Integration of SLCPs in national planning and development THE LAUNCH OF CCAC-NIGERIA and THE CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CACEDA) - Towards Reducing Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) The need to act on Short-lived climate pollutants is immediate as they impact negatively on public health, food, water and economic security of large populations. SLCPs impact both directly on human health, agriculture and ecosystems and indirectly through their effects on climate. Short-lived climate pollutants have become a major developmental issue that calls for quick and significant worldwide action. Compelling scientific evidence indicates that fast action to reduce these pollutants, especially methane and black carbon, has the potential to slow down global warming by up to 0.5°C between 2010 and 2050, as well as prevent more than two million premature deaths each year and annual crop losses of more than 30 million tonnes after 2030. The Coalition has approved ten initiatives to catalyze action to reduce SLCPs which Nigeria is working to replicate, and even added a new initiative called: The Five-Year Kerosene/Oil lamps phase out program in all Schools ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CACEDA): Nigeria faces a paradox – the abundance of natural resources and wide spread energy deficiency. The issue of Climate Change due to overdependence on fossil fuels and biomass has contributed to devastating impacts on Nigerian socio-economic development, human and environmental health. This has resulted in much pressure on both the Northern and Southern parts of the country faced with drought & desertification and flooding & erosion respectively. Most of the people are now refugees in their own land while many of them along with their herds are migrating southward due to loss of vegetation and farmlands causing tribal conflict and insecurity. CACEDA shall be charged with the promotion, development and management of all clean energy resources and technologies as well as with the reduction and mitigation of Short Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) including black carbon, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The Agency shall have the responsibility for implementing national action plan on SLCPs and market development of clean energy resources, including SLCP reductions through resource assessment, establishment of standards and quality control for cleaner technologies, mobilization of finance and the coordination and liaison with relevant stakeholders within and outside Nigeria on matters of short-lived climate pollutants, regulations, policies and guidelines. SLCP reduction policies could address, inter alia, reducing black carbon emissions from heavy duty diesel vehicles & engines in the transport sector, mitigating SLCPs from brick production, mitigating SLCPs from
landfills and municipal solid waste sector, promoting HFC alternative technology and standards, accelerating methane and black carbon reductions from oil and natural gas production, improving cook stoves technologies, reducing methane emissions in agriculture production systems , and reducing SLCP emissions from open burning in forest/agricultural practices. The Federal Government of Nigeria being a Partner of the CCAC has pledged to voluntarily mitigate emissions of SLCPs and other Climate pollutants. The aim of this Agency is to aid the achievement of the MDGs and Sustainable Energy for All (SE4all) while ensuring that the country develops sustainably with minimal ecological footprint. Such as: Avoiding millions of premature deaths: Each year, 3.1 million people die prematurely from indoor and outdoor air pollution. Short-lived climate pollutants are largely to blame. Fast actions on short lived climate pollutants, such as the widespread adoption of advanced cookstoves and clean fuels, have the potential to prevent over 2 million premature deaths each year. Increasing crop yields: Feeding a growing world population has become one of the major issues of our century and we cannot afford to lose millions of tons of crops each year due to air pollution. In addition, black carbon influences the formation of clouds that have a negative effect on photosynthesis that impacts plants growth. Rapidly reducing short-lived climate pollutants, for instance through the recovery of methane from wheat or rice paddies, have the potential to avoid the annual loss of more than 30% of crops. This knowledge and technical guidance from CACEDA will assist in ensuring success of the ongoing agriculture revolution in the country. A regulatory Agency that ensures that practices and products being phased out in developed countries are not dumped in Nigeria. A good example is Gas Flaring & venting, HFCs and Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) which further pollutes the environment and are harmful to health. Improving health and environment: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the use of solid and fossil fuels for cooking, lighting and heating purposes kill over 98,000 Nigerian women annually. This figure represents about 10% of annual global figures. This ranks smoke inhalation and ailments related to indoor air pollution (IAP) higher than HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria . Through the National Clean Cooking Scheme (NCCS), the Agency shall provide cleaner alternatives to cooking. It is important to note that as long as there are no alternative(s) to traditional cooking practices, trees are continually going to be felled resulting in deforestation, desertification, erosion and black carbon in poor homes. The Brookings Institute has recently released a new policy paper outlining the case for replacing single- wick kerosene lamps with cleaner substitutes , as an opportunity for rapid action on climate change
and energy for development . As part of efforts to improve health and access to education, the Agency will work to phase out kerosene and oil lamps in all schools in the country while replacing these with solar lamps. Technology Control: The Agency shall work to protect Nigeria and Nigerians from phased out, obsolete and hazardous environmental practices. An example is the large importation of Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) which is branded ‘energy saving bulbs’. Although CFLs are still in use in some countries but gradually being phased out owing to its mercury content that makes it carcinogenic. Financing: Despite high potential and increasingly supportive government actions, small and medium sized renewable energy projects are not being delivered at scale in Nigeria and the entire sub-Saharan Africa. As partners we should focus on reducing Short Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCPs) through investments in small/medium projects through improved access to existing risk mitigation instruments to long term lending when needed. I hope next time we meet for the High Level Assembly we will sign a resolution to; a. Reduce mortality rates in developing countries from indoor air pollution due to cooking practices through the Cookstoves initiative . b. Enhance agriculture productivity through the Agriculture initiative to ensure food security. We thank our Partners, especially the CCAC Secretariat and UNEP for the support in drafting this Bill to reflect the work of the Coalition. We look forward to your further support to make this a reality and hopefully succeed in bringing more developing countries to act on mainstreaming SLCPs as part of their development plan. Thank you. Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku Honourable Minister Federal Ministry of Environment Nigeria
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