Felix Ikem, Nsukka
Environmental scholars and other experts have urged the Nigerian government to begin developing and implementing policy options that would enhance low-carbon emissions and thereby retard climate change, in the wake of challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The experts spoke at the webinar held on Friday under the auspices of the Resource and Environmental Policy Research Centre (REPRC), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and Environment for Development, Nigeria (EfD) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
In her opening remarks, the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, said that the dialogue, tagged “Managing Climate Change in Post-COVID-19 Nigeria: Policy Options for Low-carbon Climate Resilient Development” was apt and that it came at a time the Nigerian government was working towards meeting its obligations with the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) as pledged in the Paris Agreement of 2016.
She said that part of the government’s efforts at achieving the NDC obligation included the issuance of green bonds in December 2017, large-scale installation of solar power and the target to end gas flaring by 2030 in line with the provisions of the Gas Flaring Prevention and Waste Pollution Regulation of 2018.
The minister said that although the government’s efforts towards achieving its NDC mandate was hampered by the outbreak of COVID-19, she was optimistic that the outcome of the dialogue would support the ministry’s effort at revising the NDC and fine-tuning the post-COVID-19 economic sustainability plan of the Federal Government.
The Vice-Chancellor of UNN, Prof Charles Igwe, in his remarks, harped on the need to develop actionable policy directions that would guide environmental issues in Nigeria.