Environmentalists want Paris Climate Agreement implemented

President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. PHOTO: TWITTER/ PRESIDENCY NIGERIA

Environmentalists drawn from the Niger Delta region have urged stakeholders in the oil extraction sector to prevail on International Oil Companies (IOCs) to start the implementation of carbon emission reduction, targeting 1.5°C and below, which was clearly stipulated in the Paris Climate Agreement.

Speaking at a two-day workshop on Climate Crisis and Energy Transition in Port Harcourt, the Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Rev. David Ugolor, called on investors to embark on a fact-finding mission to ascertain the true situation of operations of the IOC’s in the region.

Ugolor, who noted that at the end of 2022, Shell declared a profit of 32.3 billion pounds, the highest in their history of about 115 years in existence, lamented that all these happened while the region remained devastated.

He said: “Already, oil and gas exploration activities, with their devastating impact, are evident in the Niger Delta region and other locations in different parts of the world, where oil exploration activities are going on.

“Here in the region, we are faced with gas flaring, oil spillage, environmental degradation and pollution or contamination of the land, water and air, loss of livelihood, health challenges and other negative effects.
“Unfortunately, oil and gas companies are more interested in making profits to our detriment, despite global agreements on emission reduction. As we speak, Shell declared a profit of 32.3bn pounds (39.9$bn) for 2022, the highest profit in their history, of about 115 years and paid out $6.3bn to its shareholders in the final three months of 2022; Exxon Mobil announced a profit of nearly $56bn and Chevron about $36.5bn. All these are happening while the people of the Niger Delta are living in misery and poverty.”

He expressed fear that there are indications that the 1.5°C target in the Paris Climate pact is already extremely hard to reach, noting that the transition target of 2030, which emphasises the need for urgent global actions to tackle climate change indicates that this target will probably not be achieved, even by 2030.

He also noted that the climate and energy strategy of Shell and other multinational oil companies fall short of what is required to achieve the Paris Agreement of limiting the increase in the average global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.