Green Innovation Time

The Governor of River state has assured victims and indigenes of the state that he will put necessary measures in place to end flooding in River state. he made this promise after inspecting the flooded area and empathizing with the residents of the flooded area. He also advised the residents of Port Harcourt to stop dumping refuse in water channels because he believes that such actions lead to blockage of drainage systems. The Governor also went with Engineers from Julius Berger for the inspection inorder to swing into action on curbing the flooding situation in the state. see more pictures below.

"Undoubtedly, industrialization plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of any state, it is a panacea for the eradication of poverty and unemployment; industrilaization process involves tapping natural resources to meet the needs of mankind. It is however important that we strike a balance in the way we explore and exploit these resources without destroying the ecosystem." This is the warning to Manufacturers from The Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun in the just concluded 32nd Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) held in Ota area of Ogun State. The Governor who was representated by the state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Bimbo Ashiru, went ahead to urge the manufacturers and other stakeholders to be of help to the Government in protecting the Environment. He did not fail to commend and appreciate MAN for their efforts in educating their members on good industrial waste disposal system and curbing de

Nigeria Government is keeping to their words when it says that they are determined to resolve the negative impact of climate change in Nigeria. It is with respect to that determination that a stakeholders workshop was held towards settign up and establishing Thematic working groups for the preparation of Nigeria's Third National Communication (TNC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). National Communication are mandatory reports that every party to the UNFCCC submits every four years to the global organization to provide information on sources of emissions and elemination of GHG and more information on the strategy every party is using to fight climate change in their respective countries. In attendance are The permanent secretary, Federal ministry of Environment, Dr. Shehu Ahmed, The Director, Department for Climate Change, Dr. Yerima P. Tarfa, Mrs. Halima Bawa-Bwari. The Technical team had Prof. Felix Dayo, Prof. Mobolaji Aluko, Pr

Geneva 20 June 2017 - On behalf of UN Environment, the Environment and Trade Hub joined the WTO’s latest Committee on Trade and Environment meeting, discussing issues at the heart of the environment and trade nexus with Member States. Topics ranged from addressing fisheries subsidies, to trade and climate change, to fossil fuel subsidy reform and more.  The meeting, chaired by Ambassador Zhanar Aitzhanova of Kazakhstan, began with an overview of recent work on fisheries subsidies, including activities undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU), the UN Ocean Conference in New York – namely, a side event on fisheries subsidies hosted by UN Environment, FAO and the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Trade and Environment Review by UNCTAD, in addition to a recent progress report on WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies. The Environment and Trade Hub updated

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele has called on Nigerians to plant more trees to enable the country effectively address the problem of deforestation. Emefiele said this shortly after planting a tree at the headquarters of the apex bank as part of activities to commemorate the World Environment Day. C elebrated every June 5 June every year,  World Environment Day  ( WED ) is the United Nation’s principal vehicle for encouraging global awareness and action to protect the environment . It was first held in 1974, and has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging  environmental issues  from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. Emefiele assured the CBN will continue to support any initiative aimed at assisting in protecting the environment. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Nigeria has one of the highest rate of deforestation in the world, los

Liquid biofuels still have a significant role to play in meeting the UK’s climate change targets. Image of biofuel. The Royal Academy of Engineering  analysis , commissioned by the UK Department for Transport (DfT) and now-defunct Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), reviews the most significant sustainability issues associated with the use of biofuels. It argues that some biofuels can help the UK to meet the greenhouse gas emissions savings required under EU and UK rules. They also offer potential options for cutting emissions in tricky-to-decarbonise transport sectors, such as aviation, shipping and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), it says. But the report cautions that the use of biofuels can in some cases result in problems, such as knock-on emissions due to land-use change, degradation of land and increases in food prices. Sensible policies can minimise these downsides by promoting the use of non-food crops and wastes to produce biofuels and dis

A 600MW solar power farm in Charanka, Gujarat, India. Emerging economies are increasingly taking the lead in shifting the world onto a cleaner development path, a senior World Bank official said, pointing to the role of China and India in pushing down the cost of producing solar power. In India, for example, recent auctions to construct and run solar plants have seen prices for solar energy drop as low as for coal-fired power, tilting the economics of the electricity market towards renewables. John Roome, senior director for climate change at the World Bank, said India had evolved from a decade ago when it was seen as part of the problem, insisting on its people’s right to develop above all else. In the last two years it has become a leader on clean energy and climate action, he said. “They see the co-benefits between dealing with congestion, air pollution and other development needs, and they see the falling costs of the technology, and they see the opportuni

The choice to power businesses with clean energy is just a few clicks away with the launch of Singapore’s first e-commerce site for energy, Electrify.sg. The laser show at Marina Bay Sands Singapore lights up the sky. Businesses and Singapore residents alike will be able to choose their energy provider come the second half of 2018. Southeast Asia’s first e-commerce platform for electricity has launched, making it easier for businesses in Singapore to choose renewable energy to power their operations. Electrify.sg  was set up by two former Sunseap executives and officially launched on July 12.  Based on a consumer’s power consumption habits gleaned from the site’s search filters, Electrify.sg uses a pricing engine to list a range of packages from third-party energy retailers.  Users can then compare prices and offers, before deciding on the most suitable option. They can also access alternative energy options such as clean energy and carbon offsets.  Singa

Utility company installers, fearing lost income, are trying to dissuade solar buyers, says head of renewable energy association. Mohammad Aslam wipes dust off solar panels he recently installed on the roof of his home in Larkana, in Pakistan’s Sindh province, June 28, 2017. Image: Thomson Reuters Foundation/Saleem Shaikh Mohammad Aslam has finally found a way to give his family relief from extended power cuts. In February this year he installed a 300-watt solar power generating system on the roof of his house. In Pakistan, power outages scheduled by the country’s strained public electric utilities frequently hit households, lasting as long as 10 hours a day in towns and cities and up to 16 hours in rural areas. The situation is worst during the brutally hot summer months, when air-conditioners often overload the national grid. Buying solar panels to create power at home might seem an obvious way to bridge the gap. But although the panels have been availa

By mid 2017, China has already installed 23.6 gigawatts of solar power, exceeding predictions by analysts that only 20 to 25 gigawatts capacity would be added for the whole year. China's installed solar power capacity surged over the first half of the year amid shrinking costs and government policies. Over the first six months, 23.6 gigawatts of solar power were installed, 34.2 per cent higher from a year ago, UBS said yesterday, adding that it was “far more than expected as most domestic analysts predicted at the beginning of the year that only 20 to 25 gigawatts would be added for the whole year.” Of the installed solar capacity over the first half year, 7 gigawatts was by rooftop panels at consumers’ homes, up from below 2 gigawatts a year ago, according to the China Electricity Council. Alex Liu, UBS analyst, predicted that up to 40 gigawatts of solar power are expected to be installed across China this year. Shrinking costs have powered the growth of sol

The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) welcomes the release of the 2016 update of the long-awaited Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The updated IRP will give all South Africans the opportunity to interrogate the choices and cost assumptions used by the IRP planners to reach their conclusions regarding technology choices. The allocation of 17 600 MW for Solar PV in the 2016 IRP update is a step in the right direction, but falls short of the immense potential South Africa has to offer in this sector. Independent modelling, based on up-to-date figures from South Africa’s REIPPPP bidding rounds confirm that renewables are the best policy choice in order to meet South Africa’s energy needs at the least cost, while still maintaining our carbon obligations. Evidence shows that the least cost path for South Africa to achieve a sustainable, low carbon, high job creating energy mix is one that contains a large renewable energy component, supplemented with gas fire po

Solar PV panels at the Droogfontein Solar Power plant in the Northern Cape  This year, the South African government has the chance to set in place the kind of policy environment that will incubate local manufacturers and encourage foreign investment in the renewable energy sector here. But if the current draft policy is approved, it will create market uncertainty and drive investors away. The government’s draft blue-print for how South Africa will power its electricity grid over the next few decades is being mulled over by experts and activists right now: the 2016 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), will decide how much of that power will come from coal, nuclear, gas, or renewables between now and 2030. The infrastructure it builds as a result of this plan will live with us for decades beyond that, and determine the cost and carbon intensity of that grid. The draft IRP is currently out for public comment. While it does allow for investment in solar and wind infrast

Following the increased adoption rate of solar and inverter technologies in Nigeria in recent times, the Managing Director, Cloud Energy Photoelectric Limited, Theophilus Nweke, has predicted that the country would surpass Africa’s renewable energy target by 2020. In 2016, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), in collaboration with other international agencies that focussed on renewable energy, had set a target of 2020 for Africa to expand the renewable energy capacities as well as achieve universal access. In Nigeria the target was accepted with major doubts given the nations failures to meet all set development targets. But given the increased adoption rate of renewable energy technologies across the country, Nweke said Nigeria would likely surpass NEPAD’s target for Nigeria before 2020. “Nigeria looks set to spring a surprise according to a survey, by a team of market monitors that led to the launch of the Cloud Energy Solar Access Program. Nigerians, accord