- Nigeria to push for easy draw-down of Euros 18 billion for easy accessibility for Africa nations
By Hillary Asemota
The Federal Government through the Ministry of Environment, on Friday said Nigeria will strategically focus its priorities on exploring options for climate finance and building partnerships that will drive the country’s emissions reduction ambitions, adaptation, and climate change mitigation at the forthcoming COP27 slated from November 6-18 in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt.
The Minister of Environment, Mr. Mohammed Abdullahi, while addressing the media at the launch of the country’s COP27 national logo, said it represents Nigeria’s alignment with the ideals and objectives of COP27 but distinctively projecting our national priorities as a country.
He however said that Nigeria and Africa contribute the least, in terms of emission of Green House Gases (GHG) into the atmosphere, but unfortunately, we are the worst hit by the impacts of climate change due to limited adaptive capacity to cope to with these impacts.
The Global climate, he said has been changing with devastating effects as a result of human induced activities causing emissions of green-house gases into the atmosphere.
This is evident through increased temperatures, irregular rainfall pattern, rise in sea level and flooding, drought and desertification, land degradation, more frequent extreme weather events, a declining freshwater resources and loss of biodiversity, the Minister added.
He said: “Only recently, increased flooding has been experienced in Kogi, Nasarawa, Abia, Jigawa States and in some other parts of the country. This is largely due to high intensities of rainfall.
“A sad corollary to these events is decreased agricultural food production, loss of properties, health challenges and heightened insecurity. To say that these developments are a result of climate change is to state the obvious.
“The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that delaying action is a luxury we can no longer afford. Unless countries expeditiously boost climate action and ambition on mitigation and adaptation, we would be facing a future of 2oC or more.
He said Nigeria became a party to the UNFCCC in 1994 and ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2004. In 2015, Nigeria joined the global community in adopting the Paris Agreement, a binding mechanism for all countries in addressing the challenges of climate change.
With the ratification of the Paris agreement, Nigeria committed to reducing its GHG emissions unconditionally by 20% and conditionally by 45% which was reviewed to 47% in our updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
At the COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, the Glasgow Climate Pact (GCP) was adopted, stressing that the Pact calls on countries to submit revised NDCs and long-term strategies to 2050, aiming for a Just transition to net-zero emissions around the mid-century of which Nigeria is committed to achieving by 2060 and has commenced its implementation.
The Minister said: “In response to the outcome of COP26 and in meeting the requirements of achieving net zero emission by 2060, Nigeria has: developed and submitted its Long-Term Vision 2050 (LTV 2050) to the UNFCCC with a view to elaborating its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS or LTS). Developed its Energy Transition Plan (ETP).
“We launched the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). Ramped up implementation of its updated NDC. Adopted the National Climate Change Act which gives a legal backing to the net zero ambition via the development of a National Action Plan on Climate Change and setting the pace for a carbon trading framework.
According to him, in the past 30 years, the world has come a long way in the fight against climate change and its negative impacts on our planet; we are now able to better understand the science behind climate change, better assesses its impacts, and better develop tools to address its causes and consequences.
“COP27 is a rare opportunity for parties and observers to come together and grapple with a challenge that is impacting all of humanity and to showcase unity against an existential threat that we can only overcome through concerted action and effective implementation.
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recent report has made it clear that we are now in extraordinarily dangerous territory. With every small delay to proportionate action, we move closer to irredeemable damage to the climate and its ability to sustain the human population. This urgency is recognized in the convening of countries at COP27 and in the call for countries to revise their NDCs ahead of the conference.
According to the Minister, the National Stakeholder Consultative Forum (NSCF), which held yesterday was aimed at providing a platform and opportunity to promote coherence and clarity on national priorities. It seeks to emphasize key priorities in the negotiation agenda items for the development of a national position and as well conduct capacity-building sessions for negotiators. This we have achieved and gave us a clear roadmap, he added.
Abdullahi, said Nigerian pavilion will serve as a base for hosting all activities by the Nigerian delegation during the conference, hold bilateral meetings and will provide a place for networking with potential investors and related opportunities for Nigerians.
He expressed optimism that the meeting will draw notable global leaders and funding/development partners is expected to focus on climate finance to address desert encroachment, desertification and drought devastating member states and exploit the funding window under the auspices of the GGW Accelerator, where European countries pledged about 18 billion Euros to support activities of member States.
Nigeria will continue to push for a softening of conditions as it relates to access and draw-down from the fund to make it accessible to member States.
It is also expected that the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management will hold a side meeting to showcase the impact of climate change on migration and livelihoods of the people affected by conflict and loss of agrarian habitat around the Lake Chad region and the arid landscape of the Northern Nigeria and coastal flood and erosion in the Southern part of the country.
The Minister added that Nigeria will also focus on sustainable funding mechanism that drives nature-based solutions such as land restoration, reforestation, combating desertification, climate smart-agricultural practices as well as adaptation strategies.
He said: “Nigeria will also seek collaboration and support on sustainable waste management, renewable and clean energy provision, and finance for loss and damage. Nigeria will push for developed countries to fulfil financial pledges to aid in tackling the climate crisis.
“The expected outcomes of Nigeria’s participation will include increased partnership building that help Nigeria achieve its emission reduction targets, address adaptation and mitigation, establish sustainable financing for climate actions, resilience building, poverty eradication, Energy Transition and sustainable development.
Nigeria, will not take a position of ‘know it all’ but will align with the West Africa region’s identification of the thematic issues faced by the continent and the group’s interim position on each which includes doubling adaptation finance by 2025; clarification on the support arrangements to address loss and damage; closing the climate financing gap; scaling up Africa’s mitigation ambition and implementation; strengthening the linkage between technology and financial mechanisms; the global stock-take on progress on the Paris agreement; transparency; gender and climate change; agriculture; Article 6 and carbon pricing and Africa’s unique needs and particular circumstance.
“At this COP, Nigeria will be including young professionals and youths to understudy the negotiators and advance Nigeria’s position. This is part of the ongoing capacity building sessions by the Ministry in the development of its bank of Youth Negotiators.
“There is no doubt that Nigeria’s participation at COP 27 in Egypt will demonstrate the country’s continued commitment to addressing the challenges of climate change at both national and sub-national level, will align with rest of Africa on agenda items which will support partnerships building that will help Nigeria achieve its emission reduction targets including solidifying frameworks (as earlier alluded to) for establishing carbon markets, address adaptation and mitigation, establish sustainable financing for climate actions, resilience building, poverty eradication and sustainable development.”
