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World Toilet Day: Makurdi decries inadequate facility, WaterAid paints gory picture

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As the world observed this year’s edition of the World Toilet Day on Saturday, 19th November, 2016, residents of Makurdi in Benue State have decried the lack of maintenance of toileting facilities and inadequate provision of latrines in the urban area.

A floating public toilet on the Amassoma River in Bayelsa State. The World Toilet Day 2016 was observed on Saturday, November 19. Photo credit: Jack Jackson
A floating public toilet on the Amassoma River in Bayelsa State. The World Toilet Day 2016 was observed on Saturday, November 19. Photo credit: Jack Jackson

Speaking to this writer on Monday in Makurdi, Executive Director of First Step Action for Children Initiative, Mrs Rosemary Hua, stated that there is dearth in the proper usage of toilets due to lack of awareness, lack of maintenance of toilet facilities as well as bad attitude.

According to her, even in public places, there are toilets but the maintenance is poor like in most schools, adding that it encourages open defecation as people readily use surroundings of unkempt public toilets for convenience.

“Public toilets are neglected even in local government areas where Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is been implemented due to non-availability of running water among others,” she said. “The attitude of people is so bad that most don’t feel it is their responsibility cleanings toilets or using them properly and believe someone else should clean their mess.”

She maintained that the change in behaviour of citizens, government and other stakeholders to knowing the benefits of the proper use of toilets and sticking to the practice, constant awareness campaigns and follow up and the enforcement of sanitation laws would greatly help improve the use of toilets in urban areas.

In another interview, a health worker, Mr Andyar Kuma, noted that people still defecate indiscriminately in the open in urban areas, citing example of the environs of the popular IBB Square and J.S Tarka Foundation in the heart of Makurdi metropolis.

“People’s mentality towards use of toilet is poor and, coupled with lack of maintenance of public toilets, achieving complete Open Defecation Free (ODF) may be difficult except Urban CLTS is aggressively implemented,” he said.

Also speaking, a resident of Wadata area of Makurdi town and housewife, Mrs Mary Agbo, lamented the poor state of the two toilets they have to share in a compound housing five households of not less than five persons per household.

She stated that it is difficult to conveniently use the toilet, especially in the mornings when there is rush by co-tenants to access them and virtually little water to flush except they buy water.

According to her, her husband’s income as a security guard in one of the government offices cannot afford them the luxury of relocating to a more habitable residence with good toilet facilities.

She called on government to make the concerned agency to enforce sanitation laws which she believed would compel landlords like theirs to provide more and better toilet facilities for them.

In his submission, a truck pusher at the Wurukum Market who identified himself simply as Terfa stated that he knows there is a public toilet nearby but doesn’t use it. Asked why he doesn’t use the toilet, he said it is not properly maintained to his taste, adding that he also has to part with money before usage so he prefers to use a nearby bush which is free early in the morning when very few people are around.

He however feigned ignorance on the ills associated with the practice of Open Defecation stating that rain would wash his faeces away into the river, so he doesn’t care.

A caretaker at a residence along Belta Street, High Level, Makurdi, Mr Liambee Achir, stated that he knows the benefits of proper toilet use, hence he went out of his way to seek the permission of the landlord to construct a personal toilet for his family use on an open space in the compound.

“I spent my money to construct the toilet as the available two are usually miss-used and inadequate to serve us all. Now, I have the comfort of adhering to good sanitation by maintaining my toilet to the best of my ability,” he noted. “I don’t regret constructing the toilet as the benefits are beyond what I spent for the project.”

To observe the World Toilet Day, information provided by WaterAid Nigeria in a press statement endorsed by the Communications and Campaigns Manager, Oluseyi Abdulmalik, and made available to this writer, stated that, following the release of new analysis showing Nigeria ranking third in the world and the worst in sub-Saharan Africa for having the most urban-dwellers living without a safe, private toilet, WaterAid Nigeria is calling on government to keep its promise to deliver universal access to sanitation.

It quoted WaterAid Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Michael Ojo, as saying: “For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population is now living in towns and cities. By 2050, that’s expected to rise to two-thirds. But for many, particularly the poor, they’re arriving or being born in overcrowded and rapidly expanding slums which lack safe, private toilets and clean water sources. Diseases like cholera or Ebola can spread further and faster without sanitation and hygiene practices to block their path and an outbreak found in a slum can quickly become a city-wide, national or international epidemic. This World Toilet Day, we are calling on our leaders to deliver on their promises to meet the UN’s Global Goal 6 to bring water and sanitation to all, because everyone – no matter where they live – deserves affordable access to these life essentials.

“Our analysis shows just how many nations in the world are failing to give sanitation the political prioritisation and financing required – with Nigeria featuring strongly at the top of that list. The dirty issue of sanitation is too often neglected. But good sanitation is the bedrock of public health. The Federal Government recently launched the Partnership for Expanded Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (PEWASH), a national multi-sectoral collaboration for the improvement of rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene. This is a great start tackling lack of access in rural areas, but with the recognition of this as a growing urban problem, there is a need to quickly focus on measures, with government leadership, to address this scourge in our towns and cities. Every town and city in the world needs to prioritise providing safe sanitation services to all the population in order to create a healthier, more sustainable future,” added Ojo.

The press statement also says WaterAid’s Overflowing Cities: The State of the World Toilets report looks at the problem of urban sanitation and the health threats to our world, as the UN predicts by 2050 two-thirds of the global population will live in towns and cities. Nigeria too has a huge population and extremely rapid rural – urban migration; however, economic development and urban planning have not kept pace with the sheer volumes of people arriving – and being born – every day in its towns and cities.

“The report highlights the challenges facing 700 million urban dwellers around the world living without basic sanitation, 58 million of whom are in Nigeria. The problem is so big that 13.5 million people living in Nigeria’s towns and cities have no choice but to defecate in the open using roadsides, railway tracks and even plastic bags dubbed ‘flying toilets’. Nigeria also ranks top in the countries falling furthest behind in reaching people with urban sanitation. For every urban dweller reached with sanitation since 2000, two were added to the number living without, an increase of 31 million people in the past 15 years,” said the statement.

Stressing further, the statement said, the 2016 World Toilet Day highlights the fact that improved sanitation impacts not only health but livelihoods too, and has the potential to transform societies and economies by amongst other things, creating new green jobs and a healthier, more sustainable future.

“According to our own recent assessment of WASH facilities in Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) conducted in our six focal states – Bauchi, Benue, Enugu, Ekiti, Jigawa and Plateau – 21.1% of the facilities assessed did not have at least one toilet facility and none met the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) minimum standard of separate toilet facilities for males and females, as well separate toilet facilities for staff and patients. Only 27.6% of the 242 PHCs assessed met NPHCDA minimum standard of access to a motorised borehole. Across the six states, only 49 (20.2%) of the PHCs had hand-washing facilities in toilet facilities. Hand-washing facilities were observed in delivery rooms in only 133 (54.9%) of the facilities assessed. The ward and consulting rooms had hand-washing facilities in 64 (26.4%) and 74 (30.5%) of the facilities respectively, suggesting poor hygiene practices in the health centres.

Within the Sustainable Development Goal committing to ensuring everyone has access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030, we want to see healthcare facilities prioritised – no new hospitals or clinics should be built without water and sanitation,” it opined.

Therein, the statement outlined the following findings from WaterAid’s Overflowing Cities: The State of the World Toilets report and made the following call respectively.

Findings on Nigeria:

  • Nigeria is third, after India and China, on a list of top 10 countries with the most urban dwellers without safe, private toilets (by numbers).
  • Nigeria is ranked third on a list of countries with the most number of urban-dwellers practicing open defecation and tenth on a list of countries with the most percentage of urban-dwellers practicing open defecation.
  • Nigeria is ranked number one in the list of countries falling furthest behind in reaching people with sanitation in urban areas.
  • Between 2000 and 2015, there has been a significant increase in the number of urbanites without improved sanitation, (nearly 31.5 million people.

WaterAid is calling for:

  • Everyone living in urban areas, including slums, to be reached with a toilet to ensure public health is protected.
  • More money, better targeted and spent, from governments and donors on sanitation, clean water and hygiene for the urban poor.
  • Coordination from all actors in the sanitation chain including governments, city planners, NGOs, the private sector, informal service providers and citizens.
  • Sanitation workers to be given the respect they deserve with stable employment, safety and decent pay. Without them healthy communities and cities are impossible.
  • The Nigerian Government to ensure that schools, healthcare facilities and birthing centres have safe toilets, clean running water and functional hand-washing facilities, to reduce maternal, newborn and child deaths and strengthen children’s ability to attend school.
  • WASH to be positioned as a crucial contributor to health and for policy makers and health sector stakeholders to become aware of the link and crucial role that sanitation plays in improving child survival rates and health outcomes.
  • The inclusion of water, sanitation and hygiene into health plans, policies and programming and especially in plans to address under-nutrition and acute malnutrition.

By Damian Daga

Radio report: World Bank lauds Nigeria’s action plan on climate change

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Impressed with the country’s plan of action towards implementing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), the World Bank says Nigeria is among countries qualified to access its financial grants and loans for climate change adaptation and mitigation.            
 
The bank’s Director of Climate Change, John Roome, dropped the hint during a chat with Fellows of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) to the just concluded United Nations climate change conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco.
Correspondent Innocent Onoh, who was among the Fellows, now reports.
 
 

Relief, as water vendors return to thirsty Makurdi

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With the gradual return of the dry season otherwise known as harmattan in Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, there is a steady return of mobile water vendors popularly known as “mai ruwa”. This is occasioned by the steady drop in water level of wells and limited rainfall, which have become the residents’ major source of water as pipe borne water is only available in some homes in few areas of the town.

Mai ruwa, or water vendors, in Makurdi, Benue State
Mai ruwa, or water vendors, in Makurdi, Benue State

Makurdi, which is located in North-Central Nigeria, has an estimated population of over three million. But, with one of the major rivers in the country, River Benue, running through it, it has become a typical example of the proverbial story of “living on a river bank but washing ones hands with spittle”.

Although successive administrations in the state from 1999 to date have tried to address the problem of potable water production, supply and distribution through the Benue State Water Board in the form of the Greater Makurdi Water Works, it has been a futile attempt.

With the shortfall in provision of potable water to the ever increasing population and layouts in Makurdi, the services of mai ruwa come in handy as the water vendors buy water in 20 litres jerry cans and hawk to residents in the town at usually N25 per jerry can.

With the return of the raining season, most of these water peddlers who are all from the Northern part of Nigeria make a return to their various states to engage in farming activities as the demand for water drops drastically. However, now that the harmattan has crept back, they are back in their droves and business is starting to gradually pick up tempo as they serve residents of Makurdi where they cannot access potable water as a public utility.

In a chat with this writer, a water vendor who hails from Yobe State and spoke in Hausa, Musa Bello, stated that he has been in the business for about two years in the state and it helps him meet up with basic needs.

According to him, he left Makurdi for Yobe during the farming season to work on his farm and spend time with his family, adding that he is back now that the dry season is setting in so as to continue with his business.

Another mai ruwa, Buka Sani, who also returned from farming in his home state of Kebbi, said he would continue shuttling between Makurdi and Kebbi as the seasons change, in order to make the best out of both the raining season and dry season for farming and hawking water respectively.

Sani expressed hope for brisk business this season as the taps are still not running with water and more people have sunk boreholes where they can buy water and peddle to residents.

It will be recalled that in 2001, the then governor, George Akume, awarded the $26.4 million worth Greater Makurdi Water Works contract to Biwater Company to build a water treatment facility with a capacity of 45,000 cubic meters per day. But, unfortunately, with over $6.2 million expended by the end of his two-term tenure in 2003, it wasn’t still eureka for Makurdi residents in accessing potable water.

Subsequently, the Governor Gabriel Suswam led administration revoked the contract and re-awarded it to Gilmor Nigeria Limited and, in March 2003, the then president, Goodluck Jonathan, commissioned the $42 million 50,000 cubic metres daily capacity waterworks, with a potential to be extended to 100,000 cubic metres. The action raised hope for the over 600,000 residents of Makurdi that they would have unhindered access to potable water. However, the situation did not change; reason being that although the government said the project was almost completed, the second aspect of the project which involved reticulation to link pipelines to homes in the town, weighed down the completion of the project.

It is worthy of note that the existing water pipelines which serve a few homes are those that were laid in 1978 and are either rusted, burst beyond repair or are obsolete in many areas and whenever water is pumped from the Water Board, water is wasted at broken points thereby becoming Non Revenue Water (NRW).

So to say, the need for reticulation to take place in Makurdi before any proper potable water supply can be achieved cannot be overemphasised, considering that the metropolis has grown beyond the former setting of Wadata, High-Level, GRA, Wurukum, North Bank, etc with new layouts such as Nyiman Layout, Welfare Quarters, Owner Occupier Estate, Makurdi International Market, Agber Village, Tionsha, and Agboughl, to name but a few.

From the foregoing, the town has grown and even as the state is believed to have spent over N5 billion during the past administration in the area of potable water provision with the construction of the Greater Makurdi Water Works and water plants in the other two geopolitical zones (Zone A and Zone C) of the state, little wonder the Country Director for Water Aid, Dr. Michael Ojo, last year revealed that only 45 percent of the state had access to potable water, with just three percent of this figure having access to government provided potable water.

The situation is appalling so much that the Governor Samuel Ortom too, while inspecting the Greater Makurdi Water Works, berated the lack of potable water in the state when he stated that the people of the state had waited too long for public water supply. “A lot of money has been spent on this water project and there has to be justification for such spending. Our people deserve to feel the impact of this project. They can’t wait any longer,” he added.

The question therefore now is; with the current biting economic times and recession which has affected even the payment of civil servants’ wages, where and how can the state government access money to fully reticulate the Greater Makurdi Works for it to provide potable water according to its capacity and projection of 35 years viability?

By Damian Daga

Nigeria, others told to coordinate landscaping efforts

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With Germany announcing its support for the Bonn Global Landscapes Forum (GLF), Nigeria and other African countries have been urged to properly coordinate all landscaping efforts in their countries to achieve the desired goal.

landscaping From Left to Right: Estherine Fotabong (NEPAD Agency), Dr Simon Tony (Director General, World Agroforestry Centre and honorary Professor of Tropical Forestry, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Demark), Rudo Makunike (Senior Programme Officer NEPAD TerrAfrica), Craig Hanson (Global Director for Food, Forests and Water) and Elvis Tangen (AUC, the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel)
From Left to Right: Estherine Fotabong (NEPAD Agency), Dr Simon Tony (Director General, World Agroforestry Centre and honorary Professor of Tropical Forestry, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Demark), Rudo Makunike (Senior Programme Officer NEPAD TerrAfrica), Craig Hanson (Global Director for Food, Forests and Water) and Elvis Tangen (AUC, the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel)

This call came from speakers and participants during a side event hosted by NEPAD at the UN climate change summit (COP22) that ended last Friday in Marrakech, Morocco.

The speakers were Dr Elvis Tangen (AUC, the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel), Mrs. Rudo Makunike (Senior Programme Officer NEPAD TerrAfrica), Dr Simon Tony (Director General, World Agroforestry Centre and honorary Professor of Tropical Forestry, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Demark), Mrs. Estherine Fotabong (NEPAD Agency), Rhoda Peace Tumusiime (AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture) and Mr Craig Hanson (Global Director for Food, Forests and Water).

Participants at the side event observed that there are different organisations involved in similar landscaping efforts including afforestation, which needed to be coordinated to foster access to funding, accountability, enable project tracking and proper deployment of projects to benefiting areas.

The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to restore 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030. It is an implementation vehicle for national priorities such as water and food security and rural development while contributing to the achievement of international climate change, biodiversity and land degradation commitments.

In her remarks, Estherine Fotabong from the NEPAD Agency agreed that a lot is being done by many African countries in line with the BON challenge, saying nations should not relent because the environment must be protected to sustain the people and future generations.

“The BON challenge is to restore degraded land. It creates jobs, new opportunities and fights climate change. How do we slow down deforestation? Everyone should remember that from one challenge they make, people coming behind should be able to identify what we have done,” she said while moderating the session.

Nigeria is a beneficiary the Great Green Wall of the Sahara and Sahel (GGW), one of the landscaping projects in Africa, which aims at creating a wall of trees along desert frontline regions, passing across 11 countries, namely  Burkina FasoDjibouti,EritreaEthiopiaMaliMauritaniaNigerNigeriaSenegalSudan and Chad.

Dr Elvis Tangen, the AU Commissioner, the GGW, said because of the usefulness of the programme, it has been adopted in non-AU countries including Haiti.

According to him, “the desert in Africa came within devastating effects. We saw photos of malnutrition, migration, and conflicts over natural resources, among others, all because of deserts. It was on that ground that the AU put up the GGW. Since 2005, it has been developed. Today, many structures done within the GGW are running in 21 countries and two others including in Haiti, being global program for water and forest and with multiplicity of actors and supporters including NEPAD, World Bank and EU.”

The Ms Tumusiime said the restoration of degraded lands is a task that all participating counties must work hard to achieve, to make climate change adaptation and mitigation possible.

“The initiatives contribute to the 2015 Paris climate change agreement which recognises that the restoration of degraded lands and fight against desertification are strategies key to adapt and mitigate climate change,” she said.

To Rudo Makunike, the fact that Africa’s survival is dependent on land and forest resources makes the BON challenge very key for the continent.

“To save Africa economies we must manage land use in holistic way. A lot of African resources are based on land uses. Our land is affected by land degradation. We should find how the various bodies would work together for one objective. Build on synergies and strengths to provide opportunities for land management.

“TerrAfrica is working in 30 African countries and our partners are AfDB, World Bank, France, Norway and the Netherlands. It was established in 2005 to check all these. Contributing to Africa development agenda 2030 and 2063 to coordinate efforts at various levels to drive development,” she said.

By Innocent Onoh

U.S. has robust climate agenda, but can do more – Pershing

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United States Special Envoy for Climate Change, Dr. Jonathan Pershing, at a media session during the two-week UN climate change talks (COP22) that ended on Friday in Marrakech, Morocco, sheds some light on progress the U.S. made so far at the COP, as well as efforts to address challenges posed by climate change

United States Special Envoy for Climate Change, Dr. Jonathan Pershing
United States Special Envoy for Climate Change, Dr. Jonathan Pershing

Dr. Jonathan Pershing: Thanks to all of you, too, for joining us today. We’ve had quite a successful week here at COP22 since I last talked with you, both inside and outside of the negotiating rooms, and it has helped demonstrate how Paris has set us on an irreversible trajectory toward low-emissions, resilient, climate-resilient growth.

Secretary Kerry joined us here yesterday, when he hosted, first, a meeting of the ministers of the major economies, a forum on energy and climate, where he discussed implementation of the Paris Agreement, and how the group of major economies, which represents more than 70% of global emissions, can continue to lead on climate action. The discussion was very positive. We heard, across the board, the high priority that the major economies put on climate action at home, and that they are moving ahead with the implementation of their Paris pledges.

As you know, Secretary Kerry also made a speech here at the COP highlighting the growing impacts of climate change, and the significant momentum we are seeing in every corner of the world, from governments, civil society, investors, business, and entrepreneurs. He emphasised that we are confident this movement will continue, not only because the impacts are more and more damaging, and clearer and clearer, but because the clean energy transition presents opportunities for economic growth, for job creation, and for sustaining healthier and more prosperous communities.

The United States released yesterday a mid-century report on long-term low-emission strategies. We unveiled it in tandem with Mexico, and with Canada. I hope you have a chance to review the report. It was a product of months of research and consideration. As outlined by a senior adviser to the President, Brian Deese, the mid-century document doesn’t represent a new target, or a particular set of policy prescriptions, but rather it’s an analytical exercise to explore the various ways in which the United States might decarbonise, might broadly decarbonise major sectors of our economy by 2050, and beyond. At this point in the formal meetings, parties have completed nearly all of the technical work planned for Marrakech. We’re quite pleased with the progress we’ve made so far. Among other things, we were able to adopt a robust work plan that will enable us to flesh out the transparency framework that forms the bedrock of the Paris Agreement. Countries announced more than $60 million for an initiative on capacity building for transparency, so-called CBIT, or C-B-I-T, assuring that all countries can implement their obligations to report. We’ve been working on a Marrakech Proclamation to reaffirm our collective global climate commitment, and re-emphasise the need for urgent action. There have also been a series of important ministerial conversations, on issues ranging from finance, where we discussed ways to leverage private investment, as well as transitioning to a clean and low-carbon economy, and address issues related to minimising climate risks.

The remaining discussions are largely procedural, and are expected to focus on reaching a common understanding about how best to accelerate our collective work to implement the Paris Agreement. But we’ve also had a series of truly impressive activities taking place in and around the COP to mobilise business, the finance sector, sub-national governments, and other climate leaders.

For example, this year, Finland and The Netherlands joined the Mission Innovation countries, 20 nations already committed to doubling public clean energy research and development by 2021, an initiative launched by the United States last year in Paris. Nearly three dozen governments, companies, and civil society organisations came together around the Marrakech Declaration for Sustainable Development of the Oil Palm Sector in Africa to help transition that community to a sustainable driver of low-carbon development.

RE100, a coalition of major companies, committed to using 100% renewable electricity for all of their operations has already attracted over 83 companies, ranging from Philips Lighting, to Microsoft, to India’s Dalmia cement company. These are just a few examples, but the overall trajectory is undeniable.

And of course, action outside the process entirely by companies is increasing. As an example, Wal-Mart made an announcement at the beginning of the month on a range of sustainability goals that will impact its whole supply chain. 50% renewable energy, zero net deforestation in key commodities, these are major and significant statements. Companies are taking the risks related to climate change more seriously. Those that do so are more than likely to out-perform their competitors. For example, companies in the Climate Leadership Index out-performed The Bloomberg World Index by over 9%. Those companies acting on these principles are doing better than those that are not.

Investors are increasingly interested in green bonds. Despite being in the early stage of development, the green bond market has been growing by leaps and bounds. Annual green bond issuances in 2015 were 17 times higher than just three years ago, with over $40 billion issued this year alone. In addition, investors are increasingly disclosing whether their strategies are consistent with Paris, and long-term investment in low-carbon projects are beginning to promote global financial stability, as the Financial Stability Board, for example, works to generate recommendations for the G20 countries on how to improve disclosure of climate-related risk in financial markets.

So this COP is about much more than negotiations. It’s an important signpost on the pathway to a low-emission, climate-resilient economy, and the world is accelerating on that pathway.

Thank you and I’m happy to take questions.

Question: Hi, my name is Ashley Braun. I work with the publication, DeSmog in the US, and, considering native Alaskans and other Native Americans are so vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and fossil fuel infrastructure projects, such as the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota, if, and how, has the US delegation consulted with the Native American tribes to engage them and their concerns over climate change impacts, adaptation, and other priorities in the COP negotiations? Thank you.

Question: Hi, Jonathan, Dean Scott, Bloomberg BNA. My question goes to loss and damage. I’m wondering, since you’ll be sort of freed from this process in the not-too-distant future, if you could kind of lay out where you see that process going in terms of providing some of the funding and financial mechanisms for loss and damage, consistent with what was decided in Paris in terms of staying away from liability and compensation?

Question: Thanks very much. Alister Doyle, from Reuters. I seem to remember that several years ago; you gave a speech where you mentioned that the only developed countries that had not ratified the Kyoto Protocol were San Marino and the United States. How is it this time around if Donald Trump carries out his threat to pull out, that the United States will be in a group with Nicaragua, which was the only country last year to stand outside the Paris Agreement? What does that show? Thank you.

 

Dr. Jonathan Pershing: So thanks very much for these questions. With regard to the native communities, we have sought to have quite a wide range of briefings, both in the US delegation and prior to arrival here in Washington. We didn’t have a separate discussion just with the Native American communities, we’ve had discussions with civil society quite broadly, divided up into multiple kinds of groups, environmental organisations, faith-based organisations, cities, state and locality organisations, to which they’ve been invited, and a number have, in fact, come to some of those discussions. In our view, an inclusive process is going to be quite important, not just for the United States, but for all nations. As we look to implement the agenda, it’s only going to take hold, to take root, if there’s a sense that it matters at the community level as well as in civil society, so for us that sense of transparency is really quite essential.

With regard to the question on loss and damage, at the moment the conversation here has been about a review of the process, and we are very close, in fact we are just about reaching agreement on the form of that. There will be – final discussions are underway. We anticipate that this first review will, in fact, be completed here at the meeting. That was the call a couple of years ago in the formal decisions, prior – it was actually done in Lima – so prior to this, the Warsaw Implementation mechanism discussion, that looks like it’s on track.

But the larger question you’re asking is really one about what kind of financing might be required for considering the loss and damage questions. I think countries around the world are, in fact, grappling with that. There are real damages associated with climate change. We recognise those. The community, as a whole, recognises those. One thing that Secretary Kerry talked about from his trip to Antarctica is the potential for substantial sea level rise, a level of increase that could vastly overwhelm shore defenses, particularly in low-lying island states. This kind of conversation is going to get bigger from here. It’s going to be a bigger issue. We’re going to have to deal with it more specifically, and this is the beginning of a longer-term discussion. That’s the purpose of the review and the next step in the conversation.

With regard to the Reuters question on the Kyoto Protocol, I would note that I would not be too hasty here. We don’t know what the outcome’s going to be. The administration doesn’t exist yet, it hasn’t made its decisions about what it intends to do. I don’t think it’s our purpose here to speculate on the outcome. But at the same time, I would say that we recognise here, and the affirmation in the Marrakech Proclamation made clear the collective vision that this is a priority for nations around the world. We don’t believe that the United States would have it in its interest not to be party to this. We believe it’s deeply in our interest. We believe there are opportunities here to be seized. We believe there is a responsibility to be taken and we look forward to engaging – and I, as a citizen, look forward to engaging after I complete my term with the administration.

QuestionAmy Harder with the Wall Street Journal. Thanks for doing this briefing. Two quick questions: First, what kind of concrete deliverables do you anticipate the conference is going to be able to announce at the conclusion, and second, have you had any – you, and or your staff – any contact yet with the Trump transition team? Thank you.

Question: Marlowe Hood with Agence France Presse. How important is the mid-century strategy and what do we need and expect to hear from China and India, which I know are also making similar efforts?

Question: Hi, Ed King from Climate Home. You were involved in the first ever climate summit. I think it was in Chantilly, just outside Washington, D.C. Can you just give us a sense of how the rhetoric, ambition has changed in those past 26 years, or so? Where will the process be when you leave it compared to when you joined it?

 

Dr. Jonathan Pershing: Thanks very much for those questions. With regard to concrete deliverables, they will take several forms. In one domain, there are a series of decisions around procedural activities, for example, we’ve begun the exercise to develop guidelines for national reporting and for transparency. The timetable for those will be set out in some detail and the call for countries to make submissions and what key issues will be the focus of those. How do you think about reporting frequency? What are the areas of input to make sure that the transparency is sufficient to identify progress against meeting nationally-determined contributions? What kinds of programmatic information do you need to understand emissions trajectories going forward as well as retrospectively? That kind of detail will be contained in decisions, but we’ve got another year or so of work to do, so this is a phased process.

There will be decisions of a second sort. Those are ones that are more in the form of political declarations. The Marrakech Proclamation is one such. It will talk of the ministerial commitment, the re-affirmation of Paris, and the commitment to move forward with a degree of urgency on next steps. But that will be supplemented by a series of outcomes that are not as specific, but perhaps as important. Those are the conclusions reached in the variety of individual focused sessions. Things, for example, about finance, about leveraging private investment, questions about transitions and how you think about diversifying economies, including those that are particularly reliant on fossil fuels, the Saudi Arabias, the OPEC nations, but those also in coal, or in natural gas. There will be a series of discussions that will come out, conclusions on what we think of adaptation, and the impacts there. Some discussions on forests – how are those being leveraged by ministers around the world to drive those sectors forward? So that’s the second bucket.

The third – and I would argue even more important still – are the commitments made by individual players and groups, sometimes in the form of governments, sometimes in the form of private sector actors. I mentioned a few. One of the things we’ve got now is a commitment that Brazil worked on for sustainable biofuels. A host of countries stood up. One I just came from, just about a half an hour ago, run by the French and others, the two co-champions of our process, France and Morocco, looking at mid-century strategies and the platform to work jointly to further develop such strategies. So a whole host of these in the public domain, and then in the private domain. Announcements from companies seeking to move on renewables, from companies seeking to move on electric vehicles, on programmes for efficiency, on buildings. These are coming out, and are being made at this session, and reflect a level of global political will for action. All of that will be the framework for the successes here.

With regard to the mid-century strategies, these are really quite significant. In our thinking, and the reason that we released ours yesterday at this meeting, was to try to begin this next dialogue on how you think about this – not only in the context of 2025, or 2030, but in the long run. We know we need to do better. The numbers that we have set for ourselves, the Paris Agreement, calls for striving for 2 degrees, and the effort to 1.5 is part of the deal. How do you do that?

We know it is going to be an iterative exercise. So you have to work from both sides. One,  you start with your nationally determined contributions. You see what the implementation looks like. You think about how you can go beyond those moving forward, and two, you look out as to where you would like to be. We would like to be – at a 2050 horizon of the United States – at least at an 80% reduction in emissions. What does that mean? What are the kinds of trajectories you might look at? How do you think about the energy sector, or the land use sector, or industrial activities, or transportation? What kinds of reduction opportunities are there? Those questions will, in turn, inform the research agenda. They’ll inform the thinking about policy, and we’d like to exchange views with others as to how to do that effectively. It won’t be an answer that will hold permanently. It’ll be an answer to guide thinking and give you a robust option moving forward.

India and China have both indicated their intent to work on similar kinds of strategies. I anticipate that this next year we’ll see a variety of other countries stepping forward as well. In the side event that was run just now by France and Morocco, we had about 25 countries standing up and indicating their intent to proceed.

With regard to the issue of Chantilly and where we are now since 1990, when we began, it was a very different meeting. It was a tiny session. It was held just outside of Washington, D.C. A republican president actually offered to host that session. George Bush – the first George Bush – put down on his calendar and came to the United Nations General Assembly in 1990, and we hosted the first meeting in February, 1991. That was the beginning of the negotiations for the Framework Convention on Climate Change. A convention that was passed and signed by a republican administration, and the Congress of the time. We’ve been in it for that duration, and it’s made significant progress. But since then, there’s been a recognition about the increasing severity and urgency of the problem, and we’ve moved forward from a small meeting of only about 1,000 people to a meeting in which we have heads of state from virtually every nation in the world coming to a discussion and addressing their intent to proceed in the solution space, to think both about the management of mitigation and the minimisation of the impacts. This is no longer a problem that may be 20 or 30 years out. This is a problem that people are recognising today, and that’s the big change. We have a degree of urgency, a sense of importance of action that didn’t exist then, that now underpins the action that we see at this session, and we expect to see going forward.

QuestionThank you. Challenge Magazine. Please, there is no translation, excuse my English. The United States chooses 2005 as a reference year to reduce their emissions. That year saw an emissions peak of 5.8 billion tons equivalent CO2. Is it to make believe a more significant commitment that the country chooses this year when it emitted a lot of greenhouse gas.

Question: Jean Chemnick: And I’m Jean Chemnick from E&E News, and I was wondering – I know you don’t want to speculate on what the next administration does – but if the US is no longer party to the agreement and China remains in the agreement, is there a competitive advantage that China gains that might spill over into other negotiating fora, other issues besides climate change? What are your thoughts?

Question: Thank you very much for a very enlightening presentation. Elisabeth Holland from the University of the South Pacific, the home of those low-lying islands. We’re a regional university representing 12 Pacific Island nations and I wonder what the US commitment is to helping those low-lying nations in light of Secretary of State Kerry’s comments on low-lying, on sea-level rise and those low-lying nations?

 

Dr. Jonathan Pershing: Thank you very much for those questions. With regard to the first one, actually, your English is excellent. I wish I spoke another language as well as you do English. I think that there are a couple of different points to make. The first is that we took a number before our administration, but recent enough in the previous history that we had good data, and we are holding ourselves accountable to that timeline and emission reductions we could take since that time. We’ve been reasonably successful. We’ve seen a significant decline in US emissions already since 2005, and we believe that we are on a good trajectory to meet our targets both in 2020 and we think also in 2025.

One of the comments that I made from the podium earlier today in my speech to the entire plenary session was that we believe that we are on track to meet those commitments, and I believe that completely. I think the policies and the programs we’ve put into place which are supplemented by, frankly, market conditions that lead to re-invigorated investments in renewables, efficiency, as well as natural gas, have fundamentally altered the United States’ trajectory and in that sense, no new policies, probably, are still needed to keep us on that pathway for some time, so I think we’re in a good place. 2005; however, was given as a framework for our administration to hold ourselves in some reasonable timeline.

Jean, with regard to your question on China, I think it remains to be seen what happens in a new administration, so I don’t want to go there, but at the same time I think we can see an enormous opportunity and market potential going forward. And that doesn’t apply to China and the United States separately. It applies to everyone.

I had an interesting discussion with the Israelis. They have some of the best technology in the world for desalination and for irrigation technologies to manage drought. I had a very interesting discussion with Morocco. They’ve got the world’s largest concentrating solar facility and it’s only been in place for a couple of years. I had an interesting discussion with my colleagues from the United Arab Emirates, who recently had an auction to look at what they could buy renewable energy for, and they now have the world’s lowest price two point four cents  per kWh. They actually had the previous lowest price as well, only a couple of months ago, it was two point nine cents. It’s coming down precipitously, and this is something which the entire world benefits from. I can’t imagine a scenario in which US companies are not in that game, not playing in the context of the global marketplace which has huge upside growth opportunity, and I think our companies will succeed in that new marketplace.

With regard to the question on the island states, where the United States is on this, there are a number of different components to the response.

The first one is that we have committed our term to try to minimise the problem. We’ve sought to take actions in the immediate term and looking out forward,-  that was our mid-century strategy –  to address how we can radically reduce emissions, how we can bring them down in the near-term, 26-28%, how we can bring them down in the medium- and longer-term, we’re looking at an 80% reduction in 2050, that was the MCS – the mid-century strategy work – so that’s one piece.

We’ve worked under the context of the Paris Agreement to bring all countries on board. The United States is currently responsible for much less than 20% of global emissions. We’re the second-largest, but nonetheless, by ourselves, we cannot solve the problem, so we chose a pathway of engagement as a global matter, to have all countries participate, and I think you can see from this meeting that we, with our colleagues around the world, succeeded. We’re in a fundamentally different place after our term than we were coming in. A place where, prior to this, a handful of players were acting, eight years later, we’ll have a proclamation that all countries re-affirm the importance and of their own domestic actions as well.

And then we’ve worked on adaptation questions. We’ve looked at how you can begin to minimise the risks and the damages. We’ve talked about policies that can manage the impact of sea level, what can you do to move communities inland, or move them up in elevation, how can you build programs which you can have first responses, because, frankly, one of the near-term effects will not be the sea level, it’ll be from those intermittent storms that are exacerbated by sea level, so early-warning systems that can manage the risk of damages.

We’ve also been looking at drought and drought-tolerant crops. We’ve been looking at the consequences of managing forest fires. We’ve been looking at how you deal with heat tolerance in places the world. We’ve looked at desalination technologies, and moving those to places that are exposed. So, we have a very robust agenda, led by a number of agencies in the United States government to move this.

And, finally, I note that we have to do more. None of us are proposing that we have done enough to rest on our laurels and to stop here. As Secretary Kerry made clear yesterday, we’re at the first stages of our big solution push. All of us have to act, because the damages are looming and avoiding them is going to be a key priority.

NNPC, Shell, banks in $2.2bn contractor support scheme

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Shell Companies in Nigeria, supported by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with eight Nigerian banks under the refreshed Shell Contractors’ Support Fund, the latest milestone in efforts to improve access to finance for Nigerian vendors and suppliers in the oil and gas industry.

Sitting L-R: Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) Chairman, Mazi Bank-Anthony Okoroafor;Representative of the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Supervisor, Community Development, Bunmi Lawson; MD, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN), Osagie Okunbor; Finance Manager, Nigeria and Gabon, Guy Janssens and MD, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) Bayo Ojulari with representatives of partner banks and contractors.
Sitting L-R: Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) Chairman, Mazi Bank-Anthony Okoroafor;Representative of the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Supervisor, Community Development, Bunmi Lawson; MD, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN), Osagie Okunbor; Finance Manager, Nigeria and Gabon, Guy Janssens and MD, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) Bayo Ojulari with representatives of partner banks and contractors.

Under the MoUs signed in Lagos in November, Access Bank, Skye Bank, Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, First Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, First City Monument Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank have set aside $2.2 billion for contract execution by Nigerian firms.

The scheme provides support for contractors to enable them finance projects executed for Shell Companies in Nigeria in line with the aspirations of the Nigerian Content Act.  To access these funds, the contractors must have a valid purchase order and meet the banks’ risk assessment criteria. This refreshed version is in response to market realities and will offer loans faster and at cheaper rates.

“Supporting SMEs under this scheme is for the mutual benefit all the parties,” said Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria at the signing ceremony in Lagos. “While the scheme reduces the pressure from requests for advance payments from contractors on us, it also ensures optimum delivery by our contractors, leaving the banks with a de-risked client base in addition to the comfort of domiciliation of payments.”

Finance Manager, Nigeria and Gabon, Guy Janssens, added that funding is key to enable contractors deliver and grow. He also urged the banks to make the scheme work.

Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Bayo Ojulari, advised the contractors to perform in order to build trust and grow. The Group General Manager, NAPIMS, Dafe Sejebo, who was represented by Bunmi Lawson, implored the banks to make the loan facilities available to the vendors when they come for them. In the same vein, the Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mazi Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, enjoined the banks to be realistic in their demands in order to engender easier access to the funds.

Responding, one of the contractors, Moritz Abazie of Strides Energy and Maritime Limited, requested that the rates charged should be comparable to that for credit sourced overseas so that they could fairly compete with foreign firms in bidding for jobs.

The idea of a Contractor Funding Scheme started in 2011 with the Shell Kobo Fund, which gave rise to the Shell Contractor Support Fund in 2012. The scheme has been redesigned to address the current economic exigencies and to align it with stakeholder needs by merging the two initial initiatives. To date, the six participating banks have disbursed a total of $1 billion to over 220 vendors.

In 2015, 93% of all contracts awarded by Shell Companies in Nigeria were undertaken by Nigerian companies amounting to $0.9 billion.

Nigeria’s economic policies encourage unemployment – Summit

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The rising rate of unemployment in Nigeria has been traced to the anti-job creation policies of the government from the ICT sector to government direct employment, youth entrepreneurship scheme among others.

L-R: Mr Kanmi Ayodeji, Manager Planning, Department of Petroleum Resources, representing Mr. Mordecai Ladan, Director, DPR; Mrs Omolara Aromolaran, MD/CEO, Crown Natures Nigeria Plc; Tobe Ifeanyi, Manager, Marketing and Communications, Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN); and Dr Dele Oyeku, Director, Extension & Linkage,  Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), representing Dr. Gloria Elemo, Director General/CEO, FIIRO, at the WorldStage Economic Summit 2016 at the Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday, November 16, 2016.
L-R: Mr Kanmi Ayodeji, Manager Planning, Department of Petroleum Resources, representing Mr. Mordecai Ladan, Director, DPR; Mrs Omolara Aromolaran, MD/CEO, Crown Natures Nigeria Plc; Tobe Ifeanyi, Manager, Marketing and Communications, Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN); and Dr Dele Oyeku, Director, Extension & Linkage, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO), representing Dr. Gloria Elemo, Director General/CEO, FIIRO, at the WorldStage Economic Summit 2016 at the Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria on Wednesday, November 16, 2016.

Nigeria, with a population of 182,201,962, is battling with 49.5 per cent youth unemployment rate as at second quarter 2016.

Experts and economic stakeholders who spoke Wednesday in Lagos at the World Stage Economic Summit 2016 with the theme: “Addressing Unemployment Crisis in Nigeria,” challenged the government to carry out a major review of its economic policies for them to be problem solving rather than creating more confusion.

Dr Femi Saibu of the Department of Economics, University of Lagos, Akoka, who presented a lead paper at the summit, drew attention to the government policy on the ICT revolutions saying it was employment destructive and service oriented and not production/manufacturing sectors oriented.

On government direct employment policy, he said it only created temporary jobs not employment at a greater cost while the series of youth entrepreneurship scheme across the country including “You Win”, he said always ended up in creating social media entrepreneur with no employment multiplier.

Moreover, he said the Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme had failed to achieve its objective as the funds were difficult to access and politicised, while “people see it as share of national cake and generate little if all employment.”

At the summit organised by World Stage Limited (www.worldstagegroup.com) with support from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Shell Nigeria, United Bank for Africa, Bank of Industry and Zenith Bank, the scholar said what the country needed were large scale industrial set up that can mop up  the thousand of unemployed youths.

He said the country needed the establishment of businesses with value chains in productive sectors with greater employment multiplier and government spending in key sectors to provide basic infrastructures that reduce cost of business.

“Not direct underemployment of youths in any disguise that create fiscal cliff,” he said.

“Innovations and technology that lead to higher productivities and not those that take jobs from men to machines.”

Other economic stakeholders who spoke at the summit chaired by Mr Soji Adeleye, MD/CEO, Alfe City Institution include, Mr. Mordecai Ladan, Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Omolara Aromolaran, MD/CEO, Crown Natures Nigeria Plc , Dr. Gloria Elemo, Director General/CEO, Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO), Mrs Efua Edeh Executive Director, Junior Achievement Nigeria, Barrister Sunday Oduntan, Executive Director, Research & Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, among others.

Barrister Oduntan, in his presentation titled “Getting The Power Sector Right To Boost Productivity,” said the power sector was facing many surmountable huge and difficult challenges that had made it unable to play its role as the engine of growth for job creation.

According to him, “The whole electricity supply chain still remain comatose; the promised increased generation and reliability as part of privatisation –has not happened; generation continued to hover in the mid-range of 3000 to 4000 Mega Watt; energy theft and meter bypassing are very rampant; and insufficient number of metres due to liquidity gap and massive shortfalls.”

Moreover, he said the “GENCOs have been bedevilled by gas supply issues, cost and vandalisation of gas pipeline networks in Nigeria, delay and frustration in construction power plant sometimes on land and contract.”

He there was hope for the sector if some milestones such as funding of liquidity by subsidy & private sector fund, incremental generation, stability and security in generation we can achieved.

“Revenue gap from minor review must fully recognise the variance in forex applied by Gencos and drop in generation for six months,” he said.

Other milestones he prayed for include that MDA debts must be paid, focus on transmission funding & security of power supply, cost-reflective tariffs for DISCOs, strong and independent regulator, continuous and sustained investment on electrical infrastructures particularly TCN, aggressive metering across the board must be sustained.

The DPR boss represented by Mr Kanmi Ayodeji, Manager, Planning, in a presentation titled: “Nigeria’s Oil & Gas Reforms- Boosting Indigenous Participation & Energy Security,” said current reforms, initiatives and strategic plans in the oil sector were capable of boosting economic growth and create jobs.

He mentioned reforms such as initiated the modular refinery strategy to boost domestic refining capacity, improve supply of petroleum products and create direct and ancillary jobs.

Moreover, he said automated operational processes of DPR had improved “transparency of government’s regulatory roles of the Industry, effective administration of all critical operational and planning data and revenue for government and DPR.”

The FIIRO boss, who was represented by Dr Dele Oyeku, Director, Extension & Linkage, said there was no reason why Nigeria should be facing unemployment crisis if government can implement the research findings of institutions such as FIIRO.

For instance, he said there was an initiative on cassava substitution for wheat in baking which can generate millions of jobs across the country.

The CEO of Crown Natures, Mrs. Aromolaran, who spoke on “Addressing youths unemployment through capacity building and skill acquisition,” said “our problems as a nation will come to an end once we become a manufacturing state.”

She also noted that Nigeria and Nigerians needed to start producing what are essential to enhance our economy and create jobs.

“Nigeria has always been a country that tackles problems with one strategy. The situation requires us to tackle it with multi strategies, whatever we can do individually should be done, and little by little we shall begin to see our problems getting solved. The situation on ground is not new, but we need Nigerians to realise that every individual has a part to play in economic rejuvenation.”

Also in her paper on “Promoting Youth Entrepreneurship for Job Creation,” Manager, Marketing and Communications, Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), Tobe Ifeanyi, who represented her boss, spoke about how non-governmental agencies could help in solving the unemployment problem in Nigeria, saying, since inception, over 650,000 students in more than 750 schools in 29 locations across the country had been assisted with the help of over 1,000 volunteers.

According to her, JAN provided free programmes to youth aged five to 27 based on its three pillars for success, which are entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy, with the mission to inspire and educate young people to become conscientious business leaders, by implementing skills necessary for personal success and social responsibility.

In his welcome address, the President/CEO, World Stage Limited, Segun Adeleye, said that the alarming rate of unemployment in Nigeria should not only be of great concern to the government, but also to the private sector and other critical stakeholders in the economy.

He said, “Though unemployment is a global problem, but for us in Nigeria, it is endemic, as our high population growth is out of proportion with the economic development and productivity.”

Adeleye called for the acceptance, promotion, and utilisation of made by Nigeria goods, saying,  “Look around us from what we are wearing to what we are using- they are almost all imported- which implies that as we are buying them, we are creating jobs for them in China and other places with nothing for us to do here. This is unacceptable, and it makes the WorldStage Economic Summit (WES) 2016 with the Theme: ‘Addressing the unemployment crisis in Nigeria’ very relevant.”

He explained that the theme of the summit was inspired by the need to identify and proffer solutions to the growing unemployment problem in the public and private sectors of Nigerian economy; “To identify the employment generation potentials of every sector of the economy from Agriculture, ICT, Maritime, banking & finance, mining, aviation, construction, oil and gas and others and then address what they need to realise their full potential; To help review the economic potentials of the state and local governments and arrive at sustainable development strategy for them to be economically viable with or without revenue from federation account; To assist government on policies to make the economy productive, globally competitive and generate jobs; To provide knowledge base for government on how to save billions of naira in revenue, diversify economy, create jobs and end the practice of committing the largest portion of income to the payment of civil servants’ salaries among others.”

He assured participants that the summit would not end like similar conferences on Nigeria with little or nothing to show for them, as it was already being pushed online and in the social media through the #WorldstageEconomicSummit2016 hashtag for the sake of other stakeholders that were not fully represented at the summit.

He said the presentations at the summit would also be made available to the government, and there will be necessary follow up on all resolutions with all stakeholders.

Nigerians are becoming conscious of GMOs, says Ebegba

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Director-General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Sir (Dr.) Rufus Ebegba, speaks with Etta Michael Bisong about the challeges being encountered by the agency in the development of the sector, saying that teething problems are being overcome and Nigerians are increasingly becoming aware of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

Dr Rufus Ebegba, Director-General and CEO of the the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). He says Nigerians are now becoming aware of GMOs. Photo credit: climatereporters.com
Dr Rufus Ebegba, Director-General and CEO of the the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA). He says Nigerians are now becoming aware of GMOs. Photo credit: climatereporters.com

Achievement of the NBMA since establishment

You know the agency was established in 2015 and from that time to now it has all been about strengthening, and this is because the establishment of an agency requires necessary approvals from other relevant agencies.

So, we have been able to move staffs of the then Federal Ministry of Environment to form the core workforce of the agency. The agency has also gotten approval from office of the Head of Service of the Federation and is structured into five departments with three zonal offices. There is a new salary structure with relevant budgetary codes and systems which indicates that the agency has been integrated into Nigeria’s governance.

Another thing that we have been able to do is to review the regulations that have been drafted over the years and these regulations are presently with the Federal Ministry of Justice for fine-tuning to ensure that they are in line with the legal system of Nigeria. We have new guidelines and they are finally going to be reviewed as part of instrument of strengthening the law.

We have visited various institutions and agencies with the intention of collaborating with them. And this is important because of the linkages when discharging enforcement and ensuring that Nigeria has a holistic biosafety. Also, we visited some institutions that were accredited to carry out genetic engineering and confined field trail to ascertain their current status and reissue permits to them in line with the agency’s mandate.

We granted two permits this year to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited for the confined field trial of maize that has been modified for insect resistance, and cotton for herbicide tolerance for commercial release.

Presently, we are carrying out a survey to ensure that it is only approved GM foods that are allowed into this country. It is in line with this that we gave a directive that all super stores where GMOs are being sold should remove all those materials from the shelf unless a permit is granted to them by the agency. Additionally, we are also carrying out another survey to analyse some GM materials that we have selected as suspects to be able to trace their origin. This is with a view to enable us ascertain the safety of what we will be consuming and take proper record of these things to know when to remove them away from the market to manage their negative impacts.

Capacity building is very crucial. We embarked on a local Genetically Modified Organisms Detection Analysis training this year. Some of the staffs also attended international training in Kenya, Ghana and Uganda just to strengthen their proficiency. Also, we have an international expert that will be working closely with us to help Nigeria at least acquire international biosafety standard.

To showcase how Nigeria has been able to comply with biosafety regulations, the agency is also preparing to attend the conference serving as meeting of parties to the Cartagena Protocol and Convention on Biological Diversity.

The agency is also working very hard to relocate and strengthen the Biosafety Laboratory from its present location. We are also going to identify some private and government laboratories for accreditation and reference materials will be sent to them to double-check whatever analysis we are going to do so that our result cannot be faulted anywhere.

We now have a website where people can access information as well as some enforcement jackets to show our corporate identity.

 

About the campaign against GMOs

It has been a very interesting year with so many controversies; it shows that Nigerians are becoming conscious of GMOs. The debate for or against has always being on, the agency only brought it to the fore. The most important thing is that Nigeria should use this technology to innovate and grow in a safe manner.

The Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the agency organised a meeting that brought experts together – those in support and against to discuss the issues surrounding GMOs, it was really intriguing and enlightening for both experts to give their views. It is very important to discuss and dialogue rather than doing damaging campaigns. Nigeria is not in isolation of the international community on the safety of GMOs, and will not stand alone.

The agency will never stop the use of GMOs because that is not what its mandate is all about. All we are assuring Nigerians is that no GMO that is not safe will be allowed into the market or the environment.

I am very happy with our media relationship, it is very cordial, and they have been a lot of improvement due to several enlightenment initiatives. Most of them are beginning to understand the concept of the technology which is good because it is very important for the right information to be reported to avoid fear or public panic.

 

Challenges and way forward

The economic situation has not been favorable globally and Nigeria is not in isolation of the economic environment. Funding has been one of our major challenges. Luckily, we are able to move and achieve some strides with or without funds, we are going to continue to do that and I believe with time Nigerians will understand.

Another challenge we have is the misinformation about the role of the agency. People shouldn’t expect when they ask me to say GMOs are bad or can cause cancer when I have no scientific evidence to prove that. Safe GMOs have the opportunities to be use in so many areas including agriculture and medicine. Most of the portend drugs like insulin are derive from genetically modified materials. That is all we will tell them, because it is what we are here for. We must take the good aspect and prevent the misuse of the technology.

We are here to protect Nigerians and ensure that the right thing is done in the adoption of this technology. They shouldn’t create a situation whereby those who have responsibilities to discharge will now be hated and threat to their lives becomes an issue. People should seek for information and let government do her work.  The United Nations (UN), World Health Organisation (WHO) as well as the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) will not allow GMOs if they are as bad as people are saying. Their position on this technology is very clear.

Nigerians have been frightened and their emotions worked on that GMOs can kill. They should not be afraid because this technology is not based on emotion, and those campaigning against it have no scientific facts to such claim. They should allow Nigerians to reason because they are very intelligent people. I know that some people have made up their minds no matter what you say, their answer is no, but they should allow those who want to eat GMOs to do so. I wonder what those creating this fear want to achieve when they do not have alternative for the people.

I have said it repeatedly that my responsibility as a regulator of this sector is to ensure that Nigerians are protected from the abuse of this technology. Nigerians should know that nobody is going to be forced to eat GMOs; they are going to be labeled so that consumers can have choice.

Marrakech COP met expectations, says German minister, Hendricks

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After two weeks of negotiations, the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) in Marrakech concluded on Friday, November 18, 2016. Under the umbrella of “Action and Implementation”, representatives of more than 190 countries came together to discuss implementation of the Paris Agreement. The Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016 a mere year after its adoption.

German Federal Environment Minister, Barbara Hendricks. According to her, the Paris Agreement is working. Photo credit: Stephanie Pilick/dpa
German Federal Environment Minister, Barbara Hendricks. According to her, the Paris Agreement is working. Photo credit: Stephanie Pilick/dpa

German Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks said: “The Climate Conference was a conference of action. It fully met our expectations. We made the most of the momentum of recent months and laid important foundations for swift and ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement. The transformation to a climate-friendly world agreed on in Paris is well underway and can no longer be halted. Climate action has long become a driving force for jobs and a guarantee for sustainable economic development. New stakeholders in international climate action are emerging in the form of committed cities, towns and municipalities. They will help us further accelerate the global climate transformation.”

The discussions and events at COP22 centred on dialogue on specific measures and projects to implement the Paris Agreement. With its Climate Action Plan 2050, Germany is said to be the first country to present an ambitious long-term strategy aimed at achieving almost greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050. The US, Mexico and Canada also presented their climate action plans on decarbonising their economies.

The new NDC Partnership launched by Germany and Morocco was very well received. This partnership will support countries of the South achieve their nationally determined contributions, i.e. their national climate targets. It highlights the will to work together in a coordinated way to implement ambitious climate action measures. More than 40 countries and numerous international organisations have already signed up to the NDC Partnership.

The multilateral negotiations tackled the further structuring of the Paris Agreement’s goals for mitigating greenhouse gases, adapting to climate change and climate finance. The Parties discussed, among other things, how the NDCs under the Paris Agreement could be assessed and compared in a uniform way.

The industrialised countries reaffirmed their goal of providing $100 billion per year in climate finance from 2020. Further steps on this were adopted. Germany also further strengthened the Adaptation Fund by contributing €50 million. Germany has also made available an additional €25 million for further adaptation measures. The Adaptation Fund finances specific measures in regions that are particularly affected by climate change.

Following a decision taken at COP22, the next Climate Conference will take place next year in Bonn, where the UNFCCC is based, under the Presidency of Fiji.

Ms. Hendricks commented: “I am delighted that Fiji will be presiding over the next Climate Conference and that COP23 will take place in Bonn next year. We are happy to support Fiji in making the next conference a success for international climate action. The UN city of Bonn will be a good host.”

Reactions trail COP22 outcomes

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The 2016 UN climate change talks (COP22) ended on Friday, November 18 2016, in Marrakech, Morocco with governments reaffirming their resolve to work together on implementing the Paris Agreement, even amidst uncertain political moments.

COP22 President, Salaheddine Mezouar
COP22 President, Salaheddine Mezouar

The global summit closed with a total of 111 countries having ratified the Agreement, with several such as UK, Australia, Guatemala, Malaysia Pakistan and Tanzania, doing so in the last few days.

A senior Nigerian official had announced on the first week of the summit that the country would ratify the pact the following week, but this turned out not to be the case. A member of the country’s official delegation disclosed that this was due to the fact that the document was yet to be made completely ready for such a step as it was still undergoing formal legal finishing touches.

The Climate Action Network (CAN), a global network of over 1,200 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels, remarked of the ratifications: “Together they represent the greatest international cooperation to act on climate change.

“That these climate talks took place in Africa, a continent particularly vulnerable and ill-equipped to tackle climate change, would give reason to believe that developed countries would commit with certainty increased support for adaptation beyond their current, inadequate plans. This has unfortunately not been the case.

“In these two weeks, some countries promised funds but this is woefully short of what is needed now as well as in the long-term to protect poor communities who are already bearing the brunt of the worst impacts of climate change.”

Committing to embrace a 100% renewable energy future, some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, the 48 countries part of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, on Friday stated that they would update their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) before 2020.

Taking advantage of the Paris Agreement’s rapid entry into force and work on the rulebook being set to be completed by 2018, countries really have to do more and faster, stated CAN.
It adds: “Governments must keep their pre-2020 commitments to limit warming below 1.5 degrees C and prevent irreversible damage from the impacts of climate change. While some countries will achieve their 2020 targets and progress is promising on initiatives, such as the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative, civil society organisations call for much stronger political will to ensure that all countries meet their pre-2020 targets. Developing countries must be assured financial, technical and capacity-building support to do this.

“The extraordinary political solidarity that brought the Agreement into force less than a year since it was negotiated and allowing the first meeting of the Parties of the Paris Agreement to take place much earlier than anticipated, must now translate into substantive action. If governments are serious about achieving the goals from Paris, they must come fully prepared in 2017 and 2018 to review progress, scale up ambition and enhance funding for adaptation in particular.

“This includes agreeing to a robust methodology for what is counted as climate finance against the $100 billion commitment. Marrakech marks an important moment when countries initiated the process to take the Paris Agreement forward to 2018 which will be a critical milestone to assess real progress.”

Krishneil Narayan, the Coordinator of the Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN), said: “Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) welcomes the progress made at COP22 in Marrakech. This COP was meant to take a step forward towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement by setting some guidelines of moving forward and this was achieved for some of the issues. There is a lot of work still to be done in the realisation of goals set out in the Paris Agreement but the partnerships and overall political willingness of the countries to move forward together is commendable.

“In particular, the collective commitment shown towards the Paris Agreement despite the concerns arising on the climate change positions of the incoming United States President-elect Donald Trump sends a signal that the debate on the realities of climate change is over and that the world is committed to solving the climate change problem. PICAN also supports the confirmation of Fiji as the next COP23 Presidency and commends Fiji on the leadership shown on behalf of all vulnerable islands states. This is a highly significant moment as it is the very first time a small island developing state will hold presidency of the UNFCCC COP. It’s going to be a Pacific COP next year. PICAN looks forward to working closing with the Fiji Presidency and showcasing the leadership of the Pacific in the year ahead.”

Wolfgang Jamann, Secretary General and CEO of CARE International: “Despite fears, the spirit of Paris and the climate movement are alive and well as we saw in Marrakesh at COP22. Technical negotiations showed progress but the plight of the poorest and especially women and girls still demand a clearer roadmap and money to match. We are also calling on governments and business to make emission cuts now that respect the 1.5 degrees limit so that a desperate situation does not completely spiral out of our control. Thus, the ambitious leadership shown by 47 developing countries in the Climate Vulnerable Forum pushes the most powerful countries to be much bolder and take quicker action.”

Sanjay Vashist, Director of Climate Action Network South Asia: “Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA) members welcome the progress made on technical front at the COP 22 but expressed their disappointment on lack of urgency shown by developed countries on delivering their promise of providing necessary funding to developing countries to cope with the incessant impacts of climate change.

“The agreement on process for preparing a rule book for implementation of Paris agreement, the infusion of some more money in  adaptation fund and the fact that CMA the implementing body of Paris Agreement has begun functioning is all good news but the money on the table is way less than required to help the  developing countries to implement their conditional NDC and close the emissions gap required to arrest runaway climate change and assist the most vulnerable and the poorest of poor in South Asia.”

Wendel Trio, Director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe: “This year’s UN climate talks in Marrakech made clear that the Paris Agreement remains robust, but strong leadership will continue to be important if we are to safeguard our societies from dangerous climate change. Here in Marrakech the EU repeatedly reiterated its leadership on climate action, but these statements were followed by a visible degree of inaction. The EU turned a blind eye to the need to boost climate action in the next four years. Cancelling the surplus allowances under the Emissions Trading Scheme would have been a school book example of showing leadership, but the EU failed the test. It is high time for the EU to start walking the talk. The EU must come well prepared in 2017 and to the next big political moment in 2018, with clear plans to both scale up the ambition of its inadequate 2030 targets and present a strategy for how to bring emissions down to zero in the long term.”

Gianfranco Ciccia, node coordinator Climate Action Network Latin America (CAN-LA): We came to Marrakech on a high note with the Paris Agreement entering into force in record time. The U.S. has been a leader on tackling climate change under the Obama administration, helping to build the global consensus around shared action that resulted in last year’s historic Paris Agreement. But the outcome of last week’s elections has raised serious doubts about the continued commitment of the U.S. to the international climate framework after President Obama leaves office.
“Despite of US election results, ambition and efforts for making the Paris Agreement work must continue within next year and the years to come. Some Latin American countries has highlighted the importance of prompt definition of the Agreement implementation’s guidelines and rules. Transparency and finance are key issues that need to be finished as soon as possible, but not later than COP23. Latin American countries need to start the revision of their NDCs to increases their current goals and to find clear pathways to achieve them.”

Alden Meyer, Director of Strategy and Policy, Union of Concerned Scientists: “The good news is that country after country here in Marrakech made it crystal clear over the last week that they intend to implement and strengthen the Paris Agreement, regardless of whether the incoming Trump administration stays in Paris or decides to leave. Not one country has said that if President Trump pulls the U.S. out of Paris, they will follow. Numerous U.S. states, cities, and hundreds of companies have made clear their determination to stay the course on climate action. And yesterday, under the leadership of the King of Morocco, heads of state and ministers adopted the Marrakech Action Proclamation, calling for much greater ambition to meet the temperature limitation goals agreed in Paris.”

Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, leader of WWF International’s Climate & Energy Practice: “The UN climate talks continue to be filled with twists and turns, but they have delivered what they needed to this week – putting substance behind the promise of the Paris Agreement so it can be fully implemented. The Marrakech work has not been the most glamorous, but it’s a key step in the chain reaction needed to roll out the agreement. Countries’ commitment to the Paris Agreement also passed its first stress test this week with the US election results. Unequivocally, they restated that they are in this for the long haul.

“But there’s a lot of work ahead of us. The emissions gap continues to grow between what science tells us is needed to protect the planet from the worst impacts of climate change and the goals and actions governments set in Paris. Urgently reducing emissions and preparing for the climate change impacts that are already affecting us are essential for the world’s future prosperity, safety and security.”

Michael Brune, Executive Director, Sierra Club: “The world came together in Paris to take unprecedented action to tackle the climate crisis, and in Marrakech, we came together to affirm that no individual country or leader has the power to derail that momentum. The Sierra Club is heartened by the committed resolve and continued dedication leaders around the world have shown to meaningful and lasting climate action. Climate leaders, activists, businesses, labor leaders, faith groups, environmental justice advocates, and youth leaders from across the globe convened in Marrakech with the goal of working to avert the worst effects of the climate crisis. In fact, nations are reaffirming their commitments, nearly 50 nations committed to going to 100 percent clean energy, and new research shows the U.S. is already on the path to meet key carbon reduction goals before they are even implemented. It is clear that this progress will not be stopped, even in the face of threats by President-elect Trump.”

Harjeet Singh, global lead on climate change for ActionAid: “The job here in Marrakech was to start writing the rulebook for the Paris Agreement and to take urgent action. But the issue of finance has thrown a spanner in the works. Although several countries have made welcome contributions to immediate finance needs, rich countries have been trying to wriggle out of their pledges to help poorer countries meet the costs of coping with impacts and greening their economies. Climate action will cost money that poorer countries simply don’t have. The general message to developing countries is ‘you’re on your own.’
“In the planet’s hottest year ever, when parts of Africa are dealing with their worst drought in decades, rich countries’ willingness to leave developing countries in the lurch holds back climate action at a time when we need it most. “Without real finance, and drastic cuts in emissions from rich countries the planet doesn’t have a chance of staying under 1.5°C warming.”

Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director, Oil Change International: “The COP outcome once again failed to meet the urgency of the climate crisis, but people-powered movements around the world aren’t going to let our leaders get away with a COP-out. In the last two weeks, hundreds of organisations banded together to stand up to all new fossil fuel development, and dozens of climate vulnerable countries committed to 100% renewable energy futures. Climate science, the Paris Agreement, and millions of people around the world demand an end to new fossil fuel development and a just transition to renewables.”

David Turnbull, Campaigns Director, Oil Change International: “While the U.S. election could have derailed the negotiations, what’s happened in Marrakech has given hope that global action on climate change will not be deterred by isolated politicians. These negotiations’ outcome once again failed to meet the urgency of the climate crisis, but countries and social movements came together to keep pushing forward at a time when resolve is essential. The lessons of Marrakech are clear: Don’t look to bureaucrats or climate-denying Presidents to take the lead on global climate action. Look to the people in the streets and in communities around the world. These are the people-powered movements resisting fossil fuels and building a renewable energy future, and this is the path to victory.”

Clare Lakewood, Staff Attorney, Climate Law Institute, Centre for Biological Diversity: “The shock of the U.S. elections has ignited a fiery determination to fight Trump’s regressive rhetoric on climate. A broad coalition of people and organisations is rising up and working together to keep dirty fossil fuels in the ground and stop dangerous and unjust projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline. We celebrate today’s announcement from the countries most affected by climate change to move rapidly toward 100% renewable energy. But we have yet to see this ambition matched by some other leaders in Marrakech. While the continued commitment to the Paris Agreement is heartening, this was not the COP of Action that we were promised. We urgently need more ambitious action from the USA and other developed countries to protect our environment and people around the globe from the grave dangers of climate change.”

Isabel Kreisler, Oxfam International climate change policy lead: “This was billed as a conference for action and implementation of the Paris Agreement. Instead, we saw a stubborn refusal from developed country ministers and negotiators to fill the adaptation finance gap and face the fact that the Agreement doesn’t fully protect lives that will suffer the most from climate change. Adaptation finance is not just an abstract numbers game. It’s about providing women farmers in Africa with seeds to plant drought-resistant crops and feed their families.
“These countries are doing their fair share. The Climate Vulnerable Forum, a group of 47 countries most at risk, announced their commitment to 100 percent renewable energy. We need developed countries to live up to their end of the bargain.
“The Paris Agreement was undoubtedly historic, but millions of people facing extreme and erratic weather can’t afford to keep waiting. Oxfam hopes the ‘Pacific COP’ in 2017 focuses the world’s attention on the risk that small islands in the Pacific and elsewhere face.”

Safa’ Al Jayoussi, CAN Arab World Co-Coordinator: “The last two weeks has shown that Arab countries are taking Paris agreement seriously by Saudi Arabia ratifying the agreement before the COP and countries who already ratified or in their way of ratification. Some Arab Countries showed leadership in climate vulnerable forum like Tunisia, Sudan , Yemen and Morocco and more countries who joined this COP which are Palestine and Lebanon this shows the readiness for our region to take initiative on climate solutions.”

Tina Johnson, Policy Director, US Climate Action Network: “The Paris Agreement provides a good framework for climate action, but the Nationally Determined Commitments ambition is still insufficient and needs to be fixed urgently. We leave Marrakech with unfinished business.  Finance is still a major issue to be figured out as well as analysing what the impacts of the United States election are. However, it is important to note that there has been a focus on creating new action here as well. It is clear that if the world is going to act on climate change now that countries need to step and do more.”

Christoph Bals, Policy Director, Germanwatch: “The Marrakech summit showed that there is unstoppable momentum to put the Paris Agreement into practice, despite the outcome of the US elections. China especially seems ready to step into the looming vacuum. The EU also has to decide whether it wants to play a global leadership role in the coming years. There are major opportunities next year where we expect the EU and Germany to show leadership, like the G20 summit in Hamburg and COP23 in Bonn.”

Nathaniel Keohane, Vice President for Global Climate, Environmental Defense Fund: “The most striking theme in Marrakesh was the continued commitment by countries and businesses around the world to moving forward on climate change despite the uncertainty that resulted from the election of Donald Trump. That continued commitment was clear in public statements and private assurances, in the constructive spirit of the negotiations, and in the actions of the several countries who formally joined the Paris Agreement in the last two weeks. The momentum that generated the Paris Agreement – and ensured that it entered into force in record time – can’t be derailed even by an earthquake as large as last week’s election. The direction the rest of the world is taking is clearer than ever. People around the globe are already seeing the impacts of climate change every day – from record-breaking heat to floods to costly storm damage – and they’re demanding a safer, cleaner, low-carbon future and the jobs and economic growth that future will entail.”

Mohamed Adow, Christian Aid’s International Climate Lead: “It was fitting that on African soil it was the most vulnerable countries who showed the most leadership with their bold pledges to switch to 100% renewable energy as soon as possible. This is despite the fact that as poor and vulnerable nations with little historical responsibility for causing climate change, they were not required to act so quickly.

“The rest of the world now needs to harness this sentiment and follow suit by doing more to accelerate the low carbon transition we need to keep temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
“Although momentum has continued it was good to be reminded that our current trajectory sends us into dangerous territory and the Paris Agreement will only be effective if nations continue to ratchet up their commitments. The key date is 2018 when countries should start doing that in earnest.”

Catherine Abreu, Executive Director, Climate Action Network Canada: “The spirit of togetherness that made the Paris Agreement possible was alive this week in Marrakech, and it will become more important than ever in the coming months. What wasn’t as evident at COP22 was a common understanding of the urgent need to support developing countries at the necessary levels. Realizing the Paris Agreement’s goals and protecting the world’s most vulnerable communities requires an end to the petty disagreements on finance that so often stall progress. Canada has an opportunity to play a constructive role on this and many other issues. Indeed, it is clear that the world is now looking to Canada with renewed focus. It’s Canada’s time to show exceptional leadership on climate change and the drive to decarbonize the global economy.”

Payal Parekh, 350.org Global Pogramme Director: “The world is finally seeing the urgency for collective climate action. The meeting in Marrakesh concluded as scientists confirmed 2016 will be the third consecutive hottest year ever while a climate denier has been elected to the White House. But we are seeing leadership take center stage from many directions. The Climate Vulnerable Forum countries have demonstrated what government leadership needs to look like by committing to meet 100% domestic renewable energy production as rapidly as possible. Yet climate leadership has consistently relied on people’s power. Moving forward, the climate and social justice movements stand united and more committed than ever. The only way for real climate action is to stop all new coal, oil and gas developments, financing instead a just transition towards a 100% renewable energy future for all.”

Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director, Greenpeace International: “The last two weeks have seen a renewed determination to move ahead with the Paris Agreement. Here at the UN, countries have taken a small step together and some are already taking the giant leaps we need. 47 countries on the frontline of climate change are setting the pace, and their commitment to 100% renewable energy shows leadership and vision, just what we need from everyone.
“If governments are serious about the Paris Agreement, not a single new fossil fuel project can be licensed anymore. To avoid climate catastrophe we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, protect our forests and oceans and shift to ecological agriculture and 100% renewable energy. We will be the generation that ends fossil fuels.”

Eco Matser, Director Green & Inclusive Energy Programme Hivos: “Hivos welcomes the reaffirmation of countries to move ahead forcefully to implement the Paris Agreement in spite of leadership changes in some countries. The most vulnerable countries in the Climate Vulnerable Forum have shown the true leadership  by committing to strive to be carbon neutral by 2050, meet a 100% domestic renewable energy production as rapidly as possible while working to end energy poverty and involve all stakeholders including civil society in the process. Hivos and its partners are calling on all countries to follow this leadership. These commitments have to be supported now by new, additional and adequate climate finance directed specifically for energy access through decentralised renewable energy.”

Lidy Nacpil of the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development: “At the end of these two weeks we just want to express our extreme disappointment that no clear and concrete increases in climate finance pledges have been put forward by developed country governments.

“We’ve heard so much talk about leveraging private sector funds to address climate finance needs, but private sector involvement is not a substitute for public finance. Substantive amounts of public finance are urgently needed – this is especially true for adapting to climate change and addressing the impacts on communities. In Marrakech, all the developed countries did was try to evade and postpone their responsibilities, insisting on highly questionable methods for calculating their financial contributions to mask the paltry reality.”

Meena Raman of Third World Network: “After the jubilation over the Paris Agreement’s entry into force, in Marrakech countries found themselves at loggerheads over what was actually agreed.  The Agreement is very clear that addressing climate change is about much more than emissions reductions-it is also about finance and technology to support those efforts, as well as adaptation.

“Throughout the meeting we witnessed a flat-out refusal by developed countries, led by the U.S., to only progress on mitigation-related issues while letting others fall by the way. If the U.S. leaves the climate change convention, the world will leave the U.S. behind. For years the U.S. has been a free rider, undermining global ambition-with the climate change denying Mr. Trump in office the rest of the world must move beyond the Paris Agreement to reduce emissions and transition quickly to sustainable energy sources, with acordon sanitaire around the U.S.”

Asad Rehman of Friends of the Earth England, Wales, and Northern Ireland: “The science is clear, we only have three years before the Paris Agreement’s goal of 1.5 is beyond our reach. The pledges on the table for those three years will not deliver this goal, effectively condemning millions more people to pay the cost of inaction.

“The outcome of Marrakech failed to change the dangerous course we are on- no matter how it’s spun it’s real cuts in carbon pollution that matter. Now as we look towards 2018, we have a last throw of the dice to beef up those climate targets. Failure is simply not an option if we value our planet and the lives of our fellow citizens.”

Azeb Girmai of LDC Watch: “One glimmer of hope from what was otherwise a lacklustre COP was the launch of the Global Partnership on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, a prime example of the power of cooperation between developing countries.

“1.5 degrees means 100% renewable energy, so it is heartening to see developing countries taking the reigns, building off the ongoing success of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative while developed countries drag their heels. Our challenge as civil society now is to ensure local communities are actively shaping people-centered, smart, decentralised energy systems-which is the key to securing a prosperous and sustainable future.”

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