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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
At the ongoing 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, called on world leaders to move beyond dialogue and promises towards meaningful action in the fight against climate change.
“Let COP30 be remembered as the moment when the world moved from pledges to performance, from ambition to action, and from dialogue to delivery,” Shettima declared on Thursday during the Leaders’ Climate Summit, where he represented President Bola Tinubu.
Highlighting Nigeria’s commitment, the Vice President announced an ambitious target to cut emissions by 32% by 2035, anchored by the recent launch of Nigeria’s National Carbon Market Framework and Climate Change Fund. These initiatives are designed to attract billions in investment for clean energy and climate resilience.
According to a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha, he explained, “The Earth speaks in the language of loss and warning. It tells us that our survival is tied to its well-being. These are the cries that have compelled us to gather… to save the only home we have.” He stressed the need for realistic financing, stating, “No nation can finance climate ambition with goodwill alone. We need a reliable and equitable architecture that recognises the realities of developing nations.”
The National Carbon Market Framework will allow Nigeria to generate and trade carbon credits, while proceeds support communities most affected by climate disasters such as floods and droughts through the Climate Change Fund. Additionally, Nigeria has launched a five-year Carbon Market Roadmap to establish an Emissions Trading System and a Carbon Tax Regime, incentivising green innovation.
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Shettima stressed Nigeria’s role as part of the climate solution, saying, “Africa can lead in carbon capture through forests, in renewable energy expansion, [and] regional cooperation that translates ambition into prosperity.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, addressing the summit, lamented the failure to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius, warning that temporary overshoots could lead to catastrophic consequences. “Every fraction of a degree means more hunger, displacement and loss especially for those least responsible,” he said. He called for urgent “paradigm shift” action to minimise and reverse temperature increases.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva emphasised collective responsibility: “It will take a collective effort, listening to indigenous communities and those bearing the brunt of climate change… Climate justice is aligned with fighting hunger and poverty, the struggle against racism and gender inequality.”
Representing King Charles III, the Prince of Wales urged decisive, collaborative commitment: “Our children and grandchildren will stand on the shoulders of our collective action… not with hesitation, but with courage.”
He reaffirmed the nation’s readiness to collaborate globally, declaring, “We are ready to work with all nations to build a fairer, greener, and more resilient world, one where our children inherit not the ruins of our indifference, but the fruits of our collective resolve.”
