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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
An All Progressives Congress (APC), voluntary think-tank group, Legacy Awareness and Campaign, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s feat on climate change, describing it as historic.
The APC Legacy group revealed that Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) outlines a target of 20 per cent unconditional reduction of Nigeria’s carbon emissions and 45 per cent conditional reduction, by 2030, with the support of the international community.
It added that it also aimed to achieve this through such efforts as investment in renewable energy, massive afforestation campaign, elimination of gas flaring, clean cooking as a replacement for firewood, climate-smart agriculture.
In a statement signed by the quartets of Barr Ismail Ahmed, Lanre Issa-Onilu, Tolu Ogunlesi and Salihu Moh. Lukman, the group claimed that the country will witness the first “climate-responsive” budget next year.
“Since then, the country has demonstrated strong commitment towards tackling climate change. In 2017, Nigeria became the first African country and the third country in the world to issue a Sovereign Green Bond, worth N10.69 billion, and followed up in 2019 with a second Sovereign Green Bond, worth N15 billion.
“Pulling this pioneering effort off required a public-private coalition that brought together the Ministries of Finance and Environment, the Budget Office, the Debt Management Office, Development Finance Institutions, Capital Market Operators, and other stakeholders.
“Fast-forward to 2021, and the world has unequivocally recognised President Buhari as a global climate action leader and champion. His engagements and pronouncements at the Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, as well as testimonials such as that from American billionaire Jeff Bezos (whose “Earth Fund” has set aside $10 billion to support projects tackling climate change) attest to this.
“The 2022 Federal Budget, currently being considered by the National Assembly, is the first “climate-responsive” budget in the history of the country. Already, since 2020, the federal government launched a ‘Solar Power Naija’ project, implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), and which will electrify five million households and 25 million Nigerians, using off-grid solar power.
“The Solar Power Naija project will support the creation of a quarter of a million jobs in the energy sector alone. In July and October 2021 respectively, the Nigerian House of Representatives and Senate passed the Climate Change Bill, which will provide a much-needed legal framework for Nigeria’s efforts to decisively tackle climate change. Also this year, President Buhari approved the country’s Revised National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) (2021-2030) as well as National Climate Change Programmes.
“The President indeed takes Nigeria’s commitments under the Paris Agreement very seriously. On May 27, 2021, Nigeria formally submitted the Interim Report on its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The report shows that Nigeria is well on course to meet its NDC targets,” the statement read.
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