UN Secretary-General maps out plans for accelerating climate action by 2019

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and a group of global leaders from developing and developed countries have met to voice support during a high-level dialogue for a climate action plan that targets those sectors where progress by the Climate Summit 2019 could have the greatest impacts on reducing emissions and building resilience.

The Secretary-General proposed a strategy to the leaders that focus on six key issues that include investment in clean technology, carbon pricing, the energy transition, risk mitigation, augmenting the contribution of sub-national actors and business, and mobilizing finance.  Several leaders also proposed that the challenges of deforestation and ocean degradation also be addressed.

The informal dialogue took place during the UN General Assembly High Level Week with leaders or high-level officials from more than 20 countries, followed a meeting that the Secretary-General had with non-party stakeholders. 

That meeting emphasized the need for greater engagement by local governments, states, regions, businesses and investors, and communities to fully implement the Paris Agreement on climate change.

“Your leadership is absolutely key to attaining and raising the ambition of the Paris Agreement,” Mr. Guterres told the leaders. “I announced the intention to convene a Climate Summit in 2019, here in New York.  We need all actors in society to work for a resilient and low emissions future – national and local governments, businesses and investors, scientists, civil society and citizens everywhere.

“That is why I asked you here today,” he added.  “We need to build ambition and accelerate action – before it’s too late.”

While praising the Secretary-General’s bold move to convene a Climate Summit in 2019, leaders not only expressed support to the Secretary-General’s Climate Strategy but also offered to lead a specific area.

President of France spearheaded discussions on finance and will be hosting a Summit in December 2017 to focus on this critical issue.

China and India focused on the need for scaling up efforts in energy and technology.

Prime Minister of Denmark offered to build a “Clean Energy Investment Coalition”, while the

President of Hungary offered to galvanize efforts in promoting the role of the non-state actors. Prime Minister of UK outlined the need for enhancing efforts at risk mitigation, while the Prime Minister of Norway agreed to focus on carbon pricing. The Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers said they were also accelerating their own climate action, and exchanged views on how actions in specific areas could progress further.

Included in the dialogue were leaders from Australia, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Sweden, Russian Federation, Mexico, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The discussions, first of its kind since the leaders gathered in Paris in 2015, were aimed at reinvigorating highest political level engagement to herald a new phase at mobilizing and scaling up transformative action that will allow the world to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

They also recognize that the coalitions that have come together to develop and adopt the Paris Agreement must now shift their focus from regime building and containment of emission to implementation and ramping up of ambition.
 

Film producers protest influx of foreign telenovelas on Ghanaian screens

Ghanaian film producers and movie actors, on Thursday, hit the streets of Kumasi to demand early passage of the Broadcasting Bill as well as the provision of a legislative instrument for the Film Act to protect the local movie industry.

The industry players also agitated the influx of telenovela programs on Ghanaian television screens in a demonstration dubbed: “Y’ammamere eyera, Yegye Y'adee” which in Akan means ‘We are Losing Our Culture; We Are Taking Back What is Ours”.

Clad in all red, they complained dubbing foreign programs into Twi and other local languages is an affront to the Ghanaian movies within the local market and poses serious socio-cultural and economic recoil on the nation.

“Some of our producers have produced good content but we don’t get the airspace to promote the content,” said Rosaline Osei, public relations officer of the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG).

She noted the effective implementation of the 70/30 policy in favour of local content, the provision of an L.I for the Film Act and the implementation of the Film Act would go a long way to protect the local movie industry.

Competing to Survive

The local movie industry has over 500 film producers and each film produced requires at least 60 casts and crew. This implies the industry gives employment to at least 30,000 people, in addition to other ancillary jobs like food, stationary and other productions inputs.

According to Veteran Actor, John Abeiku Sagoe, who is Board Member of the Audiovisual Rights Society of Ghana (ARSOG), though the local players do not fear competition, they expect the State to protect local interest.

“These days the local films that are coming out are improving in standard; but the intrusion of foreign materials into our system is what we are against… It is not that we fear competition but the nation has the responsibility to protect its culture, its customs,” he stated.

He also prevailed on television owners and station managers to balance the commercial content with the national interest.

The group will be intensifying its engagement with parliament and other interest groups under a support programme from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund.

Petitioning the Asantehene

In a petition to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, FIPAG stated that “the current influx of diverse telenovela programs on our national screens affect the progress of the local movie industry of our beloved nation, Ghana, as well as, have bad repercussions on the Akan culture”.

The petition also said public sexual acts and plays in foreign telenovelas, like kissing and fondling with the opposite sex, should not be entertained, especially when such programs are shown at a time when kids and children are home.

“We vehemently believe that if nothing is done to mitigate the rise of these foreign folktales, drama and love series which use our native languages to sell their contents to viewers, then few years to come, no cultural setting and kingdom in Ghana can boast of its unique culture imbibed in the richness of our local languages” read the petition.

Another demonstration has been planned for the Greater Accra region to target Parliament and other policy makers.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Small scale miners demand roadmap to resume work

The Asokwa suburb of Kumasi on Tuesday hosted hundreds of small scale miners who trooped from various mining districts in the Ashanti region to join in a protest march.


Clad in red and black apparel, the miners had planned to hit the streets in a demonstration dubbed ‘Yere bere”, to wit ‘we are suffering’.

Their goal was to prevail on the government to lift a six month ban on smallscale mining.

“We are legitimate small-scale miners; we have acquired our licensing and we have also acquired loans from the banks and other financial institutions, so our investments need to be protected as well.

That is why we are hitting the streets today,” said Kwabena Boakye, Secretary of the SmallScale Miners Association.

Ghanaians have being incensed at the wanton destruction of forests, lands, farms and water bodies as a result of irresponsible mining.

Earlier this year, the government heeded to public outcry and placed a six-month ban on all forms of smallscale mining as part of a sustained fight against illegal mining.

The action, spearheaded by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, John Peter Amewu, has received wide-spread commendation.

The concerns of the miners

The small scale miners association claims members are also united against illegal mining, popular known as ‘galamsey’, with the set up of their own taskforce to instill sanity in the sector.

But they are unhappy at the government’s failure to lift the six-month ban and allow them get back to work to earn an income.

The miners are demanding government comes out clear on the roadmap to streamline small scale mining operations.

“It’s very painful that you pass through what the government demands; you follow the law to acquire license and as Ghanaians we cooperate with the government but the government cannot protect our livelihood,” said Idris Adama, a local chairman of smallscale miners.

He expects that State institutions like the Minerals Commission and Environmental Protection Agency are be empowered to enforce the laws on mining and not frustrate local private investors.

As they converged, the miners chanted protest songs and held placards with various inscriptions depicting their stance against illegal mining, their loss of livelihood and quest to resume operations.

Policing agitated miners

The demonstrators had planned to hold a peaceful march from the Baba Yara Stadium to the Regional Coordinating Council to present a petition the President on their plight.

But managers of the sports stadium, at the last minute, rescinded its grant for the facility to be used as converging point.

The agitated miners changed venue to a private facility along the Asokwa-Ahinsan road, directly opposite the Asokwa Divisional Police Headquarters. 

But the Police will not allow them to hit the streets.

Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Juliana Obeng, explained the police had emergency security challenges which demanded postponement of the action.

She also said “at the time of meeting yesterday, they told us that they are not expecting just 200, they were expecting between 5,000 and 10,000 people which for us was a bit alarming, so we needed to withdraw, go back and the do proper planning, come back to police not 200 people but between 5,000 and 10,00 people”.

Some of the demonstrators made attempts to pour onto the streets but were prevailed upon by the leadership to revert.

The police later tear gassed the crowd to disperse them from the venue and made some arrests.

The miners have served notice their action will be extended nationwide if the government does not heed to their concerns.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Ghana on tract to exploit nuclear energy

The Ministry of Energy says Ghana is on track in pursuing its programme to harness nuclear energy in the next ten years as a long term energy alternative.
 

The country’s energy resource assessment indicates the present energy sources of hydro, thermal, gas, solar and wind will not be enough to meet the total energy requirements in the future.

Ghana is currently generating almost 5,000megawatts of electricity but available capacity hovering around 2,000megawatts.

Nuclear energy is sourced to guarantee the base load in electricity generation without subject to water in the dam, the supply of gas to the plant, or availability of sun for solar.

“When you bring in nuclear energy, it is cheaper; it is more reliable because it is about 95percent available all through the year and it stays in for 60years and more,” says Dr. Robert Sogbadji, Coordinator of the Ghana Nuclear Power Program.

Safety and Cost Concerns

Safety is a major concern in nuclear power development.

The first contact of humans with nuclear is the atomic bomb which subconsciously threatens people’s security in exploiting nuclear materials.

Chemical engineer, Prof. Ayo Kuyo, says such threats are still real, hence the need to secure nuclear and radioactive materials from falling into wrong hands.

“That threat is still real, so we need to secure these [nuclear and radioactive] materials in such a way that such the situation never comes up again,” he noted.

Unlike other energy industries, the security of the nuclear industry is the responsibility of the government, not the industry.

Dr. Sogbadji describes nuclear as the most regulated sector in the energy industry, with strict oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The huge cost of developing a nuclear plant is also a major concern; the initial investment for a plant is about $6billion per 1,000 megawatts.

Dr. Sogbadji however says there are some financial models available to support Ghana to build the plants.

“It’s all about government’s commitment; once we are committed, there are various financial institutions and vendors who are prepared to fund about 80 to 90 percent of the plant just for electricity to be available through nuclear and it is cheap electricity,” he stated.

Ghana’s Nuclear Power Programme So Far

The Ministry of Energy started its nuclear energy programme in 2005 and in 2012, the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organization was formed to steer affairs of planning towards the integration of nuclear power into the energy mix.

In 2016, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority was constituted to regulate all processes and procedures in nuclear integration.

Ghana is currently at the phase one – planning – in building its nuclear plant. Phase two will involve plan implementation and the last phase is construction of the plant.

In April 2017, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) completed assessment of the country’s first phase activities. Among recommendations is to undertake activities for sitting of the plant to pave way for the second phase.

The programme is currently run by the Ministry of Energy in collaboration with other 35 agencies. But when the second phase takes off, by the first quarter of 2018, an owner-operator is expected to take control of the programme.

Dr. Sogbadji is confident nuclear will be part of the country’s energy mix in the next decade – between 2027 and 2030.

Stakeholder Engagements on Safety

The IAE believes Ghana is favourably positioned to generate nuclear power for both domestic and export to other West African countries.

The Department of Chemical Engineering of the Kumasi Technical University (KsTU), the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Ghana (NRAG) and the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, Legon, have been holding stakeholder’ engagements on nuclear security and safety.

Prof. Osei-Wusu Achaw, Head of Chemical Engineering at the Kumasi Technical University, says such engagements are critical to allay the phobia associated with the exploitation of nuclear power.

“What we really need is an energy source that we can always depend on and nuclear is one of such source,” he said.

The workshop seeks to educate media practitioners and decision makers on security issues surrounding the application of nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy is growing globally with nearly 10 GW of new nuclear capacity supplying electricity in 2015 – more than double the average capacity connected each year in the previous decade.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Six new rice varieties released; breeders confident of self-sufficiency in production

Ghana has six new varieties of lowland rice, released by breeders at the Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
 

These new varieties perform well in both swampy and irrigated ecologies with a yield potential of 8–9.5 metric tonnes per hectare, which has about 2–18% yield advantage over the current varieties.

All six varieties are tolerant to the rice yellow mottle virus disease and iron toxicity as well as other environmental stresses, including unfavourable climatic conditions.

The research activities test for drought tolerance, salinity tolerance and many of the things that climate change brings in crop production.

“These are very good times for farmers,” says Dr. Maxwell Asante, a rice breeder and senior research scientist. “We are expecting that if farmers adopt these varieties, production levels will increase and with the seriousness government is attaching to agriculture now, with the Planting for Food and Jobs [programme] where they are giving them fertilizers, loans and other things, the full potentials of these varieties will be expressed on the field”.

Rice is a major food security crop in Ghana. The CSIR-CRI has over the years released eight varieties, whilst the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI) has developed six rice varieties.  

The twenty varieties of domestic rice developed by the research institutions should give Ghanaian farmers the edge to increase production for national rice self-sufficiency.

But the country’s rice import bill keep rising, currently hovering close to $600million per annum.

Director of CSIR-CRI, Dr. Stella Ennin, is hoping for a shift in taste because the new domestic rice varieties are within the consumer-preferred perfumed class, which is driving the importation of the grain food.

The new Ghanaian grain type is similar to the conventional US long grains, such as Texas Star or Jasmine type of rice. Two of the lines also have starch pasting properties that make them suitable for processing into other products such as breakfast cereals and canned soup.

“We also have the production technology that goes with these crops to ensure that we are able to manage these crops within the environment to achieve their full potential,” she noted.

Ghanaian rice breeders say they are producing varieties that are comparable to the imported brands, but their efforts will only become fruitful when the rice value chain works without any break – from extension services to farming as a business and consumption patterns.

According to Dr. Asante, a sustained interest of government to support agricultural production, coupled with dedicated research activities will help reverse rice importation and drive self-sufficiency within the next five to ten years. 

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Researchers liaise with government on agric and industrialization initiatives

The Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is liaising with the government to identify some agricultural commodities that can be adopted under the One-District-One-Factory policy initiative.

The policy implementation creates an environment for each local government area to harness its endowed resources to establish industries that provide jobs and create wealth.

Director of the CRI-CSIR, Dr. Stella Ennin, has pointed to the potentials in cassava as an immediate crop that can exploited under the initiative.

“One of the crops that is tops is cassava starch production, and we have varieties that have high starch content of about 34 percent on weight basis and also resistant to the major diseases of cassava which we are working with the government to make available for the one-district-one-factory policy,” she said.

Research activities from public institutions have resulted in the release of high yielding cassava varieties to raise production levels.

Ghana produces about 16million metric tonnes of cassava and incomes from production and post-harvest processing of the commodity represent about 20 percent of the country’s GDP.

Industrialization of cassava will therefore increase opportunities along the value chain. Both domestic and export markets will tap into value-added products such as ethanol from cassava, starch for the pharmaceutical industry, high quality cassava flour and starch for breweries, and composite flour for the bakery and confessionary industries.

Dr. Ennin says participating in the government’s One-District-One-Factory as well as the Planting for Food and Jobs programmes is to push for the commercialization and dissemination of agricultural research products.

The CRI has released new varieties of rice and sweet potato to support the planting for food and jobs programme.

The researchers also supply seed growers with varieties of maize, soyabean and pepper to be able to produce and supply farmers with certified seeds.

Dr. Ennin believes crops like sweet potato and caning bean have the potential to increase incomes of farmers whilst addressing the nutritional and hidden hunger issues in Ghana.

Sweet potato farmers, for instance, can get a good yield of about 30tonnes per hectare within four months and farmers can plant twice a year. Other benefits include use of the vine for animal feed, planting material and soil improvement.

“We believe that production will double by adhering to the production practices that go with them,” she said.

The Crops Research Institute is among research facilities under the CSIR, the foremost national science and technology institution in Ghana. The CRI has a broad research mandate covering all food and industrial crops.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh