COP26 Emergency Declaration, A Global Danger Alert – Ekun
The COP26 summit has come to a close with a global consensus on implementing practical solutions needed to adapt to climate impacts.
In this interview, Oluseye Ekun, a seasoned, highly skilled professional, and subject matter expert in the petroleum sector, speaks with Joy Obakeye on how developing countries can accelerate the Net Zero transition.
Climate change leaders have declared a global climate emergency. What does this imply?
Declaration of global climate emergency by world leaders means a lot to the fight against climate change effect. This means more attention will be given to the global warming causing activities.
With this declaration coming after the Paris Agreement – it will empower countries to collaborate and join efforts together in tackling the menace of climate change.
Other implications of this declaration connote the fact that we cannot fold our arms and treat global warming as if nothing is at stake or as if we can continue to act irresponsibly to the environment just like we have been doing for the past decades. It means it is no longer business as usual.
The period of non-action is over and we cannot sit idle by watching the planet becoming unbearable and uninhabitable for the people – thus, the emergency declaration means it is too dangerous to do so.
Also, I think the declaration implies that global warming is an existential threat to the collective beings on earth and it should be treated as such.
If it takes deploying all possible means to addressing the current situation, the world leaders are prepared to do so.
For the declaration to have effect and be sustainable, world leaders and governments will need to get involved in the fight against climate change with concerted efforts at proffering solutions to solving the problem.
The 2020 deadline of $100 billion-dollar yearly support to developing countries, has been extended through 2025, do you think it will be met with the slow implementation stance by developed countries and looking at the impact of COVID-19 on economies?
Going by the historical record, I have my doubts if the target will be met. Even though the pledged amount is small in the first place – it is barely scratching the surface of the problem, yet the amount contributed was a far cry from the pledge target.
Although the fund has been extended till 2025, it was projected that the target won’t be met until 2023 which is just 2 years from the expiration date of the fund.
*What would be the implication of another failure by developed nations to meet the deadline?
The implications are already staring us in the face. It is obvious that the developing nations do not have the financial wherewithal to aggressively cut the greenhouse emissions and combat climate change crisis without the help and support of the developed nations.
By not meeting the target amount of $100Bn yearly pledge, a funding gap has been created already – thus making it difficult for the developing nations to achieve their milestones towards fighting the global warming.
Another deadline for the expiration of the global support fund without proportionate increase in funding will not be sufficient for the developing nations to execute programs to tackle climate change impacts thus making it extremely difficult for them to achieve the set targets.
How have these climate calamities, impacted developing countries?
The impact of the climate change is being felt globally by both developed and developing countries. We are seeing increase in the frequency and ferocity of the ocean surge / hurricane and associated damages to life and properties in general.
Excessive heat, dryness in the desert resulting in wild bush fires (e.g., California), desert encroachment and shrinking of lake Chad in the northern part of the country leading to the displacement of people in search of water and food for themselves and their livestock are other examples of the impact of climate change.
In the coastal areas and island, we have seen the devastating impact of ocean surges as a result of storms or hurricanes wreaking havoc and causing significant water damage to properties and loss of lives.
We are seeing a shift to electric vehicles to reduce reliance on fossil fuel. How much impact will this have on Nigeria, looking at the plans to develop a gas-driven economy?
The race towards electric vehicles is a welcome development. The technology for electric car/vehicle is getting better. The batteries are less bulky, lighter, and can last longer than before.
Right now, the cost of owning and maintaining one is somehow prohibitive making it more of a status or elite club thing as of the moment.
No doubt, as technology improves, the cost of producing and owning one will be less and it can become affordable to a greater majority of people.
Until such a time, its market penetration impact on the internal combustion engine market share will be minimal for the near foreseeable future.
What I am saying in essence is that, I do not see what significant impact a shift to electric cars will have on Nigeria as she plans to power her economy with gas.
More so, gas is also regarded as one of the cleaner energies available.
We have the pre-requisite population to consume our gas and efforts should be geared towards developing our domestic market for gas consumption as a priority while we export excess capacity to the outside world starting with the West-African and African markets before attempting to gain market share in other continents.
Nigeria plans to reduce carbon emission by 47%, how can this be achieved, when we still have cases of gas flaring and other anti-climate drawdowns?
According to the data from the US National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the amount of gas flaring in Nigeria reduced by as much as 70% over a 19 -20-year period i.e., from 2000 through 2019.
This is a significant achievement towards eliminating gas flaring. The government has pledged in its national climate pledge document to see to the total elimination of routine gas flaring in all oil and gas operations by the year 2030 which is approximately 9 years from now.
With support of all the stakeholders in the industry and with integration and implementation of the National Gas Policy, national gas expansion, domestic gas utilization etc., notwithstanding that the initial target of 2020 for eliminating routine gas flaring as stipulated in the National Gas Policy was not met, I am of the opinion and I quite believe that the new target of 2030 is doable and achievable.
Setting incremental intermediate milestones for gradual reduction in carbon emission is one of the sure ways of attaining the goal. By so doing, we can monitor the progress along the way and make adjustments where necessary.
With the decade of gas initiative, how are multinational oil companies working towards meeting this, despite several divestments to renewable energy?
The operators of oil and gas companies are all aligned and committed to eliminating gas flaring in their operations.
As you would expect some organizations are ahead of others in achieving this goal but in general, the direction of the industry is on the right trajectory to achieving zero flare in no distant future.
I know one of the constraints in the past has to do with the issue of gas pricing especially for domestic market consumption. Gas pricing needs to be competitive and priced appropriately to make economic sense for the operator to invest.
Another constraint, is the dearth of gas pipeline network infrastructure to evacuate and deliver gas to the end users where it is needed.
All hands are on deck, stakeholders in the industry are working collaboratively with regulatory agencies, joint venture partners to ensure the objectives of government gas initiatives are met.
We see the impact of climate change in almost every region in Nigeria; how best can this be mitigated?
Yes, we can see the signature of climate change in every region of the country as it impacts all aspects of lives – agriculture, water resources, forest, energy, human settlement, disaster, security, human migration etc.
The negative impacts of climate change are, but not limited to the following: Extreme weather events, sea level rise, increased temperature, change in the amount and intensity of rainfalls.
Providing mitigation plans against the adverse effect of climate change could be broadly grouped under two categories as: 1) those that are extreme high temperature related and, 2) sea level rise -ocean surge and flooding ones.
For example, consistent extreme high temperature that resulted in high precipitation and shrinking of Lake Chad has affected the means of livelihood (in terms of food and livestock) of the people living around it, thereby forcing human migration and displacement of people as a result of desert encroachment.
The solution to this could be the construction of irrigation systems to support the farmers in this environment and planting of trees to reduce surface water run-off and prevent erosion of the substrate.
Shoreline protection for coastal cities to prevent and or minimise impact of flooding as a result of sea level rise and ocean surge, and construction of well design drainage networks to ensure proper draining of run-off water are some of measures that could help mitigate impact of climate change.
To the best of your knowledge, do you think Nigeria is rigorously implementing the global carbon price initiative?
Nigeria is a signatory to the Paris Agreement – in fact this was ratified in 2017 meaning we are fully committed to the stipulations of the agreement as per combating climate change by cutting down on our greenhouse gas emissions and carbon emissions.
According to the Nigeria carbon brief profile on CarbonBrief.org, Nigeria was ranked as 17th biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in 2015 ranking second in Africa, below South Africa.
Already Nigeria has set an ambitious target and put programs in place to combat climate change through its “National Determined Contribution” i.e., climate pledge submitted in 2017 as part of ratification of Paris Agreement.
Nigeria planned to achieve this pledge through deployment of solar energy, eliminating gas flaring etc.
