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BBC earns £300,000 from Saudi oil firm despite net-zero pledge

BBC

BBC earns £300,000 from Saudi oil firm despite net-zero pledge

The BBC received about £300,000 in advertising revenue last year from Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Aramco, despite BBC director general Tim Davie calling on every arm of the broadcaster to “dial up the focus on sustainability” and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions.

Although the BBC does not carry advertising in the UK, much of its overseas output is supported by commercials.

Big fossil fuel companies have spent approximately $660,000 (£483,000) with the BBC on US-focused digital adverts since 2018, according to projections produced by the advertising data firm MediaRadar. Most of this came from the national Saudi oil company – although BP, Exelon and Phillips 66 are among the other fossil fuel business estimated to have spent five-figure sums advertising on the BBC’s digital outlets.

The real figure for how much the BBC is making from large fossil fuel companies could be much higher when other forms of advertising are taken into account.

Last month the BBC said it would be trying to eliminate “fossil fuel usage across its operations” as part of a “deep decarbonisation” strategy to hit net zero by 2030, but the corporation has been accepting money from companies that take oil and gas out of the ground.

“We have clear guidelines around advertising which are publicly available,” said a BBC spokesperson. “We take care with all of our advertising to ensure it is not misleading.”

Davie has emphasised the need to increase the corporation’s commercial revenues, including from outside the UK, to make up for the real-terms cuts to the licence fee income imposed by the British government.

Despite continuing to accept money from big fossil fuel companies, the BBC is among the online publishers who have also benefited from the increase in advertising around environment-related material in recent weeks, as corporations rush to promote their green credentials before the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.

The BBC has struck deals with the international investment arm of the Scottish government to make a series of programmes on how to reduce carbon in the buildup to Cop26. There is also BBC material sponsored by US supermarket giant Walmart “looking at nine countries’ progress on climate since signing the Paris Agreement”, as well as episodes of a show called Follow the Food: The Carbon Challenge about food security, sponsored by Corteva Agriscience.

Using the same estimates from MediaRadar for US-focused digital advertising bought by big fossil fuel companies, the Washington Post has taken $12.8m since 2016, Politico took $9.5m, CNN took $6.6m, and the New York Times took $4.5m.

The Washington Post, Politico and CNN did not respond to a request for comment.

The New York Times repeated its commitment to journalism covering the climate crisis, but does not have a policy against accepting ad money beyond their general guidelines: “All advertising is clearly labeled, entirely separate from our newsroom and plays an important role in helping to fund our independent journalism and the continued expansion of our coverage on the biggest stories of our time, including climate change, across a breadth of analysis and formats.”

Business

Dangote Refinery reduces petrol price to N825 per litre

Dangote Petroleum Refinery has reduced the gantry price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol to N825 per litre from N835 per litre as competition continues in the domestic market.

Recall that last month, the 650,000 barrels per day refinery reduced the gantry price of petrol to N835 per litre from N865 per litre.

The latest adjustment is targeted at giving customers more value, as well as consolidating its leadership position in the domestic market.

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Business

NIMC hikes NIN service fees, increases date of birth correction to N28,574

Federal Govt Launches NIN Diaspora Enrolment Centre In UAE

The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced a revised price list for National Identification Number (NIN) issuance and other related services.

On May 1, the NIMC announced a review of the pricing structure for all its services.

In its report on Saturday, the commission said the cost of correcting the date of birth on a NIMC slip has increased to N28,574, reflecting a 74.87 percent rise from the previous fee of N16,340.

According to the new price list, modifying other details such as name or address now costs N2,000 per transaction, up by 31.41 percent from the earlier fee of N1,522.

While initial NIN enrolment and issuance of slips remain free, NIMC said the reissuance of lost or damaged NIN slips now costs N600, an increase from N500.

Premium enrollment services offered at licensed lounges, visa centres, and pre-booked VIP services now cost N20,000, and VIP reissuance of NIN slips is priced at N3,500.

Additionally, the commission said the fee for retrieving a NIN via USSD services has risen to N50 from N20.

For Nigerians in the diaspora, NIMC said adult enrollment at regular service points in African countries now costs $50, enrollment for children is $30, and reissuance of NIN slips abroad is priced at $6.

According to NIMC, in African countries, the commission said correcting a date of birth now costs $55, and modifying other fields costs $10.

In non-African countries, the commission said name corrections are priced at $60, while other changes cost $20.

In its executive summary of the revised price list, NIMC explained that the adjustments considered the current inflation rate of 32.70 percent, saying most services were increased by at least 20 percent, with certain exceptions based on the nature of the service.

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Business

NCAA sanctions Kenya Airways over passenger complaints

UAE

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has sanctioned Kenya Airways for several consumer-related violations involving three passengers, including one Gloria Omisore.

This is contained in a statement on Friday by Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection.

Achimugu stated the NCAA issued a sanction letter on Wednesday to Kenya Airways regarding the passengers’ complaints

“The infractions include failure to provide care, lack of transparency in carriage terms, poor communication with the Authority, and mishandling refunds and baggage.

“In accordance with the NCAA Regulations 2023, Kenya Airways must pay fines and compensate each affected passenger with 1,000 special drawing rights.

“The airline has seven days to comply. Failure to do so will result in more severe penalties,” Achimugu said

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