G INFO:THE CLIMATE NEWER POSITION DURING THIS COVID 19

During the spring and summer of 2020, countries in sub-Saharan Africa were facing a food crisis. Unusually heavy rains, floods and locust swarms had devastated crops across East Africa. On top of this, the coronavirus crisis delayed delivery of agricultural equipment, pesticides and fertilizers, while lockdown restrictions prevented farmers from transporting produce and livestock to markets. According to the World Food Programme, more than 40 million people are still facing severe food shortages. The case of sub-Saharan Africa demonstrates that there is a link between the impacts of climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. Around the world, communities are experiencing the effects of climate change in different ways, but many of those disproportionately affected are the same people who suffer the socio-economic effects of COVID-19. This fact has given added importance to the issue of climate justice, which recognizes that it is the poorest and most vulnerable people – who have contributed least to carbon emissions and climate change – who are suffering the most. Facing the long-term risks from a changing climate but also the onslaught of extreme weather events, the poorest are least able to respond to these phenomena that damage their already fragile environments. Recognizing humanity’s responsibility for the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the poorest in society, climate justice seeks to reduce inequality and promote transformative approaches to addressing the root causes of climate change. So, what role can the international community play to safeguard the lives and livelihood of the many millions of people who are at the forefront of climate change? The issue of embodying climate justice in post-Covid recovery plans is now moving to the centre of political debate in wealthy societies. But that does not address vulnerabilities in the developing world. The United Nations University estimates that COVID-19 poses a real challenge to the Sustainable Development Goal of ending poverty by 2030 – instead, the number of people living in poverty could increase by between 420 million and 580 million compared with 2018. Because of the economic effects of supply chain disruptions associated with COVID-19, the number of people worldwide suffering from food insecurity could double from about 135 million in 2019 to 265 million people in 2020. The most recent UN report, State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, casts doubt on whether the Sustainable Development Goal of zero hunger by 2030 will be achievable. The 2025 nutrition targets, which aim to reduce low birth weight in babies, stunting among the under-fives and diet-related overweight problems in children, are at risk too. Biden’s promise of action Nine months after the emergence of the coronavirus, there is a debate on the possibility of a green recovery from the pandemic. Will national recovery strategies promote or undermine climate action? At the same time, there are calls for the recovery to address inequalities between countries and within our societies, to turn, ‘We are all in this together’, into more than a glib phrase. There are some very positive signs that climate justice concerns are being acknowledged in mainstream politics in some developed countries. Joe Biden’s presidential campaign includes the Biden Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice. It explicitly links a clean energy future and green jobs to environmental and climate justice. Published in July 2020 at the height of the pandemic, it stresses the need to ‘engage in community-driven approaches to develop solutions for environmental injustices affecting communities of colour, low- income and indigenous communities’. This is the first presidential campaign in American history to take environmental justice concerns seriously. The plan also calls for creating a White House council on environmental justice and restoring the Environmental Protection Agency’s civil rights office. The plan was compiled through a process of coalition building – bringing together environmental justice advocates, climate campaigners, union leaders and advisers from the financial industry and energy sector. The European Union has announced a €750 billion recovery plan, based on the European Green Deal that was unveiled in early 2020 before the pandemic hit. The Green Deal includes a ‘Just Transition’ mechanism that takes into account the impact of mitigation policies on fossil fuel-based industries so that communities that depend on them are not unjustly affected. In the interests of fairness, differing approaches have been taken to coal and other fossil fuel extraction industries, though climate justice must not be used as an argument by incumbent industries to slow or halt decarbonization. Britain has set a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The government’s recovery slogan – tacitly recognizing the stark inequalities in society revealed by the pandemic – is ‘build back better’. But what does this mean? A strategic approach to a green recovery plan needs to embrace the core values of equity and inclusivity. These were embodied in Britain by a citizens’ assembly set up in 2019 to work out a path to reaching net zero by 2050. The assembly included discussions on travel on land and by air, heat and energy use in the home, what we eat, how we use our land and what we buy. At the heart of these discussions was a clear recognition that fairness should be the basis of all solutions. Recovery funding More than $20 trillion in funding initiatives for the post-COVID-19 recovery has been announced, and the UN has sent a clear message that the money must promote a shift towards a green economy. The Green Climate Fund, established by the UN Framework Commission on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has attracted pledges of $10.3 billion as of July 2020. Yet, a common critique of climate finance is that there are no clear criteria to ensure that climate finance reaches the poorest and most vulnerable countries and communities. At the time of the Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted five years ago, only 30 per cent of international public climate finance reached the least-developed countries. This spurred a push to give developing countries a greater say in the share of climate funds, so that now the Green Climate Fund’s board boasts equal representation from developed and developing countries. Despite this, the limited reach of climate finance has not changed. A review of the fund’s projects in May 2019 found that only 19 per cent of funds reached the poorest countries as opposed to 65 per cent going to projects in middle-income countries. One reason for this is that funding outside the UNFCCC’s consensus-based processes is influenced by donor states more than developing countries. Ultimately, this has resulted in a situation where climate funds are not disbursed according to the principles of distributive justice and the priorities of developing countries, but tend to align with market-based solutions. The consequence is that climate funds are more likely to finance projects that are more profitable or with lower financial risk. A recent review of multilateral development bank funds revealed that countries most in need of adaptation finance – to help them deal with climate change – are not prioritized, nor is capacity-building focused on countries with weak institutions. The Green Climate Fund itself gave its largest grant of $160 million to the middle-income country Indonesia to develop a geothermal project, whereas Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world, was forced to settle for a $45 million grant, after initially requesting $99.6 million, to improve basic access to water and food. The disparity stems from the fact that the fund requires countries to seek co-finance to mitigate financial risk, which Indonesia can do thanks to its ability to attract private investors and draw on its tax base, while Ethiopia cannot.

G SPORTS: WOULD MOURINHO MAKE THE PREMIER LEAGUE WITH TOTTEHAM THIS SEASON!

Tottenham sit top of the Premier League with 20 points from nine games, beating Manchester City on Saturday with a vintage Mourinho performance - they managed just 33 per cent possession as they soaked City's pressure and hit them on the break. In a chaotic season so far, Spurs are beginning to look solid. With fatigue ripe, and pressing sides being caught out, will this season's title go to the best defensive side? And is that perfect for Mourinho's style of play? "What's quite scary about Spurs is that they were two last-minute conceded equalisers away from being four points clear. "In our first podcast of this season I think we were stunned at just how bad Spurs were against Everton, losing 1-0. They were woeful all over the pitch, and I thought this would be a tough season for Mourinho. They are proving a lot of people wrong. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg that day was atrocious, he could not trap a bag of sand, but now he looks like the sort of monster in midfield that wins you trophies. "What's quite scary about Spurs is that they were two last-minute conceded equalisers away from being four points clear. "In our first podcast of this season I think we were stunned at just how bad Spurs were against Everton, losing 1-0. They were woeful all over the pitch, and I thought this would be a tough season for Mourinho. They are proving a lot of people wrong. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg that day was atrocious, he could not trap a bag of sand, but now he looks like the sort of monster in midfield that wins you trophies. "And what I mean by that is: teams who play sensibly, take less risks and manage games will be among those challenging this season. Spurs did all three things on Saturday. I think it's no surprise that Spurs and Chelsea have shut up shop recently and play each other this weekend as two of the most in-form teams in the Premier League. "Spurs have gone from an entertaining style under Poch to a distinct, hard-to-beat style under Jose. The key there is that it's distinct and very on trend for this season. "I'd also say that Spurs' was essentially a studio when Jose walked in - I questioned whether that documentary was good for the club - but Jose has actually done some good PR recently, he's pushed the 'happy' narrative since day one, I'm not sure we all bought into it, but I would say that I think the Instagram account is an attempt to prove that he can be light-hearted, and although it is just another episode of The Jose Show, I think it's actually working for him." "It was trademark Jose. If you rewind back to when he was Chelsea manager, he criticised teams for parking the bus. He then went to Manchester United and got criticised for parking the bus. I think he's got a different type of bus at Tottenham… a turbo-charged bus. When you have outlets like Harry Kane and (Heung-Min) Son, the opposition need to be on their guard for the entire 90 minutes. "What was impressive about Jose Mourinho's masterclass is that he said he had no players around during the international fortnight, so he plotted this on his own. He had very little preparation with the team himself. "What was impressive about Jose Mourinho's masterclass is that he said he had no players around during the international fortnight, so he plotted this on his own. He had very little preparation with the team himself. "Can they? Yes. Will they? I still can't see past Liverpool. If Tottenham were to do it you would have to say it would be up there with Jose's best achievements. It would be comparable with Porto winning the Champions League in 2004, and Inter Milan's Treble in 2010. "If you look at Jose's and his managerial career, he seems to have his greatest moments when his team are underdogs and not expected to do big things. "I just think now, for all the doubts Spurs fans would have had, particularly to do with playing style, Spurs fans are so desperate for a trophy now, and they have the guy who can deliver it. They are in the fight now for the league title itself. It would be an astonishing achievement. Who would have thought we would be saying that a year on?"

G ANIMAL NEWS:NEW CORONAVIRUS GUIDANCE FOR FERRET OWNERS

The government’s scientific advisers are drawing up advice for ferret owners amid fears a mutated version of Covid-19 found in mink could leap to other animals. Denmark is culling millions of mink in a bid to limit the spread of the disease. But experts fear the coronavirus mutation could be found in other animals such as rats, mice and ferrets as well as mink. Newly published documents show the Sage scientific advisory group are concerned the virus could be identified in ferrets in the UK. The documents warn: "The mutations observed in virus isolates from mink have also been observed in virus from ferrets. ...Defra is assessing the risk to people in the UK and developing messaging for ferret owners.” The experts also called for greater surveillance of animal populations and more research into how the mutations could affect humans.

G BREAKING NEWS: ASSU STRIKE ENDS AS PARTIES COMFORMED

The strike is already having negative effects on students, parents and even the lecturers themselves. And if not addressed soonest, the action is capable of putting the future of undergraduates of public universities in danger and possibly abeyance. In a bid to resolve the issues as soon as possible, the Federal Government yesterday offered N65billion to settle the payment of earned allowances and revitalisation of the federal ivory towers. Though these steps might still not be strong enough to ensure the reopening of the universities, they represent a somewhat way forward, just as the two parties agreed to meet again next Friday to continue the dialogue on the premise that the one week should be used to widen further consultations by both government and ASUU. On the contentious Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS), ASUU informed the meeting that it had carried out a demonstration of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to all of stakeholders and end users on Thursday, November 5, at the National Universities Commission (NUC), where some stakeholders raised questions that had been addressed. The meeting agreed that going forward, all stakeholders must be carried along in this process to ensure transparency. The Federal Government also agreed to pay ASUU members’ salary arrears from February to June this year using old salary payment platform, the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS). On withheld salaries and non-remittance of check off dues, both parties agreed that the Federal Ministry of Education and Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment should reconsider the “No Work, No Pay” policy, with a view to getting approval for the withheld salaries to be paid. “It was also agreed that the mode of payment applied for the payment of those that had not been captured in the IPPIS platform between the months of February and June this year be adopted for the purpose of payment during this transition period. “On the demand by ASUU for the payment of check off dues, the Accountant General of the Federation requested that ASUU and other unions should provide his office with the necessary information and dedicated account details in writing to facilitate the deductions and remittance of the check off dues,” according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting. Already, frustration is beginning to set in for most of the students, especially as their counterparts in private universities have since resumed, with some of them ready to protest their continuous stay at home. Parents on their part fear that university education is going the way of primary and secondary education in most states, where private institutions have become the order of the day. Famous Otuonye, President of the Students Union of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, said Nigerian students are unhappy with the situation, adding: “The strike action has altered our academic calendar, thereby taking us back. Ordinarily, the 2019/2020 academic session is supposed to have ended, but the lingering strike has disrupted it. Students have lost a full academic session. x “The final year students are supposed to have graduated, while the previously graduated students are supposed to have gone for youth service, but the future plans of these students have been terminated as a result of this. “The students are extremely worried and so anxious to resume, more so since the private academic institutions have resumed. It is so appalling that our mates in private schools are now ahead of us, in other words, they are progressing. We are not happy about that,” he lamented. While calling on the Federal Government to see to the demands of ASUU, and the lecturers to consider the students, he said: “If the strike continues, the students would demonstrate their anger, no matter whose ox is gored.” To Sunny Nwakasun, whose children are undergraduates, the Federal Government/ASUU problem is not a healthy development for students and their parents/guardians, as their prolonged stay at home affects the psyche of both the students and their sponsors. “The students, after a long time, could stop reading and engage in some untoward acts or endeavours, including cyber crime and overindulgence watching videos, thereby limiting their retention of what they had learnt. “Some of the children, because of the face off, easily got involved in the recent protests that reportedly led to loss of lives, even as some, due to idleness, were raped, kidnapped or involved in robberies, cult activities, etc. “So, both parties should come to a point of agreement for students to return to schools and become busy with academic activities once again.” A frustrated 200-level undergraduate of Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Innocent Chukwuebuka, stated: “The government and ASUU have practically wasted a whole year with their endless disagreement. I feel set back; I cannot exactly put it into words, but it’s a terrible feeling to find yourself at home for so long when you should be in school studying towards a bright future.” “I feel idle as though I have exhausted everything possible to keep busy. The EndSARS protest was a good distraction, as my friends and I dressed up every morning to join the eventful, entertaining and fun-filled protest at airport road in Lagos.

G SPORTS:LIVERPOOL BOSS ENVISAGE SOLUTIONS TO INJURY CRISIS IN JANUARY-JURGEN KLOPP

Jurgen Klopp dealing with several injuries to key players, including Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Virgil Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Liverpool face Leicester City on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League England internationals Joe Gomez (knee) and Jordan Henderson (thigh) were the latest to be added to the injury list in the last few days, with the former potentially being ruled out for the rest of the season. With Virgil van Dijk and now Gomez sustaining serious injuries, Klopp is again down to one senior centre-back in Joel Matip, while Trent Alexander-Arnold's continued absence with a calf problem means Klopp will be able to field only one of his first-choice back four against Premier League leaders Leicester on Sunday. Klopp is also waiting for the return of midfielders Fabinho, who can also play in the centre of defence, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, while youngsters Rhys Williams and Neco Williams are injury doubts this weekend. Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, has tested positive for coronavirus, although Klopp avoided criticising the forward for attending his brother's wedding. "That we look for solutions and the transfer market - that is clear. But in the moment we have the situation we have. "I don't want to compare situations but when I came to Dortmund in 2008 my two centre-halves were 19 and turned 20 that winter and we played with them for that entire time. Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic. "We have talent here. They are young - 18, 19, 23 - and we have more experienced players, so we will see. Everybody has a chance. "They can smell the chance and they step up. They want to show they are ready and we will see. "We have midfielders - not in the moment but hopefully in a couple of weeks - who can play the more defensive role as well. For the moment we are fine. "I'm really confident it will work out with the boys and then hopefully we can convince the rest of the world as well." Fabinho has a chance of being fit for Sunday after returning to training but the wait appears to be going on for Thiago, the summer signing who so energised the fanbase following his arrival from Bayern Munich. The Spain international played just 135 minutes in two appearances before sustaining a knee injury in last month's Merseyside derby - overshadowed by the anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained by Van Dijk in the same match - and his return is taking longer than expected. When it was suggested supporters are desperate to see the world-class midfielder back in action, Klopp replied: "So am I. I cannot change these things. We have to deal with the consequences of injuries, of the accidents, the fouls or whatever. "If he could have played before he would have played before but he couldn't but he is out there on the pitch running, doing a lot of stuff, and it will not be too long any more. "In the beginning we got the horrible pictures from Virgil and were kind of relieved it's not that serious for Thiago, but it was always clear it wouldn't be two or three days. "At first we thought it would settle quickly but it didn't and that's what you have to accept. We will not rush it. We prepare him for the rest of the season, not for the first game he can play again. "Players have to train in the big sessions with the team, and not only once. "Fabinho was part of that and what we make of that I don't know yet because I don't know how he reacts but Fabinho was part of normal team training."