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By Isaac Anumihe
the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has reached a new global climate change agreement, which will place more demands on shipping services from developing countries.
Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, disclosed this yesterday in Lagos at a one-day National Stakeholders Forum on MARPOL Annex VI and Other Emerging Issues on Climate Change in the Nigerian maritime sector.
He said that while IMO is working to produce regulatory regimes for the international shipping industry, NIMASA is building capacity on issues of climate change through participations at regional, international and national workshops, seminars as well as conferences.
Besides, it collaborates with the Federal Ministry of Environment to create a detailed action plan that will assist the nation to effectively address climate change issues as they affect the maritime industry and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) on quality fuel oil supply to vessels in line with IMO sulphur content specification of 0.5mm by 2020.
Also, NIMASA is collaborating with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), in establishing climate observatories along Nigerian coastline, and through this collaboration, observatory stations have been established at the NIMASA Search and Rescue (SAR) Centre and OAU, Ile-Ife. The agency, he said, is working with World Bank to identify climate change impacted coastal areas of Nigeria for possible assistance in developing climate resilient coastlines.
“We have entered into a partnership with Climate Change Technology Centre and Network (CCTCN) on proposed projects on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) in Nigerian maritime and geological formation. We are also working with the Senate and House committees on climate change to mainstream climate change actions into a national policy having a robust legal framework and necessary legislative support,” he said.
However, the Executive Director (Operations) of the agency, Rotimi Fashakin, said Nigeria was committed to reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions unconditionally by 20 per cent and conditionally by 45 per cent in line with Nigeria’s Nationally-Determined Contributions, saying that President Muhammadu Buhari epitomised this resolve when he signed the instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
“As we progress in this journey towards a more conducive planet for our children and their offspring, we are careful to tread on pathways that have been determined by the responsible global agencies relying on empirically guided advisory issued by leading scientists and other experts in this field. In this wise, we are committed to monitoring and controlling GHG emission from shipping in line with the Kyoto Protocol and under the auspices of IMO,” he said.
