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Exxon Mobil may be probed over climate ‘lies’

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Exxon Mobil may be probed over climate ‘lies’

California state officials will look into whether or not Exxon Mobil Corp. repeatedly lied to the public about what it knew about global warming and what it told investors. California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris says she will investigate whether the dishonesty amounts to securities fraud or the violation of environmental law.

Exxon_signx400_0California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris is investigating whether Exxon Mobil Corp. repeatedly lied to the public and its shareholders about the risk to its business from climate change — and whether such actions could amount to securities fraud and violations of environmental laws.

Harris’ office is reviewing what Exxon Mobil knew about global warming and what the company told investors, a person close to the investigation said.

The move follows published reports, based on internal company documents, suggesting that during the 1980s and 1990s the company, then known as Exxon, used climate research as part of its planning and other business practices but simultaneously argued publicly that climate-change science was not clear cut.

Those documents were cited in stories by reporters for Columbia University Energy and Environmental Reporting Fellowship, published in partnership with the Los Angeles Times. The nonprofit InsideClimate News also published several stories based on the documents.

Shortly after the news reports, Harris’ office launched the investigation in response to the findings, the person said. New York’s attorney general also is investigating the oil company as a result of the published reports.

Exxon Mobil did not respond to several requests for comment made by telephone and email.

A spokesman for Harris declined to confirm the investigation.

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), who has called on federal authorities to investigate Exxon Mobil, praised Harris’ decision.

Lieu said the investigation means that any damages won from Exxon Mobil could benefit Californians.

“I commend … Harris for taking this action,” he said.

Lieu said he has sent letters to U.S. Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission calling for federal investigations of securities fraud and violations of racketeering, consumer protection, truth in advertising, public health, shareholder protection or other laws.

Lieu said he hopes the decision by Harris, representing a state with the eighth-largest economy in the world, will prompt other states and the Justice Department to investigate.

“I think this action will be taken very seriously by Exxon Mobil,” Lieu said.

Richard Keil, an Exxon Mobil spokesman, previously said that the company denies any wrongdoing in regard to the climate-change reports.

“We unequivocally reject allegations that Exxon Mobil suppressed climate change research contained in media reports,” Keil said in a statement issued in response to the letters sent in October by Lieu and Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord). Keil issued a statement with the same quote in early November when the New York investigation became public.

Exxon Mobil continues to face calls from several current and former U.S. lawmakers for criminal investigations based on the media reports. They include Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Al Gore.

It is unclear what approach Harris intends to take in California’s investigation.

Harris’ office is casting a wide net and looking at a variety of issues, according to the person familiar with the matter.

Legal experts say the SEC requires that companies disclose the risks of climate change to their business operations but that the agency has taken almost no action to enforce it.

The moves by California and New York are seen as a step to fill that void.

Exxon Mobil already has received a subpoena for documents dating from 1977 from the office of Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general.

Schneiderman has at his disposal New York’s Martin Act, a law that gives the state’s attorney general broad power to prosecute companies for financial fraud.

Unlike federal securities law, the New York statute does not require the state to prove that a company intended to defraud — only that it misrepresented relevant information or withheld it from investors.

The law applies to any company doing business in the state.

By Ivan Penn (The Los Angeles Times)

Jebba-Mokwa road, a national disaster – Funke Adedoyin

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Jebba-Mokwa road, a national disaster – Funke Adedoyin

The Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Army, Funke Adedoyin, has described the Jebba-Mokwa Road as a national disaster. She said the road needed urgent reconstruction.

Funke Adedoyin
Funke Adedoyin

Adedoyin disclosed this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on Wednesday when she led a delegation of the Committee on the Army on a courtesy call on the Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, at the Government House.

The federal lawmaker said the deplorable state of the road had caused loss of lives and properties as it is a major link road between the Northern and Southern parts of the country.

Princess Adedoyin promised to liaise with the House of Representatives Committee on Works on how to ensure that the road receives urgent Federal Government attention to halt carnage on it.

The House Committee Deputy Chair commended the state government for what she called the excellent relationship between it and the Army and other security forces.

She said the 22 Armoured Brigade Cantonment at Sobi in Ilorin occupies a strategic position in its operations, which covers Kwara State and parts of the neighbouring state of Niger.

Responding, Ahmed said he had made several presentations at the National Economic Council and other fora of the Federal Government on the need for reconstruction of the Jebba-Mokwa Road.

Ahmed promised greater partnership with the Nigeria Army and other security agencies on security in the state.

He said the nation must tackle its security challenges in parts of the country.

The governor commended the members of the House of Representatives on the Army for their active disposition to the promotion of the welfare of the Nigerian Army.

Coalition unites to block India water privatisation schemes

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Coalition unites to block India water privatisation schemes

Groups plan series of escalating events to expose details of controversial Nagpur PPP model promoted by Modi government, World Bank

The escalation around the Nagpur case echoes a campaign launched in October 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria, that led to the cancellation of a proposed World Bank water PPP advisory contract and has so far stalled a large-scale privatisation scheme that had once been deemed imminent Photo credit: http://watergrabbing.net/
The escalation around the Nagpur case echoes a campaign launched in October 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria, that led to the cancellation of a proposed World Bank water PPP advisory contract and has so far stalled a large-scale privatisation scheme that had once been deemed imminent Photo credit: http://watergrabbing.net/

This week, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation Employees’ Union (NMCEU), 25 Nagpur grassroots civil society groups, and organisations from across India kicked off two weeks of escalating events to demonstrate the failure of Nagpur’s public-private partnerships (PPP) water privatisation scheme, including a call for the contract’s cancellation and the utility’s remunicipalisation. The events, part of a nationwide push, are bolstered by a global petition signed by more than 700 organisations from 20 countries and more than 18,000 individuals.

The escalation, endorsed by affiliates of Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) and Public Services International (PSI), is the latest in a global movement to protect the human right to water from PPPs and similar forms of water privatisation. The mass mobilisation aims to prevent Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government from replicating the failed Nagpur model in its recently launched nationwide pro-PPP urban development initiatives. The programmes, including “Smart Cities” and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), together target 600 municipalities, and Modi himself has called explicitly for replication of the Nagpur project.

“In Nagpur, the PPP scheme has enabled companies to squeeze profits from what should be a public water system, while workers suffer and families struggle to pay unaffordable bills or withstand life-threatening water shutoffs,” said Jammu Anand, president of NMCEU, a member of PSI that has opposed the Nagpur municipal authority’s water privatisation—managed by Orange City Water Pvt. Ltd.—for the last eight years. “The idea that the Indian government would expand the Nagpur model—a glaring violation of the fundamental human right to water—to hundreds of cities and millions more people across India is simply dangerous and puts corporate profit before human life.”

Nagpur’s water PPP has led to shutoffs, skyrocketing bills, poor service, and lengthy project delays—common outcomes of water privatisation detailed Corporate Accountability International’s reports, “Shutting the spigot on private water” and “Behind World Bank spin.” The Nagpur case garnered international notoriety when a coalition of civil society organisations awarded Veolia, whose subsidiary is the 50% partner in Nagpur’s privately operated utility, a “Pinocchio Award” for violations of social and environmental rights.

Veolia’s poor track record in the water sector has been exposed widely, including the scathing report, “Troubled waters”. Just recently, Romanian prosecutors charged the CEO of Bucharest’s Veolia subsidiary with bribery and illegal influence-peddling.

Despite the Nagpur model’s disastrous results, the World Bank holds it up as a success story, and Veolia and its competitor, Suez, are hoping to profit from an expansion of water privatisation  throughout India. Until 2014, the World Bank even held an ownership stake in the Veolia subsidiary involved in Nagpur. Now, the World Bank, which has widely promoted and facilitated the PPP model, is in discussions with the Modi administration to provide funding for the expansion of this model.

“In the pursuit of these water privatisation projects, the World Bank continues to confuse ‘development’ with profit,” said Shayda Naficy, a water privatisation expert at Corporate Accountability International. “For years it has ignored the concerns of the people most affected by this dogmatic pursuit, but with people across the globe raising their voices, it can’t run from the truth any longer.”

The escalation around the Nagpur case echoes a campaign launched in October 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria, the largest city on the African continent, that successfully led to the cancellation of a proposed World Bank water PPP advisory contract and has so far stalled a large-scale privatisation scheme that had once been deemed imminent. Timed with the escalation in India, Corporate Accountability International unveiled a new exposé, “The truth about public private partnerships” debunking common myths about this form of water privatisation.

The World Bank’s president Dr. Jim Yong Kim, chief economist Kaushik Basu, top water official Junaid Ahmad, and country director for India Onno Ruhl have neglected to respond to a December invitation issued by the Nagpur-based organisations to receive testimony about the water PPP from Nagpur residents at an event in the city on January 29th.

From London to Delhi, air pollution kills. Why do we do nothing?

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From London to Delhi, air pollution kills. Why do we do nothing?

Pollution in some world cities is more than 12 times higher than safe levels. Maybe it explains why residents aren’t taking to the streets to complain

‘Delhi, a city of 25 million people and nine million vehicles, routinely experiences fine particulate pollution above 300 micrograms per cubic metre.’ Photo credt: Harish Tyagi/EPA
‘Delhi, a city of 25 million people and nine million vehicles, routinely experiences fine particulate pollution above 300 micrograms per cubic metre.’ Photo credt: Harish Tyagi/EPA

After a week in Kolkata, blessed with mellow sunsets created by the yellowy haze that hung over the city, I flew back to Britain via Delhi on Friday. Our descent into Delhi was delayed because of fog, we were told, but the nicotine-coloured blanket smothering this dynamic Indian city was a malignant smog.

Delhi, a city of 25 million people and nine million vehicles, routinely experiences fine particulate pollution above 300 micrograms per cubic metre; the EU’s legal limit is 25. These figures are not abstract even for visitors. After just a few days in Kolkata and minutes in Delhi, I developed the dry hack known as “the Delhi cough”. Exert yourself outdoors and soon your eyes are streaming and your lungs aching.

Fifteen of the 20 most polluted places identified by the World Health Organisation are in India and China but winter smogs have hung over Barcelona, Milan and Naples, and this month some London streets breached annual EU limits for nitrogen dioxide in just a week. A recent study in Nature found that more people – 1.4 million people a year in China and 650,000 in India – die from air pollution than malaria and HIV combined.

Clean air should be a global priority, and it is puzzling that it is not. Unlike, say, climate change, toxic air is identifiable by the layperson, indisputably of the here-and-now, and kills rich as well as poor, which should make it a seductive subject for problem-solving by politicians.

But Britain is avoiding decisive action to scrap diesel vehicles, and India keeps the home fires burning because it is growing at 7.4%, faster than any major economy. Kolkata is plastered with government adverts urging investors to “ride the growth”. Presumably they mean in an SUV. We should be so much smarter.

Perhaps air pollution hasn’t been solved because no one makes a fuss: scarier than the smog in Delhi, Kolkata and London is the stoicism of residents for whom bad air has become part of daily life. I suppose it’s understandable why they’re not taking to the streets.

 

Where Seagulls dare 

I visited Kolkata as part of an exchange organised by Writers’ Centre Norwich, in which writers from East Anglia and Kolkata swap cities and stories. Both places possess a rich intellectual past – but my most inspiring encounter was with the future, found on a dusty side-street.

Seagull Books, a highbrow publishing house, is a book-lovers’ fantasy. It translates into English exciting new writers from around the world as well as previously untranslated works by the likes of Roland Barthes, and sells these beautifully designed books globally. It makes London’s publishing scene look narrow-minded and blandly commercial. But Seagull is commercial too, tapping into its global audience. Kolkata, where students buy books by the kilo from hundreds of street bookstalls, sparks an uplifting thought: the future of English-language publishing, and literature, lies in India.

 

Feel my pane 

After five years avoiding long-haul flights, I was amazed by the transformation of the aeroplane in my absence. I flew to India in a Boeing 787 Dreamliner whose high internal ceilings reduce claustrophobia and large windows offer panoramic views – of the smog stretching to the Himalayas.

These windows no longer have blinds, and I pressed a little button to turn the pane from opaque to clear to admire the snow-capped peaks of Afghanistan. Suddenly, a central switch was flicked and all windows were forcibly darkened. Airline passengers are already denied almost any autonomy and the possibility of gazing at our planet is the most joyful freedom in flying. It also calms my nerves. How sad that technological advances are so often accompanied by an intensification of control.

By Patrick Barkham (The Guardian of London)

Explosive oil fields of the Niger Delta

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Explosive oil fields of the Niger Delta

Recent bombings of oil pipelines in the Niger Delta again raise the spectre of escalation of conflicts in the region. While we cannot say the reasons for the incidents, it does appear to be calculated acts of sabotage rather than mere vandalism. In cases of vandalism the motive routinely is the stealing of crude oil or refined petroleum products. Where pipelines are bombed in the manner the current incidents have been reported, the signal is that these are political actions. However, no one has claimed responsibility. That is against the grain.

Militancy in the Niger Delta arose as a result of accrued disenchantment with both the government and the transnational corporations over minimal expectations from the local population. Photo credit: premiumtimesng.com
Militancy in the Niger Delta arose as a result of accrued disenchantment with both the government and the transnational corporations over minimal expectations from the local population. Photo credit: premiumtimesng.com

It should be noted that political actions do not have to be partisan in nature as they can be carried out by persons or groups that are simply disenchanted with existing political system. They could also be orchestrated by persons or groups whose vested interests are threatened. If these are agreed as possibilities, we should be able to come to the conclusion that the recent bombings may not necessarily be the hand work of militants. Fishing for culprits would require extra-wide nets.

Militancy in the Niger Delta arose as a result of accrued disenchantment with both the government and the transnational corporations over minimal expectations from the local population. The fact oil being so alluring cannot be denied. It always offers communities dreams and hopes of social services, employment, infrastructural improvements and dramatic societal transformation. What is offered in reality has routinely been environmental degradation, disruption of social structures, corruption, disease and death.

Sadly, communities in countries where crude oil is discovered are still being offered the same promises that the resource scarcely delivers. And as sure as fire burns, the hopes and promises are bound to be dashed. And then the conflicts start.

Oil theft, bush refineries and related businesses operate at an industrial scale in the Niger Delta. Unfortunately. When poorly maintained facilities are added to the mix, the result is extremely toxic and the consequences are well documented. Responses have often reinforced the crises, rather than mitigate them.

What has been the response to the recent bombing of pipelines including those in the Gbaramatu area of Delta State? Predictably the response has been heavy militarisation of the area. The question is, to what extent can militarisation protect the over 7000 kilometres of pipelines in the Niger Delta. We hope the reign of the gunboats in the Niger Delta will not lead to a replay of the levelling of communities that was virtually routine a few years ago.

Looking back, we recall that in 2009 attacks at Odi cut down 2,483 persons, while another heavy handed attack occurred at Odioma in 2005. In May 2009 the military response to militancy saw the massive destruction of Gbaramatu community. In December 2010 there was a replay of the same scenario at Ayakoromo, where at least 20 persons were killed.

All these avoidable attacks on communities were said to be legitimate ways of smoking out militants from their hideouts in the communities. It is not clear how many militants were captured through those punishing assaults on communities.

Government should ensure that the current patrolling of the creeks of the Niger Delta do not lead to attacks on communities. Where individuals offend the law, such individuals should face the law. Whole communities should never be punished for the sins of one person or groups of persons. Military actions in fragile communities only entrench miseries and further ecological tragedies.

Militancy based on the platform of political (non-partisan) agitation requires deep interrogations. Often, such conflicts require political solutions. Some of us were surprised at the success of the amnesty programme especially when seen that the programme was in part a panic measure as pipelines were erupting and oil production and related revenues were dwindling.

More than the cash pay-outs, it must be the other actions, including education and skills acquisition that did the trick. Despite the success of the amnesty programme and the militarisation of the Niger Delta we cannot say that sustainable peace has been constructed in the region. We can understand why some persons are perplexed that despite the heavy investment in infrastructural projects disenchantment is still endemic in the region. That is why the petroleum economy is a negative economy – whether the price of crude is as high as gas flare stacks or as low as the bottom of the barrels.

Much more than patrolling the creeks and cowering innocent citizens to raise their hands in surrender to military might when then pass the ubiquitous checkpoints wherever pipelines crossed the creeks. There must be ways or rebuilding dignity among our peoples. Respect. We have to rebuild our brotherhood and sisterhood with one another and restore the motherhood of the earth. We need conversations more than contracts. We need listening posts not more trenches. Open the prison doors. Those locked up outside of this country should be brought back home. We have to rebuild our communities. Inclusively. Communities are the best policemen of pipelines in their environments.

By Nnimmo Bassey (Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation – HOMEF)

How Moringa trees save lives in Malawi

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How Moringa trees save lives in Malawi

Amid some rain drizzles, Francis Martin Chiponda stuns communities and foreign nationals from World Vision Support offices by declaring his HIV positive status.

The Moringa. Photo credit: bbc.com
The Moringa. Photo credit: bbc.com

His declaration was not by force but meant to testify how he is still surviving.

Chiponda – who comes from Champhula Village Head in Nthondo, Ntchisi District – was confirmed positive in 2006 after undergoing HIV voluntary testing and counseling services (VCT) at a nearby clinic.

He also testifies that his ailing health ignited debate in his mind to undergo such VCT services to ascertain his status. Life – according to him – was tough as he could not do anything for a better living with his family.

“The situation was worse when I had just lost my wife. Raising children was not an easy thing as I had too many things to do for them,” he said.

Chiponda lived a miserable life until he knew that leaves from Moringa can liberate him health-wise and economically.

 

Chiponda displays his Moringa products
Chiponda displays his Moringa products

Moringa being his survival secret

Chiponda, 65, is still energetic and holds various positions in Champhula Village in Traditional Authority (T/A) Nthondo.

People wonder with others shrugging off their shoulders pointing at him, enough a sign that they did not entirely agree that he is HIV positive.

“He has lived positively since 2006. Makes ends meet at family level. Provides schools fees to his children. In fact, he has clinched Moringa markets,” says James Kachilima, a community member about Chiponda.

Global scientists and health experts jointly say Moringa has an impressive range of medicinal uses with high nutritional value and medicinal benefits.

It is against this background that showers of blessings befell him when World Vision with funds from the US support team sent him to a training in Balaka about the production and growth of Moringa, a nutritious herb.

“The herb is meant to help those that have HIV and nutritious challenges live a healthy life. It keeps me strong and that is why I am still alive. I cannot remember the last time I got sick, thanks to Moringa,” he says.

 

In his own words, Chiponda takes the herb twice a day

Chiponda’s belief in Moringa is backed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which since 1998 has promoted the tree as an alternative to imported food supplies to treat malnutrition.

He enthuses that he was further sent to Chongoni in Dedza for five days with a US volunteer to get extra skills of producing the product to satisfy the growing demand in towns and cities.

In underdeveloped countries, organisations and clinics distribute Moringa to infants, children, pregnant and lactating women for good health.

Chiponda as chairperson of Moringa Group makes 200 bottles. His group comprises 20 people and more are likely to join following success stories.

For sustainability sake, Chiponda is also an executive member of Cheka Cooperatives to which the group is affiliated since its inception in 2006.

 

Profitability, marketability of Moringa

Shopping or the so called window shopping in Malawi’s commercial and administrative capitals, Blantyre and Lilongwe, gives you chance to appreciate the marketability of Moringa and other herbs.

This speaks volume of how herbs have become marketable. This paints a picture of financial independence and positive contribution to the society for the likes of Chiponda if handled as business on a larger scale.

“We dry leaves under shade. After that, we pound and sieve them before putting them in bottles. It is also our duty to ensure those bottles are clean and certified by authorities and health experts locally,” he explains.

“I have established markets deals with One Village one Product (Ovop) and other shops in Lilongwe. One bottle costs K750 ($1.1). For positive branding, I buy labels from Ovop at K70 so the bottle looks original. Of course, bottles are expensive, but I will strive to make more products of this nature to increase my profit-base,” he states.

Chiponda says through Moringa, he has managed to educate his 12 children such that they are able to read and write.

“I live a decent life out of this business. Even those that have HIV have are being assisted through this venture such that they can do farming and various household tasks without facing health deficiencies,” he explains.

 

Kafweku (middle) seems to be telling visitors the signficance of Moringa as Chiponda (left) looks on
Kafweku (middle) seems to be telling visitors the signficance of Moringa as Chiponda (left) looks on

Population growth as an opportunity for Moringa producers

With increased population growth in Malawi, which the United Nations estimates at 16 million, business operators and farmers such as Chiponda stand to benefit more if they increase production to meet the demand.

World Vision deputy national director Fordson Kafweku recently observed that population growth is an opportunity for producers of various goods and services.

“Production of Moringa is a good initiative since it can secure the future of Malawians, but there is need for partnership with various organisations such as Vision Fund,” said Kafweku.

He adds: “It is an issue of demand and supply. If there are more people, it means producers of various goods and services have to boost their production to match with the increasing demand,” says Kafweku.
Moringa Group members – having realised the potential of the tree – have since begun planting more trees this season to meet the demand on local market.

Prospects are also high that they would be able to export some of their products for maximum gains in their families and group at large.

The growth of such trees is also championed by Nepad, an arm of the African Union Commission (AUC) that the continent capitalises on population growth to engage in production of more drugs inclusive herbs.

Nepad, WHO and AUC delegates said this during the recent 2nd Biennial Scientific Conference on Medicines Regulation in Africa.

Like World Vision, delegates asked governments to regulate production of medicines, including local herbs to improve health service delivery.

By George Mhango (WaterSan Perspective)

Amina J. Mohammed emerges new WSSCC chair

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Amina J. Mohammed emerges new WSSCC chair

Amina J. Mohammed, Nigeria’s Environment Minister, has been announced as the new Chair of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) effective from April 5, 2016.

Nigeria's Environment Minister, Mrs Amina Mohammed. Photo credit: i.vimeocdn.com
Nigeria’s Environment Minister, Mrs Amina Mohammed. Photo credit: i.vimeocdn.com

An erstwhile Assistant-Secretary General and Special Advisor to the Secretary General on Post-2015 Development Planning, Ms. Mohammed will chair the Steering Committee and guide the work of WSSCC’s Geneva-based Secretariat, its operations in 20 countries in Africa and Asia, and its 5,000 members in 150 countries.

Hosted by the United Nations Office of Project Services, WSSCC is the part of the United Nations devoted solely to the sanitation and hygiene needs of the most vulnerable people around the world.

Mohammed replaces the interim Chair, Andrew Cotton, Emeritus Director of the Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC, Loughborough University), and previous Chair, Prof. Anna Tibaijuka, Member of Parliament, Tanzania, and former Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat.

“WSSCC embodies the transformative spirit of the Sustainable Development Goals, promoting WASH at the national level as a strategic entry point for attaining multiple targets,” says Mohammed, adding:

“By improving sanitation and hygiene at scale in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, in particular, the Council is playing an important role in improving education and health, and in empowering women. I am proud to Chair an organisation that understands that equality and universality must go hand-in-hand towards achieving a sustainable development agenda.”

As the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Post-2015 Development Planning, Ms. Mohammed worked systematically to ensure the successful adoption by Member States of the Sustainable Development Goals in September 2015.

She is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and previously held the position of Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on the Millennium Development Goals, serving three Presidents over a period of six years. In 2005, she was charged with the coordination of the debt relief funds ($1 billion per annum) towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria.

From 2002-2005, Ms. Mohammed served as coordinator of the Task Force on Gender and Education for the United Nations Millennium Project.

The appointment of Ms. Mohammed will build upon WSSCC’s tradition of having a Chair with experience serving as a senior official of the United Nations and who is a current or former government official. WSSCC is an organisation that prides itself on the intersection of state and non-state actors, and the appointment of Ms. Mohammed will ensure that this continues.

By WaterSan Perspective Reporter

Ogun declares zero-tolerance for poor waste disposal

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Ogun declares zero-tolerance for poor waste disposal

The Ogun State Government says it has declared zero-tolerance for improper waste disposal across the state in order to maintain a clean and hygienic environment at all time.

Ibikunle Amosun, Governor of Ogun State. Photo credit: premiumtimesng.com
Ibikunle Amosun, Governor of Ogun State. Photo credit: premiumtimesng.com

Commissioner for Environment, Bolaji Oyeleye, who stated this recently in Abeokuta, the state capital, lamented that people still dumped refuse on road median and drainages despite government’s recent campaign against indiscriminate dumping of refuse on the roads.

Oyeleye emphasised that the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration would no longer tolerate dumping of waste on road median and drainages, unkept market places, and displaying of wares on government’s road setbacks.

He maintained that government had invested a huge amount of money on the construction of road infrastructure, adding that it was unfair for residents of the state to deface these infrastructures with filth.

The Commissioner said that recently government was forced to shut down markets in Sango-Ota, Mowe and Ibafo areas of the state due to uncleanliness, saying such measure would be meted out on other parts of the state in due course if they fail to comply with the government directives.

“You see, some people are still in the habit of dumping refuse in the median of our newly constructed roads in the state, despite our daily inspection and warning but they continue to deface it with filth. But the government will resist it by closing down their markets for operation,” Oyeleye said.

Oyeleye explained that the present administration’s zero-tolerance to filth would be beneficial to the well-being of the entire citizenry and socio-economic growth of the state, adding that the Ministry of Environment would scale up the monitoring exercise across the state.

Meanwhile, Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Lanre Edun, has charged the people of the state to align with government’s policy on environmental sanitation.

Edun added that since cleanliness is next to godliness, the people of the state should endeavour to make environmental sanitation a daily affair, adding that it would prevent them from sanitation-related diseases.

“Please, let us imbibe the habit of cleaning of our surroundings as we all know that no organism can survive without a clean and conducive environment; so let’s continue to clean our environment to be free from sanitation related disease,” Edun opined.

Paris Agreement: UAE urged to diversify economy from oil

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Paris Agreement: UAE urged to diversify economy from oil

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has abundant opportunities to diversify its economy away from oil as a result of the impulse of the Paris Agreement, Christiana Figueres, head of the UN climate convention, on Monday told a distinguished audience at the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

Christiana Figueres with UAE officials in Abu Dhabi
Christiana Figueres with UAE officials in Abu Dhabi

Addressing the Court, Ms. Figueres said opportunities ranged from displacing coal on world markets via low cost gas supplies to ramping up the global deployment of renewable energy.

She also called on the region to invest in research and development in cutting edge technologies in generation, distribution and storage of renewables.

Ms Figueres invited the UAE to find ways to de-risk investments in technologies like wind and solar, especially in developing countries.

Figueres, invited to deliver the Court’s first prestigious Majlis Lecture of 2016 which coincided with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, praised the UAE’s founder for his vision.

The Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said the new global climate agreement matched the vision of a sustainable world, outlined half a century ago, by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

Ms Figueres informed His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chair of the Court or ‘Diwan’; other members of the UAE Royal Family and government; members of the diplomatic service and oversees guests, that Paris had been a turning point in international cooperation on climate change.

She underlined the significant economic shifts in energy, highlighting how wind power was now cheaper than conventional coal globally; renewable energy installations were now higher than fossil fuels and how investments in clean energy were today outstripping coal and oil.

Ms Figueres’s lecture, which also noted the significant low carbon opportunity in the region for other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations including from investment in more efficient, cleaner cooling systems, came on the day that the government of the UAE announced it would be taking the outcome of the Paris Agreement to plan for an economy ‘beyond oil’.

Later in the day Ms Figueres spoke at the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) during a Financial Times organised ‘Question Time’ debate: Scaling Up Renewables: Taking Climate Action to the Next Level.

She described the dramatic fall in the price of oil as a “golden platter” for investing in less risky and more predictable clean energies like solar, wind and geothermal.

Ms Figueres was joined by the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Henry Puna; European Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete; and Kyung-Ah Park, Head of Environmental Markets at Goldman Sachs.

Photos: President Buhari at opening of Abu Dhabi events

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Photos: President Buhari at opening of Abu Dhabi events

Apart from  gracing and delivering a speech at the opening of the World Future Energy Summit 2016 in Abu Dhabi, President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday likewise met with UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon and participated at the official opening ceremony of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

President Buhari with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
President Buhari with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
President Buhari with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyema, National Security Adviser Maj. Gen.Babagana Monguno Rtd and Minister of Trade and Investment Okechukwu Enelamah during an audience with the UN Secretary General at the sidelines of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi
President Buhari with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyema, National Security Adviser Maj. Gen.Babagana Monguno Rtd and Minister of Trade and Investment Okechukwu Enelamah during an audience with the UN Secretary General at the sidelines of the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi
President Buhari with Mr Yousif Alnowais Chairman and MD Arab Development, Mr Hussein Matar Director/Business developer Alnowais Investments and Mr Wale Tinubu Group Chief Executive Officer Oando Plc at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi
President Buhari with Mr Yousif Alnowais Chairman and MD Arab Development, Mr Hussein Matar Director/Business developer Alnowais Investments and Mr Wale Tinubu Group Chief Executive Officer Oando Plc at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi
President Buhari with H.E. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson President of Iceland during a reception prior to the Opening ceremony of the World Future Energy Summit 2016 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
President Buhari with H.E. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson President of Iceland during a reception prior to the Opening ceremony of the World Future Energy Summit 2016 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)

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