Environment
Boris Johnson says chances of Cop26 success are ‘touch and go’

Boris Johnson says chances of Cop26 success are ‘touch and go’
It is “touch and go” whether Britain will broker deals adequate enough to curb irreversible climate change at Cop26, Boris Johnson has admitted, as he claimed that encouraging people to recycle more “isn’t the answer”.
The prime minister appeared to lower expectations about whether the global summit of leaders that begins this week would be a success, after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, confirmed for the first time that he would not attend “in the light of the coronavirus situation”, according to Downing Street.
The move was expected by some UK government insiders, but it will still come as a blow to those who hoped the world leaders whose influence would be key to reducing emissions across the planet would gather around the negotiating table.
Ahead of Cop26 starting in Glasgow on Sunday, Johnson held a question-and-answer session with several dozen children at No 10 on Monday, where he dismissed the impact of encouraging individuals to recycle more.
“Recycling isn’t the answer, I’ve got to be honest with you,” he said. “You’re not going to like this. It doesn’t begin to address the problem. You can only recycle plastic a couple of times, really. What you’ve got to do is stop the production of plastic. Stop the first use of plastic. The recycling thing is a red herring … We’ve all got to cut down on our use of plastic.”
Johnson named and shamed Coca-Cola as being one of 12 corporations “producing the overwhelming bulk of the world’s plastics”. He said the production of the material for single-use items was a “massive problem” and that businesses should “find other ways of packaging and selling our stuff” such as using seaweed, banana leaves and coconuts as substitute materials.
The comment prompted shock from Simon Ellin, the chief executive of the Recycling Association, who told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme it was “very disappointing” and that Johnson had “completely lost the plastic plot”. He said he agreed plastic production should be reduced, but that “we can’t get away” from needing it for containing and protecting food. Ellin said a strategy for tackling waste recently published by the government put recycling “right at the front of it”, so Johnson “seems to be completely contradicting his own government’s policy”.
Tanya Steele, the chief executive of WWF UK, who was fielding questions with Johnson at the event, appeared to take a different view. “We have to reduce, we have to reuse – I do think we need to do a little bit of recycling, PM, and have some system to do so,” she said.
Johnson interjected to say: “It doesn’t work. I don’t want to be doctrinaire about this, but if people think we can just recycle our way out of the problem, we’ll be making a huge mistake.”
He was also cautious about whether many breakthroughs will come when world leaders gather touch down in Scotland later this week. “I think it can be done,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be very, very tough, this summit, and I’m very worried because it might go wrong. We might not get the agreements that we need. It’s touch and go, it’s very, very difficult … It’s very far from clear that we’ll get the progress that we need.”
The prime minister said it was a “very fair criticism of the world” when challenged by a child on why political leaders were not treating the climate crisis as urgently as Covid. He added: “I share your alarm about where we need to be.”
As well as Putin’s refusal to attend, there are also concerns that China’s leader, Xi Jinping, who has not left his country since the Covid outbreak began, will also miss the event.
During the session, the prime minister also cracked a joke in response to Steele saying humans and domestic animals made up 97% of mammals on the planet, leaving limited resources for wild animals.
Johnson said that to rebalance nature, “we could feed some of the human beings to the animals”. He also joked that given that cows emit so much methane, “we have to encourage them to stop burping”.
When asked whether the government was deliberately trying to lower expectations, No 10 said Johnson’s downbeat comments on the summit meant he was “realistic about what a challenge this represents”.
His official spokesperson also attempted to downplay the comments on recycling, claiming that the prime minister had been “setting out that recycling alone is not enough”.
Asked for clarity on Johnson’s comments about people needing toconsume less, Downing Street would not say whether this meant eating less meat or buying fewer things, and refused to elaborate on the prime minister’s own environmental habits. His official spokesperson said: “There are practical steps people can take voluntarily, which we encourage.”
Environment
NiMET predicts haziness across the country from Sunday

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has predicted haziness from Sunday to Tuesday across the country.
NiMet’s weather outlook released on Saturday in Abuja, envisaged moderate dust haze on Sunday with a horizontal visibility range of 2km to 5km over the northern region of the country.
It expected localised visibilities of less than or equal to 1km over parts of Yobe, Kano, Katsina, Gombe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Jigawa and Niger.
It added that parts of Kogi, Kwara and Benue will experience a few clouds in a hazy atmosphere.
According to it, in the southern parts of the country, cloudy skies with spells of sunshine are expected over the entire region with prospects of afternoon or evening.
The agency said that thunderstorms are expected over parts of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Ondo, Edo and Delta.
It predicted moderate dust haze on Monday with a horizontal visibility range of 2km to 5km over the northern and North Central region of the country.
However, parts of Kogi, Kwara and Benue will experience a few clouds in a hazy atmosphere.
In the southern region, cloudy skies with spells of sunshine are expected over the entire region with prospects of afternoon or evening thunderstorms are expected over parts of Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta
NiMet said moderate dust haze with horizontal visibility range of 2km to 5km is anticipated over the northern and North Central region of the country on Tuesday.
The agency forecast spells of sunshine over the entire region with prospects of afternoon or evening thunderstorms over parts of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Ondo, Edo and Delta.
It further said that dust particles are in suspension, urging the public to take necessary precautions.
It advised people with asthmatic health conditions and other respiratory issues to be cautious of the present weather conditions.
The agency also urged airline operators to get airport-specific weather reports from NiMet’s office for effective planning of their operations.
Environment
Ogun government seals petrol station for alleged underground water pollution

The Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA) has sealed Arolat Petrol Station, located along Ayetoro Roundabout Road in Abeokuta, over alleged underground water pollution.
This action follows a petition submitted by the Foursquare Gospel Church, situated beside the petrol station, according to Farouk Akintunde, Special Adviser to the Governor on Environmental Protection.
The petition claimed that the church’s only water source, a well, had been contaminated with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
Akintunde stated that the agency’s enforcement team sealed the petrol station to conduct a thorough investigation. The probe will assess the areas affected, the extent of the contamination, and the current status of the underground water.
“As a responsive and responsible agency, the safety and wellbeing of our people is paramount and must not be compromised for any reason,” Akintunde emphasized.
The facility will remain sealed until the investigation is concluded.
Environment
NiMet predicts three-day sunshine, haziness

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted sunshine and haziness from Monday to Wednesday across the country.
NiMet’s weather outlook released on Sunday in Abuja envisaged sunny skies on Monday in a hazy atmosphere over both the northern and North central regions of the country throughout the forecast period.
According to NiMet, a hazy atmosphere with patches of clouds is anticipated over the region throughout the forecast period in the southern region.
“For Tuesday, sunny and hazy skies are expected over the North and North Central states throughout the
forecast period.
”In the southern region, patches of clouds in hazy atmosphere is expected over the region throughout the forecast period.
”There are prospects of localised thunderstorms over parts of Ogun, Delta, Lagos, Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states,” it said.
NiMet predicted sunny and hazy skies over the North and North Central regions throughout
the forecast period on Wednesday.
According to NiMet, hazy atmosphere with patches of clouds are expected over the South during the forecast period.
It anticipated thunderstorms over parts of Ogun, Edo, Delta, Rivers, Lagos, Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa States later in the day.
“The agency urged the public to take necessary precaution as dust particles are in suspension.
People with asthmatic health condition and other respiratory issues should be cautious of the present weather condition.
“Strong winds may precede the rains in areas where thunderstorms are likely to occur, public should take adequate precaution.
“Adhere to safety advisories issued by relevant authorities.
Airline operators are advised to get airport-specific weather reports (flight documentation) from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.”
NiMet advised the residents to stay informed through its weather updates and to visit its website.
(NAN)
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