Climate change: FG restates resolve to back global efforts

President Muhammadu Buhari has affirmed Nigeria’s resolve to continue playing significant role in supporting global efforts at addressing climate change.

Minister of Environment Dr. Mahmood Muhammad Abubakar stated this while addressing the Ministerial High Level Segment of the 25th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Related Meetings on behalf of Mr President and the Nigerian delegation in Madrid, Spain.

He said it was obvious that the challenges of climate change were enormous, adding that Nigeria was calling for sustainable, joint and collaborative efforts to tackle the problem.

The minister, in a statement by his Director Press, Saghir el Mohammed, emphasised that Nigeria faces grave social, economic and environmental threats consequent to climate change due to its dependence on climate-sensitive resources.

“Climate change impacts are already threatening the survival and livelihoods of our people. The devastating loss of range and croplands to desertification each year in the northern part of the country, resource use conflicts, loss of forest cover and threatening sea-level rise on the significant coastline in the southern part of the country are a stark reminder of our vulnerability to climate change,” Dr Mahmood emphasised

He explained steps taken by the administration of President Buhari to mitigate the effect of climate change, adding that “Nigeria is advancing policies and initiatives aimed at addressing significant challenges occasioned by climate change such as reviving the Lake Chad, increasing her forest cover, deploying smart renewable energy solutions, halting and reversing desertification and land degradation, flooding, ocean surge; gender mainstreaming as well as   engaging the youths in climate governance.”

The minister also said: “Nigeria has also embraced issuance of green bond to raise finance for the implementation of green project, which has helped the government to fundamentally reorient its financial flows within the economy, through the greening of the federal budget and capital market.

“It is hoped that the issuance of the third Sovereign Green Bond would triple Nigeria’s GHG emission reductions, stimulate more economic growth and catalyse investment in social programmes.”

Speaking further, he reiterated the unwavering commitment of Nigeria to the fulfilment of its obligation under the Paris Agreement and actualization of goals of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

The minister stressed that Nigeria hoped the conference would “result in quick resolution of all outstanding issues pertaining to the Paris Agreement Rulebook as carried over from COP24 to enable its operationalisation and strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change to ensure a sustainable future for our people and planet.”