ENVIRONMENT $10m impounded COP23 starts with calls to uphold Paris Agreement GM maize to be returned to Argentina
This year’s UN Climate Change Conference kicked off in Bonn, Germany, with strong, unified calls to hold to the path of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
The opening of the conference (COP23) took place on Monday against this year’s background of destructive hurricanes, fires, floods, droughts, melting ice and impacts on agriculture which threaten food security.
UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, said: “Together with the Sustainable Development Agenda, we have a clear path forward to truly address climate change and sustainable development.”
Ms. Espinosa outlined the work governments will be addressing in Bonn, especially the next essential steps to ensure that the Paris Agreement’s operating system is completed in time and ways and means to implement it are strengthened.
This, according to her, is essential so that the ultimate goal of the Paris Agreement can be achieved, to hold the global average temperature rise from pre-industrial time to well below 2 degrees Celsius and as close as possible to 1.5 degrees.
She stated that immediate progress was urgent, adding that, “We need to move forward to fulfil the commitments that are due in 2020. In this regard, finance and pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions are key.”
The newly elected COP23 President, Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, said, “All over the world, vast numbers of people are suffering, bewildered by the forces ranged against them. Our job as leaders is to respond to the suffering with all means available to us.
“This means to meet our commitments in full, not back away from them.”
Mr Bainimarama said that Fiji is working to build a “Grand Coalition” between governments at every level, civil society, the private sector and faith-based organisations. The COP president intends to meet with as many non-state actors as he can who are part of the coalition.
During COP23, the city of Bonn will not only host the conference, but many cultural events that will help bring climate action closer to people in the city. As the House of Representatives begins investigation into the unauthorised importation of genetically modified maize into the country by Walcot, a seed company, it has been confirmed that the cargo worth over $10 million and impounded by the Nigeria Customs Service at the Apapa Wharf is to be returned to the country of import, Argentina.
The repatriation followed the discovery that the company failed to adhere to the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) Act 2015 which states that: “Any person, institution or body who wishes to import, export, transit or otherwise carry out a contained field trial, multi-locational trial or commercial release of genetically modified organism shall apply to the Director General of the Agency not less than 270 days to the date of import, export, transit or the commencement of such activity.”
Recall that the NBMA had alerted Nigerians in September this year of tons of genetically modified (GM) maize imported into the country without necessary approvals.
The Director General/CEO, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, said that the agency got notice of the importation through an intelligence report and set in motion machineries to track the importers and bring them to book.
“The NBMA got an intelligence report on the importation of GM maize into the country. We have no application from anyone on this and we are not aware of any move to bring in this maize,” he said.
The importer of the impounded GM maize which came from Argentina and is about 90 metric tons, Walcot, did not comply with the provisions of the NBMA Act.
When contacted, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) confirmed that such an import was made at the Apapa Port in Lagos. The Public Relation Officer in Abuja, Mr Joseph Attah said:
“Yes, I can confirm that there is such import at Apapa. Customs drew the attention of the NBMA to it. They came and took samples and we await the findings of the agency.”
On whether the consignment would be returned to Argentina based on the expected findings, Attah said it is not in the Service position to speculate.