PLEASE SUPPORT OUR PROJECT BY SHARING THIS POST WITH TAG: #innovateAFRICA

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR PROJECT BY SHARING THIS POST WITH TAG: #innovateAFRICA

      ***Our #mobileNews.ng project***

As youths, our strength and ability in changing our world to become that ideal society that we dream of are limitless and we can only make that mark through potent innovations.

We believe that aggressive media reportage of our communities is timely to elicit the type of discussions and actions needed to save the most important aspect of our lives that are seriously endangered, thus limiting our socioeconomic development.

Working with a strong team, we are poised to #innovateAfrica with our #mobileNews.ng media platform aimed at promoting Good Governance, Human Right, equality and Environmental Sustainability in our land.
We achieve this in a very unique way of collaborating with community people, in increasing quantity and quality of news from rural and remote areas, using the now commonest gadget-MOBILE PHONE.

Professional journalists and trained citizen journalists spread across communities, collect multimedia information namely, sound, pictures and videos. Our clearly processed news information, through digital data, data journalism, images, drawings and info-graphics, serve as strong tools to attract audiences’ attention via social media platforms such as twitter, Facebook, audio-boom, and blogs, as well as the traditional medium.

Our project will tackle major challenges facing African watchdog media, including;

- neglect of rural and remote areas which media organizations lack the capacity to access, yet their issues matter to achieve sustainable development.

-people’s lack of trust for news is addressed since the masses will surely trust news items which they co-produced

-people’s apathy towards news will become history because they will certainly like to read, listen to and watch news about them

-problems of carrying out investigative journalism are solved because there are many people at different places investigating particular issues.

-difficulty in getting opinions of the masses about governance is eliminated with opinion poll/interviews via phones and social media. Etc.

Like I said, we have a team of highly talented, hardworking and passionate professionals to drive this project to excellence. Our team leader’s (Innocent Okoro Onoh) past achievements also speaks volume about how fast we can innovate and positively transform Africa.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF #INNOCENT OKORO ONOH

Although a graduate of Geology and Mining with a childhood dream of becoming a top oil and gas executive, the burning desire to liberate my people from abject poverty, hardship and denial of basic amenities, all because of bad governance, forced me to change my career path to become a journalist.

I believe that journalists in their agenda setting roles through news writing and editing, shape public thoughts and directions, as well as influence government policies in ways that promote the living standards of the masses.
This passion to work for societal good became strong in me during my National Youth Service year between 2007 and 2007. We were about 6 youth corps members deployed to teach in a very remote and primitive town , Kudedu, located between Plateau state and Bauchi State in Northern Nigeria. My colleagues all rejected the deployment, and looked for better places in the city where there were power and water. I vowed to stay because I wanted to make a change.

Besides being the only science teacher in the school, within that one year, i mobilized village youths and my students to build the first ever toilet facilities in Kudedu, a town alleged to have existed for over 100 years without a toilet. During that period, I also carried out an aggressive tree planting to reduce impacts of desert encroachment in the area which was barren of trees because the poor villagers cut them to sell just to feed. 

In addition to numerous other community service projects, I also thought communities in the area safer sex and was the first to introduce the use of condom in the regions then known to have high incidence of HIV/AIDS.

After the mandatory national service in early 2007, I told myself that to make the greater mark in the lives of the people; journalism was the way to go. In November that same year, I was employed by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, which is the largest radio network in Africa with over 40 FM stations and a network that is believed to reach over 180 Million people daily.

In my about 8 years of practice as a journalist, I have used my position to give voice to the voiceless, and gave attention to topical and human interest issues covering diverse areas including environment, climate change, health, politics and economy, making great impacts in my society.

Specifically, in 2013, my story about the consequences of Vitamin A deficiency, added impetus to the effort aimed at giving over 160 million Nigerians access to the micro-nutrient. I wish to say that in appreciation of my journalism efforts in that regard, HarvestPlus, an arm of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, paid for the distribution of a full trailer load of Vitamin A cassava stems to over 3,500 farmers in my home town, Arochukwu, Abia State in South East Nigeria. The idea is that since cassava is a staple food in which every person is known to consume different cassava based delicacies, the bio-fortification of Vitamin A in the crop, is the easiest way of addressing the deficiency of the important micro-nutrient among the masses of Nigeria.

As I write, the cassava specie has been re-named “Innocent” by some people.

My passion for environment and climate change reporting , has taken me around my country’s 6 geopolitical zones , and in the process , produced ground breaking news reports on impacts of rapidly encroaching desert in northern Nigeria, coastal erosion in South East, flooding , bio-diversity extinction, among other grave consequences of climate change.

I wish to state that my efforts have also attracted recognitions and awards, the latest of them being;

--Winner 2016 Earth Journalism Network, Climate Change Media Partnership, Fellowship, Marrakesh, Morocco.

--Winner 2016 Biodiversity Fellowship to the IUCN World Conservation Congress, Hawaii.
 
At this point, I wish to say that my goal and aspiration in terms of positively affecting my world through journalism remain even stronger. I dream to see every Nigerian have access to three square meals daily. I want a Nigeria that the 75% of the population living below poverty line are saved from abject poverty to be able to live normal and progressive lives. I want a Nigeria and Africa that is able to maximally harness their huge renewable energy potential to light up the society and enable steady economic growth and development, like their counterparts in developed world. More especially, I dream of a Nigeria where people will no longer be born and grow with filth, due to very poor waste management system, that is also blamed for the acceleration of contagious diseases leading to many deaths annually.
 
To achieve all these, I used the last few years and Months to enhance my skills in news gathering, writing and presentation, as well as data journalism. I have also worked to move away from the mindset of a traditional journalist, by being a multi-media journalist, who owns active blog, twitter, Facebook, audio-boom and other infectious social-media platforms, to better communicate the news to the people. These trainings and capacity building efforts were carried out in prestigious institutions including the Lagos business School; Nigerian Institute of Journalism and the WAIFEM, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
 
Besides, as a scientist with Bachelor of Science honours in Geology, from the prestigious university of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, I am well abreast with issues and reports them effortlessly.
 
Now with #mobileNews.ng, I hope to bring the best media innovations towards promoting the right values for Africa’s sustainable development and progress.

DIAGRAM: How Jatropha can save Nigeria's economy

Why Nigeria needs special climate intervention

Despite not being included in the league of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the widely held view is that Nigeria may perhaps need as much international support, if not more, as the LDCs member nations, because of the security and other socio-economic issues it faces that are akin to those of the LDCs.

Nigeria at COP22: Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, Oluremi Tinubu (right), with Environment Minister, Amina Mohammed; Environment Minister of State, Ibrahim Usman Jibril; and Director, Department of Climate Change, Dr Peter Tarfa, in Marrakech, Morocco

For more than a decade, Africa’s giant has been battling serious insecurity issues caused by the activities of the Boko Haram Islamic terrorist group, allegedly recruiting locals of neighbouring countries, impoverished by rapidly encroaching desert, drought, famine and other climate-induced disasters.

READ ALSO :How environmental degradation induces insecurity, insurgency

READ ALSO: Radio Report: COP22 Nigerian delegation
 
READ ALSO :Radio Report: Nigeria to Implement NDC with Sovereign Green Bond – Buhari

Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, who was part of the Nigerian delegation to the UN climate change conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Morocco, confirmed the threat the country faces by sharing borders with nations in distress.

“Climate change is not something that is visible but the impact is what we see. In Nigeria, it is affecting us in all fronts. If we had managed the desertification threatening the northerners, cattle rustling and a lot of things and also Boko Haram would not be the issue. And we can learn that when people livelihood is threatened, they can do the unimaginable. It’s like what we are seeing or confronting us and we are trying to get what doesn’t belong to us by force. If you have seen the movie called “Nowhere to run”, and that’s why every body has to see what is going on. So, where are we going to run to? And Nigeria with our population, who is going to house us if somethng happens? That’s the most reason that we have to look at ways of combating them,” she told a team of local and foreign journalists in an interview shortly after the Nigerian delegation unveiled its road map for implementing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) at the summit.

That Nigeria’s sustainable development is under threat due to undue influence of distressed neighbouring African nations, who form part of worlds least developed countries, has been a topical issue, which has also been widely reported.

Terrorism escalates in northern Nigeria

For instance, a recent BBC report revealed that locals from nearby countries were induced with money to join the Boko Haram terrorist group to attack Nigeria and its territories.

One of the recruited members reportedly told the BBC: “We only do it for the money. Regularly, they come across the border, looking for recruits. They have paid Nigerian naira ($3,085, £1,835) to those of us who followed them over there. When they come, we inform them about what’s going on, what the security forces are up to. We have no jobs; some of us are still at high school, but we need money. Violence has become a form of work for us.”

Nigeria’s current population based on United Nations estimates is 188,750,850 which is equivalent to 2.48% of the total world population.

Analysts feel the figure grows by the day due to the large illegal migration of foreigners especially from the desert ravaged Sahara and Sahel regions bordering northern Nigeria, the stronghold of Boko Haram activities.

This large human intrusion into Nigeria mounts serious and undue stress on the country’s fragile infrastructure and well being, it was gathered.

Now, one of the major objectives of COP22 was to rally assistance in support of LDCs and as part of the road-map for implementation, LDC Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Initiative (REEEI) for Sustainable Development, was launched on November, 17, 2016, a day to the end of the COP.

Millions rendered homeless by Boko Haram insurgency

The LDCs represent the world’s 48 poorest nations, including Niger, Mali, Togo and Benin, which are Nigeria’s direct and close neighbours.

During the launch of the REEEI, at the Press Conference Room Rabat in the Blue Zone of the COP22 arena, Mr. Tosi Mpanu-Mpanu, Chair of the Least Developed Countries Group and Head of delegation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said: “The initiative will enable LDCs to leapfrog fossil fuel-based energy and light up the lives of millions of energy-starved people through modern, clean and resilient energy systems. The LDC REEEI is an important part of this process emerging from the Marrakech climate conference, providing concrete action to address climate change while empowering the world’s most vulnerable communities to build a path to sustainable development.”

On his part, Mr. Ram Prasad Dhital, Executive Director of Alternative Energy Promotion Centre, Ministry of Population and Environment, Nepal, said: “This initiative would support LDCs to develop the capacity to put in place the policies, regulations and project pipelines needed for greater flows of energy finance.”

It is argued that the provision of effective power to the LDC within the framework of the REEEI, if effective, would go a long way in easing huge burden off Nigeria, because locals from some of the LDC nations who usually run to Nigeria for refuge, would have good reason to remain in their lands.

But, on the other hand, they believe great support is also needed to assist Nigeria rebuild itself from the loss it has suffered and continues to suffer in the hands of the defendant climate-ravaged tiny neighbouring countries.

One of the most pressing goals of Nigeria which it seeks support to address, is saving the rapidly drying-up Lake Chad on its border with Chad Republic which is a key initiative for adaptation.

Lake Chad serves both Nigeria and others neighbouring countries in fishing and agriculture, but its drying up has led to loss of livelihood with attendant consequences including migration, severe poverty and malnutrition, as well as insecurity.

In a booklet distributed at the COP22, the Federal Government of Nigeria says it needs well about $142 billion to fund its NDC which it has mainstreamed into the country’s sustainable development efforts.

President Mohammadu Buhari who was represented by the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, during the Africa Day event at the COP on Wednesday, 16th November, 2016, said the country would launch a Sovereign Green Bond to raise funds for implementing its NDC.

But that won’t go far in solving the enormous problem at hand, thus Nigeria needs huge external fund to reduce greenhouse emission and plan adaptation projects to protect its huge human population from climate change impacts.

“One of the main objectives for delegates (delegates to COP22) is to seek partnerships and support, technical, technology and financial to implement our NDC, estimated to cost $142 billion but yield estimated national benefits of $304 billion(World Bank, 2013). Delegates are strongly encouraged to identify specific projects, programmes and initiatives for support which can be shared with potential partners in discussions at COP22,” says the FG in the COP22 booklet.

According to the FG, “we recognise that Nigeria is one of the most climate vulnerable countries in the world. By 2050, it could cost between 6 percent and 30 percent of our GDP ($100-$460 billion).

“Our population is acutely aware of the risk; the 2012 floods which killed 363 people and displaced more than 2.1 million, the impact on 70 % of Nigerians who rely on rain-fed agriculture, and regional conflicts driven by a shrinking Lake Chad and desertification, are at the top of our minds.

“Despite the challenging time for our economy, the government has continued to prioritise mitigation and adaptation to climate change through the five pillars of the national change agenda, namely power, oil and gas, agriculture, transport and industry. Diversification, especially towards sustainable agriculture, is already a key part of our country’s economic strategy, along with low-carbon power and improving the efficiency of the oil and gas sector.”

President Mohammadu Buhari on September 22nd this year signed the Paris Climate agreement, signifying Nigeria’s support to the global treaty that was the brain child of last climate change conference in Paris, France, known as COP21.

The country has mainstreamed the implementation of the NDC and Paris Agreement into its sustainable development, and would be using aggressive legislation to address the goals, so remarked the Environment Minister who represented the President while unveiling the country’s NDC implementation road-map at the Africa Day event.

“Nigeria submitted its ambitious Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). We have now pledged a 20% reduction greenhouse emission by 2020 and 45 conditional commitments which can be achieved with financial assistance, partnerships, technology transfer and building capacities. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is an integral part of Nigeria’s development and the mission of the Nigerian government through the INDCs is fully in line with them.

“We are focusing on reducing poverty, food security, creating jobs by diversifying the economy, providing a healthy environment and most importantly driving economic development by providing access to energy for our people. This COP22 is the cop of NDC implementation. We have this very much on our minds when our delegations left Paris last year.

“In spite of the global downtown which has affected us domestically, we are committing a reasonable part of our 2017 capital budget to this effort. 2017 capital budget would be a green budget that would reflect Nigeria’s effort to realising our NDC. In addition, we are set to launch our first ever Sovereign Green Bond in the first quarter of 2017. This is intended to fund the series of projects targeted at reducing emission and greening our economy as embedded in our NDC. We are working diligently to strengthen our MRD system as this will help to achieve increase in transparency and accountability that is needed across all sectors and all levels of government.

“On the issue of renewable, our priority is to achieve, energy access, energy security and develop renewable resources for energy. We are strengthening policy in regulatory base. In this regard, we have developed a system of energy for all action agenda and national renewable energy action plan, among other policies. Our expectation is that 30% of this capacity would come from renewable energy. On NDC implementation, for the power sector, we would build on this progress. We will include clear mitigation and adaptation priorities which would also be the basis for budget proposal to attract innovative international climate finance,” she said.

Apart from saving the Lake Chad to make adaptation possible for Nigeria and its neighbours, who are among Least developed countries, addressing power issues, bad roads, and a whole lot others are some of the pressing goals of the Nigerian government, in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

On the issue of power, Nigeria is among beneficiaries of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), which seeks to power up Africa by delivering 10 Gigawatts of electricity by 2020 and 300 Giga watts by 2030 in the African continent, important to drive development in the black continent.

However, considering its large population and the many challenges the country battle with, the funding

for the project may not make meaningful impact on the Africa’s giant, who has been struggling to liberate its economy from recession, caused by flat fall in oil price.

Nigeria is a mono-economic nation, deriving about 90% of its foreign exchange from oil, which has lost viability.

READ ALSO:Monies outside pledged $10 billion required to realise AREI, says AfDB 

Addressing the African Union Commission delegates on the realisation of the AREI, the President African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina, who announced that his bank has committed itself to invest $12 billion to the initiative over the next five years, said redemption of pledges and making of more pledges were required from developed countries to realise the “lightening up Africa” project through renewable energy sources.

“Africa cannot develop in the dark. Just take a look at how lack of electricity drags down Africa’s growth and development. For decades, Africa has continued to export raw materials as it does to the subject of global commodity price shock as we are already witnessing. Africa does not have electricity. Lack of access to power has pushed Africa down to the bottom of global value chains.

“Africa must power itself to add value to what it produces, speed up industrialisation and move to the top of global value chain. This must start with unlocking the huge potentials of energy on the continent including Africa’s vast potentials in renewable energy as well as no renewable energy. Africa simply needs energy period,” said Adesina.

Analysts say the remark by Adesina applies perfectly to Nigeria’s current situation, believing that efforts by the UNFCCC COP in addressing the plights of developing countries and even least developed countries would make greater impact if special attention is given to Nigeria, which plays fatherly role to some of the so-called poor countries, and suffering huge loss in the process.

By Innocent Onoh

How Jatropha can help tackle sustainability challenges

Jatropha, a rugged shrub which grows in a wide range of terrains including wasteland, sandy and saline soils, is seen as the preferred non-food plant for biofuel production in Nigeria.

A Jatropha Farm

The plant, which can survive up to three years of no rain and needs little or no pesticide application as it itself serves as pesticide, is said to hold great potential in checking desertification, providing sustainable energy, and enabling the economic empowerment of rural dwellers, among other benefits.

Jatropha seeds

Analysts hope that the full harnessing of opportunities in Jatropha plant would enable Nigeria to not only address its power problem in a sustainable manner, but also liberate itself from economic recession.

Their reason is that the country has large arable lands for growing the plant which is even endemic in many regions of the country.

As part of measures to cut greenhouse gas emission and assist Nigerians adapt to devastating impacts of climate change, the Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, said the Federal Government would grow Jatropha in 20 states to develop bio-fuel to replace fossil fuel.

“The project would serve as alternative to fossil fuel, provide jobs for the local communities and diversify the economy. Ultimately, this will result in the establishment of an African Clean Energy Hub in Nigeria. Jatropha also has potential to impact on five key elements of the COP21 Paris Climate Change Agreement,” she said recently in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

READ ALSO: Renewable Energy Sources as solution to Nigeria's power problem 

Also recently, a Malaysian company reportedly expressed willingness to invest in Nigeria’s growing Jatropha business, a project described in a document as capable of not only ensuring clean energy to promote quality of lives, but also would accelerate job creation.

The document says, “A huge investment promised by Malaysian company, Bionas, could provide some room for Nigeria to maneuver. About $2.5 billion is to put into creation of a whole new industry for the production of a green alternative to traditional fuels. A value chain running from extraction to processing and output distribution will be created, generating thousands of jobs. At the centre of this initiative is a seed-bearing plant – Jatropha.”

The ruggedness of the Jatropha plant in surviving under dry and harsh weather makes it a choice plant for checking desertification, while its oil-rich seed is used in producing bio-fuel as well as cream, oil and soap.

Records show that a typical Jatropha farm has a life span of up to 40 years.

A hectare of its farm produces fruit of 1.5 tons in the first year, 3.5 tons in the second year and five tons in the fifth year.

A field trip to a Jatropha demonstration farm in Morocco by Fellows of the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) to the just concluded UN climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakech revealed interesting dimensions of the plant.

The coordinator, Centre for the Development of Jatropha Project in Morocco, Professor Abdelkader Outzourhit, listed many uses of the plant to include production of bio-diesel to power diesel engines, and for making oils for creams which has the ability to smoothen the skin and remove wound scars.

According to Outzourhit, although the processing of Jatropha seeds was yet to begin in Morocco, a similar crop, Argan, with the same characteristics was been used for the purposes.

Shop for Argan products. Jatropha can also be raw material for the products

“They make several Argan oil-based products like soap, oil and bio-fuel. But you can also make them from Jatropha. Jatropha oil is very soft for the skin,” he said.

He added that the project has passed a critical stage as the plants which were brought from Mali, India and Mexico were able to adapt to the Moroccan climate, pointing out that the next stage of development would be the partnership with rural communities for their acceptance of the project, which would be followed by training the people on how to extract diesel from the jatropha seed as well as producing other commodities.

“We have some genotypes from Mexico, India and Mali. For now, we are just looking at the adaptability of the genotypes. But there are laboratories that develop other genotypes. They modify the genes so that they can adapt into a given climate. The genotype from Mali is well suited here.”

Asked about the oil content of Jatropha, he said, “One hectare can give you about one thousand litres of oil. There are two ways of extracting the oil. You just crush the dry fruit to remove the seeds. The seeds are then put in a press and the oil comes out. There are other special oil extractors. But the easiest way is, you crush the grains and press the out the oil. This technology is well known in this area because they use it. We have a lot of Argan oil productions.”

Clearing the air on claims that Jatropha development negatively affects agriculture as it takes away farmlands, the officer in charge of Moroccan Jatropha development said, “The crops should be planted on parcels of land that are not good for farming. Also, the shrubs can be used as fence, so that you use the land to grow other crops.”

At one of the Argan processing centres in Morocco, youths and women in rural towns were seen employed as breakers of the Argan nut to remove the seed, some were extracting the oil using local machines while yet others were selling the final products including Argan cream, oil and soap.

Morocco, Egypt and Algeria are among three countries that benefitted from the European Union Jatromed initiative of using the Jatropha plant for generating renewable energy and to address poverty and rural unemployment with the Jatropha value chain, a project with a total budget of EUR 1.82 million and spanning between 2011 and 2015.

Jatropha Farm in Algeria

Jatropha Farm in Egypt

Jatropha Demonstration Farm in Morocco

As Nigeria also plans to develop its own Jatropha industry, it is interesting to note that some private sector organisations in the country are already tapping into the field.

One of them is the Landmark University in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, which is said to have begun to produce diesel from Jatropha biofuel seeds planted on 534 hectares of farmland.

READ ALSO :Monies outside pledged $10 billion required to realise AREI, says AfDB

READ ALSO :Radio Report: Nigeria to Implement NDC with Sovereign Green Bond – Buhari

READ ALSO :Why Nigeria needs special climate intervention

Now mainstreaming Jatropha project into the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), which Nigeria is a beneficiary. It is seen as a practical step towards sustainably solving the country’s perennial epileptic power situation and also enhances the living standards among the people.

The AREI, a project aimed at lighting up Africa is set to achieve at least 10 GW of new and additional renewable energy generation capacity by 2020, and 300 GW by 2030.

But grappling with recession following flat fall in oil price since its economy is wholly dependent on petroleum export, analysts say, the country on its own cannot fund its climate change adaptation and mitigation projects in line with the Paris Agreement.

The government has therefore resolved to launch a Sovereign Green Bond by the first quarter of next year to raise part of funds to implement its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

At a forum during the COP22, President MohammaduBuhari who was represented by the country’s Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, said that part of the country’s target was to ensure regular power, 30% of which would come from renewable sources.

“Nigeria submitted its ambitious INDCs. We have now pledged a 20% reduction of greenhouse emission by 2020 and 45 conditional commitment which can be achieved with financial assistance, partnerships, technology transfer and building capacities. And to share with you the progress that we have made since COP21 in Paris. We have prepared an NDC implementation road map, detailed roles of responsibilities around mitigation, adaptation, monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions and putting in place government structures. We are developing central plans for the five main economic sectors in Nigeria namely power, oil and gas, agriculture, transport and industry. We are ensuring full of the commitment to the NDCs by the relevant ministries, departments and agencies .This multi central collaboration is crucial to delivering results.

“Inspite of the global downtown in our own constraints domestically, we are committing a reasonable part of our 2017 capital budget to this effort. In addition, we are set to launch our first ever green bond in the first quarter of 2017. This is intended to fund the series of projects targeted at reducing emission and greening our economy as embedded in our NDC.

“On the issue of renewable, our priority is to achieve, energy access, energy security and develop renewable resources for energy. We are strengthening policy in regulatory base. In this regard we have developed a system of energy for all action agenda and national renewable energy action plan, among other policies. The policies contained in our vision 303030, aims to increase capacity. Our expectation is that 30% of this capacity would come from renewable energy.”

So say the lists, Nigeria seeks partnership and supports in terms of technology and finance to implement its INDCs for addressing climate change, and to achieve that the country should be prepared to spend about $142 billion dollars to derive estimated national benefits of $304 billion, based on World Bank’s calculation.

To this end, stakeholders in the UNFCCC COP say the onus is on developed nations to fulfill their pledge to donate $100 billion annually among other monies and new pledges, to assist developing countries to plan and execute climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, especially renewable energy sources development, one of which is the Jatropha plant.

By Innocent Onoh