Worldwide employment in renewable energy reached 12.7 million last year, a jump of 700,000 new jobs in one year, according to a new report.

“Renewable Energy and Jobs: Annual Review 2022” identifies domestic market size as a major factor influencing employment generation in renewables, along with labour and other costs. Solar energy was found to be the fastest-growing sector. In 2021 it provided 4.3 million jobs, more than a third of the current global workforce in renewable energy.

The new report was published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), during the Global Clean Energy Action Forum in Pittsburgh, USA.

The report shows that an increasing number of countries are creating jobs in renewables.

Almost two-thirds of all these jobs are in Asia. China alone accounts for 42 per cent of the global total, followed by the EU and Brazil with ten per cent each, and the USA and India with seven per cent each.

The report highlights some notable regional and national developments. These include Southeast Asian countries becoming major solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing hubs and biofuel producers.

China is the pre-eminent manufacturer and installer of solar PV panels and is creating a growing number of jobs in offshore wind.

India added more than 10 Gigawatts of solar PV, generating many installation jobs, but remains heavily dependent on imported panels.

Europe now accounts for about 40 per cent of the world’s wind manufacturing output and is the most important exporter of wind power equipment; it is trying to reconstitute its solar PV manufacturing industry.

Africa’s role is still limited, but the report points out that there are growing job opportunities in decentralised renewables, especially in support of local commerce, agriculture, and other economic activities.

Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo says African countries account for less than one per cent of cumulative global carbon emissions.

Osinbajo disclosed this in his keynote address at the 60th Anniversary Dinner of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Thursday, September 22, 2022, in Lagos.

The OPTS is a subgroup of LCCI, which is the umbrella association of oil and gas companies who have come together to promote their common interests.

Osinbajo, who spoke on the topic: “Nigeria Transitioning to Green Energy”, said that most hostile impacts of climate change on the continent were triggered by activities of wealthier nations.

The vice president said that most countries including Nigeria agreed that there was need to reduce global emissions to zero in Nigeria’s case by 2060.

“We are major victims of the effects of climate change, but there are a few important issues that we have flagged to our wealthier brother-countries in the global north.

“The first is that we, in the developing world are faced with two, not one crisis; one is climate change and the other is extreme poverty, the cause and consequence of which is energy poverty.

“Or the fact that lack of access to electricity for millions is a cause of deepening poverty.

“The second is that African countries are the least emitters of carbon today – less than one per cent of cumulative CO2 emissions and even if we triple electricity consumption in African countries (aside from South Africa) solely using natural gas this would add just 0.6 per cent to global emissions.

“So, a lot of the flooding and adverse weather events that we are experiencing here are from emissions caused by the wealthier countries.’’

The vice president said thirdly, the defunding of gas projects to force gas rich countries like Nigeria to stop using gas and use renewables instead was faulty.

According to him, the proposals to ban the funding of fossil fuel projects make no distinction between upstream oil and coal exploration and gas power plants for grid balancing.

He said that no economy in the world had been known to use renewables solely to industrialise as solar power simply did not have the base load capacity yet for industry.

“Fourthly, stopping the use of gas means that we cannot use Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for clean cooking stoves to replace the use of kerosene, firewood and charcoal which are dirtier fuels that are widely used for cooking and other domestic purposes, particularly in the rural areas.

“The use of firewood means cutting down trees and of course desertification and then the loss of our carbon sinks.

“The fifth is the double standards that wealthier countries have adopted on this issue.

“Today in the wake of the energy crisis, many European nations have made recent announcements to increase or extend their use of coal fired power generation through 2023, and potentially beyond.

“This is in violation of their climate commitments, and analysis suggests that this will raise power sector emissions of the EU by 4 per cent – a significant amount given the high base denominator of EU emissions.’’

Osinbajo said that the sixth and perhaps most crucial point was that Nigeria must take quick and informed actions in its national interest.

He said that the country must take the threat of no investments in fossil fuels including gas seriously.

“For an example, many European and other global North countries are setting aggressive targets for use of electric vehicles and the banning of combustion engine vehicles.

“Soon there may be only a few countries using combustion engines; it is also evident that while the Russia- Ukrainian war has shown the hypocrisy in not allowing public funding for fossil fuel projects, the wealthier nations are still of the view that this is the correct policy and that even if public funding is to be allowed financing should not go beyond 2035.

“So far, our response has been the Energy Transition Plan – a comprehensive, data-driven and evidence-based plan, designed to deal with the twin crises of climate change and energy poverty.

“We anchored the plan on key objectives, including lifting 100 million people out of poverty in a decade, driving economic growth, bringing modern energy services to the full population and managing the expected long-term job loss in the oil sector due to global decarbonisation,’’  he said.

He said that the plan recognised the role natural gas must play in the short term to facilitate the establishment of base load energy capacity and address the nation’s clean cooking deficit in the form of LPG.

The vice president urged the private sector to step up its participation in the transition to green energy journey.

Fortaleza Canyon is a vast and quite grandiose canyon that is part of the Serra Geral National Park, which is part of the Municipality of Cambará do Sul, in the northeastern part of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, within the southern par f the Federative Republic of Brazil.

Considered to be one of the most difficult canyons to be reached, not just in Brazil, but in the entire world as well, the canyon always captivates all those who manage to come and see this magnificent natural feature from Brazil.

With walls that are up to 900 meters (2,952 feet) in height, and length of about 7.5 km (5 mi), Fortaleza Canyon is most likely one of the greatest natural features that can be seen in this world.

Even though difficult to be reached, there are two hiking trails that lead to this place, Pedra do Segredo Trail and Trilha do Mirante Trail.

The usual hike time is 2 hours each way for both trails, where Pedra do Segredo takes visitors to the beginning of the canyon, from where the cascading Tigre Preto Waterfall can be seen falling down in four different cascades with estimated height of some 1,000 meters (3,281 feet).

The other trail, Trilha do Mirante, is even better trail which leads to the end of the Fortaleza Canyon where visitors are awarded with a panoramic view of the grandiose canyon walls.

After all, the width between the walls of the canyon is staggeringly 2 km (1.24 mi) wide, and this amazing work of nature has the highest point of 1,240 meters (4,068 feet) above sea level.

Serra Geral National Park was formed as such in 1992 with an area of about 17,300 hectares (4,2749 acres), centering it over the grand Fortaleza Canyon, however, it includes also Malacara, Churriado, Josafaz, Coroados Indians, Molha Coco, Leão, Pés de Galinha , Bonecas and Macuco, which fit into this landscape consisting of 63 gigantic cliffs.

The best time to visit this marvelous place is throughout the entire year, since the scenery will captivate everyone that reaches the “promised land” of tall canyon walls, however, if visited in winter time, visitors must be always cautious since this is the rainy period that could be considered a little bit dangerous than usual.

All in all, Fortaleza Canyon is not well known place in the big, wide Brazil, however, it guarantees that everyone who dares to visit this mysterious place will definitely won’t feel disappointed by the landscape.

The Kwa Falls is located in Anegeje village in Akamkpa LGA of south-south Cross River State and an extension of the Kwa River.

Its sparkling waters cascades down basement rocks situated at the Oban side of the Cross River National Park.

There are 234 steps made to the Kwa Falls, and the waterfall flows into a canopy of the tropical rainforest and mangrove forest that is rich in Mahogany, Ebony, and Spruce trees in a fascinating landscape. to the the Kwa Falls for its amazing sight.

The awe-inspiring plunge of the Kwa Fallsdescends through a wide vertical gash on a cliff cutting-across the Great Kwa River channel (also called Kwa Ibo River or Kwa River), which flows gracefully through Cross River State, south-eastern Nigeria, draining the east side of the beautiful city of Calabar.

The river is said to emanate in the Oban Hills, in the Cross River National Park, and flows southwards to the Cross River estuary.

All the year round, tourists and visitors at Calabar keeps trooping down to the the Kwa Falls for its amazing sight.

Traffic arriving at Finland’s eastern border with Russia has “intensified” during the night, the Finnish Border Guard said early on Thursday, while adding that the situation was under control.

Finland is closely monitoring the situation in its neighbor following President Vladimir Putin’s order of military mobilization, defense minister Antti Kaikkonen said.

“The number clearly has picked up,” the Finnish border guard’s head of international affairs Matti Pitkaniitty told newsmen.

“It is an exceptional number in the sense that it clearly is busier,” he said, adding that the situation was under control and border guards were ready at nine checkpoints.

Putin’s announcement, made in an early-morning television address on Wednesday, raised fears that some men of fighting age would not be allowed to leave the country and prompted one-way flights out of Russia to sell out fast.

Wednesday’s number of people crossing the border was, however, lower than during the weekend, according to Pitkaniitty.

He said 4,824 Russians arrived in Finland via the eastern border on Wednesday, up from the 3,133 a week earlier.

In northern Norway, there had been no changes in the number of Russians crossing into the Nordic country, a police official said.

“No changes,” Soelve Solheim, section leader for operational immigration control at Finnmark police, said.