Environment

Boris Johnson will travel home from Cop26 by private plane

Boris Johnson is flying back from the Cop26 climate conference on a private plane rather than the train after spending two days warning world leaders to reduce their emissions.

The prime minister left himself open to accusations of hypocrisy after urging other countries to do everything possible to pledge lower emissions and warning that they would be judged by their children if they fail to act.

Johnson flew into Cop26 in Glasgow from Rome after attending the G20 of world leaders. But instead of getting the train, which takes about four and a half hours, he has decided to take a short internal flight from Glasgow to London.

Earlier, he told a roundtable of leaders of developing nations: “When it comes to tackling climate change, words without action, without deeds are absolutely pointless.”

The prime minister is one of hundreds of world leaders and businesspeople who have chartered planes to attend the conference aimed at limiting global temperature rises to less than 1.5C. Jeff Bezos, the boss of Amazon, was one of those who flew in to Scotland for the conference.

Johnson’s spokesperson defended the move, saying the plane ran partly on “sustainable aviation fuel” and emitted about half the emissions other aircraft. The plane will still cause far more emissions than a trip by train.

“It’s important the PM is able to move around the country. We have obviously faced significant time constraints,” Johnson’s official spokesperson said.

The plane – an Airbus A321 – appears to have been leased from a company called Titan Airways, while the prime minister’s usual Voyager is being serviced. His spokesperson said: “The plane is one of the most carbon-efficient planes of its size in the world. It produces 50% less CO2 emissions than, for example, the larger Voyager plane.”

Prince Charles also flew from Rome to Glasgow on a private plane separately from the prime minister. It also used sustainable aviation fuel – a mixture of conventional fuel and biofuel.

Environment

FG Has Lost N335m To Oil Spill In 8 Months – NOSDRA

A report by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) has revealed that Nigeria lost an estimated N335 million to oil spill between January and August 2023.

NOSDRA, in its oil spill data for the review period, said a total of 168 incidents of oil spill incidents, which cost the country a loss of 5,520 barrels of crude oil in eight months, were recorded against oil companies operating in the country.

The agency noted that the spill occurred in the facilities of 23 oil firms, with Shell Petroleum Development Company recording the highest spill volume of 4,340 barrels of crude oil in 43 spill incidents, representing 78.62 per cent of total crude oil spilled in the period under review.

Heritage Energy Operational Service Limited followed with 24 323.20 barrels of crude oil spilled in 24 incidents, while Nigerian Agip Oil Company spilled 248.86 barrels of crude oil in 38 incidents.

In six spill incidents, Heirs Holding Oil and Gas Limited spilled 128.10 barrels of crude oil; Seplat Petroleum Development Company spilled 104.88 barrels of crude oil in seven incidents; National Petroleum Development Company spilled 92.33 barrels in 16 incidents, while Enageed Resources Limited polluted the environment with the spillage of 72 barrels of crude oil in three incidents.

The NOSDRA report also revealed that Rivers State was the worst hit with oil spillage, as 2,780 barrels of crude oil was spilled in the state in 67 incidents; followed by Delta with 2,623 barrels of crude oil spilled in 76 incidents; while Edo, Imo, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom recorded spill volumes of 70.04 barrels, 22.30 barrels, 18.39 barrels and 1.06 barrels, respectively.

It also stated that the majority of the spill incidents were recorded from crude oil pipelines, with 3,113 barrels of crude oil spilled from the pipelines in 114 incidents and that in eight incidents, 1,951 barrels of crude was spilled by oil companies from the wellhead; while spills from flow lines, flow stations and trunk lines stood at 117.7 barrels, 110.03 barrels and 106.13 barrels, respectively.

NOSDRA also reported that 5,122 barrels of crude oil, representing 92.78 per cent of oil spilled in the eight-month period, was a result of theft and sabotage; while 228.22 barrels of crude oil spilled in 16 incidents were due to corrosion, and also pointed out that while 2,402 barrels of crude oil were spilled on land; 2,378 barrels of crude oil were spilled on swampy terrain, and 525.01 barrels of crude oil were spilled on seasonal swampy terrain.

Environment

Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan Requires $1.9tn Investment – Minister

Nigeria’s minister of state for environment, Dr Ishiak Salako, has said that Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan will require a total investment of $1.9 trillion up to the year 2060.

He stated this at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) held in Kenya.

The minister reiterate President Bola Tinubu’s position that the situation calls for an annual investment of $10 billion.

He further said Nigeria needs an annual investment of $17.7 billion to achieve the unconditional targets outlined in the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

NDCs represent a nation’s comprehensive strategy for reducing emissions and adapting to climate-related challenges.

Salako said: “In Nigeria, we have articulated our unchanging position to advance climate action without jeopardizing economic development. We designed an ambitious Energy Transition Plan to achieve universal access to energy by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2060 while prioritizing industrialization, job creation, and economic growth.

“Significantly, our plan helps to crystallise the scale of resources needed to deliver climate targets, so that the current financial flows will not suffice. Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan requires $1.9 trillion in spending up to 2060, including $410 billion above business-as-usual spending.

“This additional financing requirement translates to about $10 billion per annum but average international financing flows to Nigeria for clean energy have been about $655 million per year over the past decade.”

He further said the FG planned to raise capital through Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JET-Ps) and the government was working to draft a proposal to the G7 for a JET-P for Nigeria.

“We recognise that Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JET-Ps) are emerging as an important source of capital for climate-sensitive energy efforts in developing regions and Nigeria wants to be considered for one.

“My team is currently working on a proposal to the G7 for a JET-P for Nigeria. It is encouraging that South Africa and Senegal have secured JET-Ps, but they must be scaled up across Africa in addition to other strategic financing opportunities,” the minister added.

Environment

Marine Minister Says 6,000 Cargoes Abandoned At Port

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, has revealed that the government plans to engage the management of the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS) to resolve issues of about 6,000 abandoned cargoes at the port.

Oyetola said this at his maiden visit at the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) in Lagos on Wednesday.

According to Oyetola, these cargoes occupy space and the country is losing revenue in that regard.

“On abandoned cargoes, I went on a tour in Apapa Port and they took us to where they have overtime cargoes and these cargoes have been there since 2011.

“So, I now want to believe that it is likely to happen in other ports. This is, particularly, because Tincan and Apapa ports have about 6,000 abandoned cargoes.

“There must be a time frame by which a cargo can stay, otherwise declared abandoned. To have kept a cargo since 2011, it’s unrealistic and unacceptable.

“Again, I think people have not seen much need for clearing of cargoes if it has accumulated demurrage for one reason or the other. It is because it’s uneconomical for him or her to clear.

“The person will abandon it there but as a port regulator, you may encourage early clearance of such cargo,” he said.

The minister added that the Nigeria Customs should be encouraged to use scanners more than the physical examination that takes long to be completed.