Climate Facts: Cement, paper production contribute to global warming

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargon can make it difficult to understand. TheCable’s climate quick facts will help to demystify these climate concepts through easy-to-understand and straight-to-the-point explanations.

1. The year, 2019 was the second warmest year on record after 2016, and it marked the end of the warmest decade (2010- 2019) ever recorded. This means that the amount of heat in the atmosphere, land, and sea was at its highest in the last decade.

2. Climate action is goal number 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It aims for countries to improve their effort towards tackling climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions — gases that trap heat radiation in the atmosphere and make the earth warmer — strengthen their capacity to adapt and respond to climate change impacts, increase awareness of climate change and add climate change measures into national policies and planning.

3. NDCs mean Nationally Determined Contributions; they are at the core of the Paris agreement. They are climate plans, efforts, and measures of individual countries under the Paris agreement to reduce their national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change as a contribution to global climate action. 

4. To step up their climate action, developing countries including Nigeria need an annual donation of $100 billion from developed countries like the UK and the US.

5. Production of basic industrial materials like steel, cement, plastic (and other chemicals), paper and aluminium, accounts for 20% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and according to the UN Industrial Development Organisation, this is expected to increase as countries continue to develop and demand these industrial materials.