean energy fund

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New York State creates $5 billion clean energy fund

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced the New York State Public Service Commission’s approval of a 10-year, $5 billion Clean Energy Fund to accelerate the growth of New York’s clean energy economy, address climate change, strengthen resiliency in the face of extreme weather and lower energy bills for New Yorkers starting this year.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York

Additionally, the fund will attract and leverage third-party capital to support the Governor’s aggressive Clean Energy Standard, one of the nation’s most ambitious goals to meet 50 percent of our electricity needs with renewable resources by 2030.

“New York is a national leader in combating climate change and growing the clean energy economy – and today we are taking the next big step forward,” Governor Cuomo said.”This unparalleled $5 billion investment will leverage more than $29 billion in private sector funding and open the door to new clean energy opportunities for years to come. We are raising the bar when it comes to increasing the use of renewable energy and reducing harmful carbon emissions, and I am proud that the Empire State is continuing to set the example for the future.”

The $5 billion Clean Energy Fund, to be administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, builds on the progress the state is already making in developing a robust clean tech sector. The fund is projected to result in more than $39 billion in customer bill savings over the next 10 years through innovative projects and private-public partnerships focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, making energy more affordable through energy efficiency and renewable energy, and mobilising private-sector capital. In addition to the $39 billion in overall customer savings, as a result of this Public Service Commission action, consumers and businesses are expected to see lower costs of $1.5 billion over the next 10 years, including an immediate reduction of $91 million from 2016 electric and gas costs compared to 2015.

Consumers and businesses can expect to see lower utility costs this year.

The fund will operate four major portfolios:

  • Market Development ($2.7 billion): NYSERDA will undertake a variety of activities to stimulate consumer demand for clean energy alternatives, energy efficiency while helping to build clean energy supply chains to meet that growing customer demand. At least $234.5 million must be invested in initiatives that benefit low-to-moderate income New Yorkers during the first three years of the fund;
  • NY-Sun ($961 million): The fund finalises the funding and confirms the long-term commitment for NY-Sun and for the growing solar electric market and industry in New York State, by supporting rapid and continued cost reduction. This will continue to make solar energy more affordable and accessible for residential and commercial solar customers, and will drive the growth of the solar industry in New York, which currently employs more than 7,000 people across 538 solar companies in the state;
  • NY Green Bank ($782 million): To leverage private sector investment, expand the availability of capital and increase confidence in lending for clean energy projects, the fund will complete the capitalisation of the innovative NY Green Bank. The fund will increase NY Green Bank’s total investment to $1 billion and will leverage an estimated $8 billion in private investment;
  • Innovation and Research ($717 million): As New York State moves to a cleaner, more efficient, and more widely distributed energy system, the Clean Energy Fund will help spur innovations through research and technology development that will drive clean-tech business growth and job creation while providing more energy choices to residential and business customers.

New York State Chairman of Energy and Finance Richard Kauffman said, “The Clean Energy Fund will achieve greater customer savings and stimulate more demand for — and private investment in — renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, furthering the Governor’s Reforming the Energy Vision strategy. By acting today and not tomorrow, we ensure our grid will be modernised and strengthened as we also lower New Yorker’s electricity rates by implementing the most cost-effective solutions to meet our challenges.”

At a recent State of the State address, Governor Cuomo officially proposed the creation of a Clean Energy Standard and directed the Public Service Commission to establish enforceable mandates for renewable power by June. The Commission approved a public process to adopt a Clean Energy Standard that will also include a separate support mechanism for upstate nuclear power plants. Since nuclear facilities do not produce greenhouse gas emissions, they will help the State transition to a future under the Clean Energy Standard without losing ground on emission reductions statewide, it was gathered.

The Commission also took other steps to advance Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision Strategy, or REV, by directing major electric and gas utilities to develop new, cutting-edge energy efficiency programmes, on both a regional and statewide basis. It also established a benefit-cost analysis framework for evaluating new energy proposals, such as smaller, cleaner power plants, to determine whether they meet the energy- and cost-saving goals of REV.

The Clean Energy Fund supports the environmental goals of both REV and the Clean Energy Standard by reducing an estimated 133 million tons of carbon emissions (the equivalent of removing 1.8 million cars from the road). Energy efficiency and other priority initiatives of the fund are also expected to save 10.6 million MWh of electricity and 13.4 million MMBtu of fuel consumption overall.

New York State Public Service Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman said, “Under the Clean Energy Fund, every dollar of clean energy spending will achieve greater savings and enhance private investment, spurring innovation and new technologies that will bring more choices and value to New York consumers. We will build on the success of previous energy-development programmes in a way that meets evolving customer and market needs and transition away from approaches that rely almost exclusively on ratepayer subsidies, which is unsustainable if we are to meet our ambitious goals in the long-run.”

NYSERDA President and CEO John B. Rhodes said, “The Clean Energy Fund allows the State to make faster and greater progress towards Governor Cuomo’s State Energy Plan and Clean Energy Standard goals, while reducing ratepayer collections. It also creates the demand for clean energy and the certainty we need to accelerate the growth of a dynamic clean tech economy that stimulates private investment and job creation.”

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos said, “Through Governor Cuomo’s leadership, New York State is a national model in investing in renewable energy and addressing climate change. The Clean Energy Fund will allow New York to build a clean tech industry while furthering its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide utility savings for New Yorkers.”

In the Clean Energy Fund order, the Commission also allocated $150 million for the development of new Large Scale Renewables power projects in 2016. As the Commission develops a Clean Energy Standard, it will create new incentives for large scale renewables and a new mechanism to prevent the premature retirement of safe, upstate nuclear power plants during this transition.

In addition, the Commission ruled that the Clean Energy Standard should include non-emitting generation resources, like the nuclear power facilities in upstate New York. Without these plants, the state would lose some of the emission reductions already achieved by the state and possibly lead to an increase of more than 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

To complement further programmes supported by the Clean Energy Fund, the Commission is directing that each investor-owned utility seeks to improve their own energy-efficiency programmes to better engage customers and meet the overall goals of the Clean Energy Standard and the State Energy Plan. Energy-efficiency programmes offered by major utilities are poised to offer greater value and new, cost-saving services to consumers under streamlined rules approved. Along with NYSERDA’s 10-year, $5 billion Clean Energy Fund, utilities will now develop energy-efficiency programmes that will achieve greater market-wide efficiency savings, target specific needs in the state and depend less on direct ratepayer support.

NYSERDA will continue to offer energy-efficiency programmes designed for low-income customers. However, the utilities and NYSERDA are directed to actively evaluate and develop innovative programmes that reach deeper into low-income communities.

Reforming the Energy Vision is New York Governor Cuomo’s strategy to build a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers. REV places clean, locally produced power at the core of New York’s energy system which protects the environment and supports the State’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent while generating 50 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030. Successful initiatives already launched as part of REV include NY-Sun, NY Green Bank, NY Prize, K-Solar, and includes a commitment to improve energy affordability for low-income communities.

Nepal submits climate action plan

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Nepal submits climate action plan

The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal on Thursday submitted its new climate action plan to the Bonn, Germany-based UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Khadga Prasad Oli, prime minister of Nepal
Khadga Prasad Oli, prime minister of Nepal

Nepal’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) comes shortly after the adoption of a new universal climate change agreement in Paris last December.

Including Nepal, 189 parties to the UNFCCC have formally submitted their INDCs.

The Paris Agreement will enter into force on the 30th day after the date on which at least 55 Parties to the Convention accounting in total for at least an estimated 55% of total global greenhouse gas emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession

It will empower all countries to act to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, and to reap the many opportunities that arise from a necessary global transformation to clean and sustainable development.

New INDCs submitted by Parties signal that countries are honoring the Paris Agreement.

All information such as documentation on designing and preparing INDCs as well as on sources of support for INDC preparation, is available here.

The COP invited Parties to communicate their first nationally determined contribution (NDC) no later than when the Party submits its respective instrument of ratification, accession or approval of the Paris Agreement. The UN Secretary-General is convening a high-level signature ceremony for the Paris Agreement on 22 April, 2016 and is inviting all Parties to the Convention to sign the agreement at this ceremony, or at their earliest opportunity.

Shipowners’ role in Paris Agreement, by Ban Ki-moon

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Shipowners’ role in Paris Agreement, by Ban Ki-moon

Secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki-moon, has told the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) it has an important role to play in translating landmark agreements such as the Paris climate agreement into tangible improvements in people’s lives.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, right, meets IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim during his visit to IMO headquarters in London
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, right, meets IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim during his visit to IMO headquarters in London

The UN secretary-general on Wednesday met with the newly appointed IMO secretary-general Kitack Lim, as well as other IMO secretariat staff, at the IMO’s headquarters in London.

The Paris Agreement was the culmination of recent work by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is an agreement by UN member states on the efforts they intend to make to keep the global temperature rise to below two degrees centigrade.

The Paris Agreement has been criticised by both shipowners’ groups and lobby groups for not including any mention of the roles that the IMO or shipping should play in helping reach the targets implied in the agreement.

While he pointed out the role the IMO should play in the future, Mr Ban also commended the work the IMO has already achieved in creating mandatory energy efficiency measures.

The two regulations currently in force are those for the energy efficiency design index and the ship energy efficiency management plan.

A third measure, one based on either a fuel levy or emissions trading scheme, has proven to be too controversial, with IMO member states possibly agreeing this year on a global CO2 reporting scheme as a less controversial first step.

While at the IMO, Mr Ban also praised the shipping industry for the efforts being made in saving hundreds of thousands of lives in the Mediterranean Sea, in what he referred to as the biggest crisis of forced displacement since the Second World War.

By Craig Eason (Lloyd’s List)

Coal plants close as US electricity industry’s consumption drops 34%

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Coal plants close as US electricity industry’s consumption drops 34%

The biggest source of climate pollution dropped to 34% of US electricity generation and co-author of a new report says: ‘These are permanent changes’

Republicans in Congress and the mining industry have blamed Obama for the fossil fuel’s decline, accusing him of waging a “war on coal”
Republicans in Congress and the mining industry have blamed Obama for the fossil fuel’s decline, accusing him of waging a “war on coal”

America’s use of coal for electricity dropped to its lowest point in the historical record in 2015, delivering a new blow to an industry already in painful decline.

The dirtiest of fossil fuels and America’s biggest single source of climate pollution, coal accounted for just 34% of US electricity generation last year, according to the Sustainable Energy in America handbook on Thursday.

It was the smallest share for coal in the electricity mix since 1949, the first year in which Energy Information Administration records were kept.

“It was a really big year,” said Colleen Regan, a power analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance, who was co-author of the report for the Business Council on Sustainable Energy. “It was a landmark year with a long-term trajectory that we saw as the US decarbonising its power fleet.”

Coal made up 39% of electricity supply in 2014, the annual report said.

The changes in the US electricity system last year also produced milestone benefits for the climate, the report found.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector – the largest single source of climate pollution and the target of Barack Obama’s clean power plan – fell 18% below 2005 levels last year, the report found.

That was halfway to Obama’s goal of a 32% cut in greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector by 2030, and on a relatively short time frame.

The drop in coal use for electricity appeared set to seal the fuel’s long and slow decline in the US, with crashing prices, thousands of miners laid off work, and big coal mining companies forced into bankruptcy.

Last month, Arch Coal, the second biggest coal mining company in the US, filed for bankruptcy to help shed some $4.5 billion in debt. Two smaller firms. Alpha Natural Resources and Patriot Call, filed for bankruptcy in 2015.

Republicans in Congress and the mining industry have blamed Obama for the fossil fuel’s decline, accusing him of waging a “war on coal”.

But the report found the biggest threat to coal last year remained cheap natural gas. There was also a spike in new wind and solar power. By the end of last year, wind and solar accounted for 5.4% of the energy mix, up slightly on 2014, the report found.

Some power companies opted to shut down old, coal-fired power plants, in advance of the clean power plant rules.

Those shutdowns, representing about 5% of the entire fleet, meant that there was no coming back for coal, said Colleen Regan, co-author of the report and a power analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“The retirement of these plants means that a lot of the numbers that we saw in 2015 are permanent. They are structural changes,” she said. “These are not things that happened just because it was a mild year, which was what happened in 2012, or because natural gas prices were artificially low. These are permanent changes.”

Regan went on: “Those coal plants that are lost are not going to be turning back on ever again.”

She expected more coal-fired plants to go off-line in 2016 – although probably not at the rate of last year – but it would be premature to declare the death of coal in the US, she said.

Coal was expected to remain a significant part of the US power mix for some years.

West Virginia and Kentucky, which have been hit hardest by the decline in coal prices, are projected to continue burning coal. Other states close to the vast reserves of cheap coal in the Powder river basin are expected to remain on coal as well.

According to BNEF forecasts, coal would still account for about 24% of electricity use in 2030.

“I don’t want to say that it’s the death of coal or even a slow death but we are definitely tapering,” Regan said.

By Suzanne Goldenberg (The Guardian of London)

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