Africa Network For Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, earlier in October led a team from Niger Delta region in Nigeria to Oslo in Norway and met with Norges Bank Investment Management, NBIM officials to demand the visit of the bank officials to the Niger Delta region to see the damages caused by Shell Oil Company.
The ANEEJ led delegates also staged a protest at the front of NBIM building demanding for justice for Niger Delta and the need to end fossil fuels damages in the region. The delegates also held a town hall meeting to intimate the Norwegian people about the negative impact Shell Oil Company action is causing the people of Niger Delta. In another meeting, the delegates met with the Sami people, who are the indigenous people living in Norway said to be facing marginalisation. The Sami people shared their experience and pushed for indigenous rights in Norway.
ANEEJ in its documentary made available on Thursday, commended Framtiden i våre hender Kristiansund, Og Omegn, ActionAid Denmark Global Platform, Forum for utvikling og miljø, Spire Trondheim Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke and more groups including the Youths of Norway for their collaboration and support during the visit and different engagements to share Niger Delta people experiences on the damages caused them by Shell Oil Company.
According to ANEEJ, the goal for the trip was to bring together civil societies in Norway around the issue and make way for further work around climate change and fossil fuels. “We hope to welcome the leadership of Norges Bank Investment Management to the Niger Delta soon”, ANEEJ said via its social media handles.
“We were profiled in various media publications across the globe and had a successful meeting with leaders of Norges Bank”, ANEEJ added.
ANEEJ Executive Director, Reverend David Ugolor who personally led the Niger Delta delegation to Norway stated clearly that, the campaign to Oslo is not to undermine the Nigerian government but to engage the investor, NBIM, with first-hand information from the Niger Delta, and call on them to visit the region to see the destruction caused by Shell and not rely completely on their feedback to produce its responsible investment report.
“NBIM should learn from the Church of England and pull out its investment from Shell for acting irresponsible.
“Part of the mission was to hold Shell accountable for the damages caused in the Niger Delta, as a result, women and children are dying and livelihoods have been lost completely. Shell cannot move from onshore to offshore and runaway from its responsibilities. They should cleanup the mess caused for the past 6-decades of operation in the Niger Delta”, David Ugolor said.
David Ugolor also noted that the political will to clean up and restore back livelihoods for the people of the Niger Delta region is needed. He urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make a record, look into the corruption affecting the region and not allow the Niger Delta political elite to deceive him for their personal gain.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Pavilion at the just concluded COP 28 was agog with an illuminating session “Addressing Oil and Gas Sectors Liabilities and Decommissioning in the Energy Transition.”
The session was moderated by Alienor Rougeot, Programme Manager, Climate and Energy, Environmental Defence, Canada. The opening remarks was eloquently done by Dr Angela Carter, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Memorial University who set the stage for conversation on how Canada, a big emmitter undermines the realisation of the Paris Climate Agreement.
She exposed Canada, as one of the big 5 emitters, still enmeshed in huge oil and gas extraction for profits.
ANEEJ Deputy Executive Director, Leo Atakpu, took turn to present decades of oil and gas in the Niger Delta and exposed how Shell and other multi national oil companies have continued to extract crude oil at the detriment of the people and the environment. He exposed complicity of the Nigerian Government. Other speakers included: Mike Coffin and Callie Davies-Flett.
ANEEJ during the COP 28, welcomed the agreement at the COP 28 summit on the loss and damage fund with nations pleading over $725million on the first day which ANEEJ described as a vital step but still inadequate for the quantum of what is needed, as the human rights organisation welcomed the message of the catholic pontiff, Pope Francis to the summit, calling on world leaders to end fossil fuel.
The Deputy Executive Director of ANEEJ, Leo Atakpu who was in Dubai for the two weeks summit while welcoming the operationalization of the Loss and Damage funds at the opening of COP28 noted that, some studies have estimated that; loss and damage in developing countries is already greater than $400 billion a year and is expected to grow.
“We are deeply concerned that contributions from high polluting countries will be voluntary and we wonder when the fund will pay out and how it will be sustained over the long term. Bayelsa State of Nigeria alone requires $12 billion in loss and damage. Delta State requires a much higher amount. We are also worried that the fund will be administered, initially, by the World Bank against the wishes of many developing countries as we expect such funds to be disbursed as grants and not loans”, Leo Atakpu stated.
It would be recalled that the agreement for the loss and damage funds on the first day of the climate talks on 30 November, 2023 in Dubai was greeted with a standing ovation from delegates. The fund aims to support the most vulnerable and poorest countries to keep up with the rising costs associated with the climate crisis. Host country UAE and Germany both pledged $100 million (£79 million) to the loss and damage startup fund, which will aim to keep up with the rising costs caused by extreme weather and slow-onset disasters such as sea level rise, ocean acidification and melting glaciers.
The ANEEJ Deputy Director also hailed the call by Pope Francis for lending his his weight behind calls for an end to fossil fuels in a message delivered at the COP28. Pope Francis had called for an end to coal, oil and gas as well as lifestyle changes to save the planet. He also asked for debt forgiveness for poorer countries hit by climate change.
“We are particularly happy that the Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis has lent his voice to the calls for a need to urgently phase out fossil fuels given that we have had to get the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Board of the Church of England Pension’s Board to stop lending its moral and financial support to Shell, an oil company that have polluted and degraded the Niger Delta environment alongside other multinational oil companies. We want the big emitters, USA, China, Canada, Germany, Russia, Japan, India and Indonesia to save the planet by taking urgent steps to cut their carbon emissions.
“The issue of debt cancellation for poor countries as raised by the Catholic head is quite important for the world to be able to meet the global climate target as agreed in Paris COP21 as many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria are reeling under the yoke of debt burdens. Debt cancellation for such countries is an imperative to achieving net zero.
“As a Nigerian, it was also heartwarming to see President Ahmed Bola Tinubu calling on industrialized nations to invest in alternative energy sources in Nigeria and Africa since Africa which contributes the least to carbon emissions is at the worst hit at a Panel hosted by the COP 28 presidency and the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“President Tinubu’s emphasis on the need for risk management is vital for Africa’s full and swift transition to cleaner energy sources as, according to the President, Africa must not become a victim of the disruptions that come with climate change mitigation measures is quite significant”, Leap Atakpu stated.
The ANEEJ Deputy Chief further stated that “another significant milestone achieved is the COP28 Presidency, in partnership with the World Health Organization and UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, unveiling of the ‘COP28 UAE Declaration on Climate and Health’ to place health at the heart of climate action and accelerate the development of climate-resilient, sustainable and equitable health systems.”
A set of new finance commitments on climate and health was announced to back up the political commitments, including a $300 million commitment by the Global Fund to prepare health systems, $100 million by the Rockefeller Foundation to scale up climate and health solutions, and an announcement by the UK Government of up to GBP 54 million. “This is quite remarkable”, Leo Atakpu noted.
COP is the primary decision-making body of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), established in 1992.
Representatives of 197 countries who have signed or are “parties” to the UNFCCC will participated primarily through debates and negotiations