$100b for grabs as climate change pact enters into force

• ‘Destruction of illegal refineries dangerous to environment’
• Nigeria launches green bonds in 2017

The landmark Paris agreement to address climate change has officially entered into force as the 22nd Climate Conference (COP22) opened in Marrakech, Morocco yesterday.

For endorsing the agreement, Nigeria now stands to benefit from the $100 billion pledged by developed countries to developing nations. Lager sums will be leveraged from investors, banks and the private sector that can build towards the $7 trillion needed to support a worldwide transformation on climate change.

The agreement, adopted by world leaders last December, requires all countries to limit global temperature rise and to strengthen resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change.

The agreement provides that it shall enter into force 30 days after 55 countries, representing 55 percent of global emissions, have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance or accession with the secretary-general. Those conditions were met on October 5, triggering today’s entry into force. There are now 98 parties to the Paris agreement. 

Specifically, the Paris agreement which comes into full force in 2020 maps out a global action plan for governments to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and limit the increase of 1.5°C to reduce risks and impacts of climate change, among others.

The Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the period 2008-2012. The protocol was amended in 2012 to encompass the period 2013-2020. The Paris agreement, which has binding obligations for developed and developing countries will start from 2020 to 2030.

Nigeria signed the agreement at one of the side events of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA71), where President Muhammadu Buhari demonstrated the country’s commitment to global effort to reverse effects of climate change. The country pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions unconditionally by 20 per cent and conditionally by 45 per cent.

Nigeria plans to launch its first-ever green bonds in the first quarter of 2017 to fund projects all targeted at reducing emissions towards a greener economy. Green bonds are created to encourage sustainability and the development of brownfield sites.

Under the National Determined Contribution submitted to United Nations, Nigeria is considering development of gas to power plants at the gas flare sites and ending gas flaring by 2030, 2 per cent per year energy efficiency ( 30 per cent by 2030), working towards off-grid sola of 13GW (13,000 MW), efficient gas generators, shift in transportation from car to bus, improve electricity grid, climate smart agriculture and reforestation.

Other proposed strategies include stopping use of charcoal, setting standard for appliances, generators, drastic measures to reduce soot (black carbon) pollution from cars and trucks, as well as enforcement of the importation ban of cars over 15 years old, stricter inspection, further consideration of setting efficiency standards for new cars and review of the National Forest Policy.

Meanwhile, environmental experts have criticised the destruction of informal refineries in the Niger Delta by the military, saying such an exercise poses greater damage to the eco-system and the environment. They urged the authorities to find better ways of dealing with the situation, noting that continuous destruction of the illegal refineries had not deterred their proliferation.

Leading in the condemnation, a director in the Federal Ministry of Environment told The Guardian that destroying the illegal refineries by setting them on fire was not the best approach as there were other environmental friendly ways to achieve the same result.

He sought an end to the exercise, saying a nation transiting to green economy could not afford to continue in such an act.The official likened the scenario to the days of burning of illegal and unwholesome substances by the National Agency for Food, Drugs and Administration Control (NAFDAC) in open spaces. According to him, the then Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), condemned the act by NAFDAC and insisted that the destruction of drugs should be done outside the city and in a more environment-friendly manner.

On the environmental and social impact of the action on the Niger Delta, the official said if NAFDAC was then forced to burn expired and unwholesome drugs through incinerators and in controlled environment because of the hazards, the case of the illegal refineries should not be different.

Also, an environmental scientist and former Executive Director, Nigerian Environmental Study Action Team (NEST), Prof. Emmanuel Nzegbule, likened the destruction of the illegal refineries to igniting fire in an attempt to quench fire.

Nnimmo Bassey, an environmentalist and head of Environmental Rights Action (ERA) Nigeria, also said the continuous destruction of illegal refineries was compounding the problem of pollution in the Niger Delta.

Bassey, who is the chair of Friends of the Earth International, said the action was leaving a long-lasting punishment for the local communities. According to him, what should have been done is to dismantle and remove them from their locations because they are easily set up.