President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated a National Council on Climate Change for Nigeria.
President Buhari charged the newly inaugurated council to formulate suitable policies toward achieving green growth for sustainable economic development in the country.
The president inaugurated the Council before commencement of the Federal Executive Council meeting in the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday, September 28, 2022.
The inauguration marks a new chapter in response to climate change in the implementation of the country’s 2021 Climate Change Act, said President Mohamadu Buhari.
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He has tasked the council with the responsibility of formulating appropriate policies and other mechanisms for achieving low greenhouse gas emissions, including green growth and sustainable economic development for Nigeria.
In his inaugural speech, Buhari described climate change as one of the biggest challenges facing humanity.
He recalled the losses and damages caused by recent increasing floods in parts of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and other parts of East and Southern Africa.
He described the composition of the council as a reflection of the magnitude of the problem and the seriousness of national leadership efforts to mitigate the impacts.
He on this note directed the Attorney General and Minister of Justice together with the Minister of Environment to initiate appropriate amendments of ‘noticeable implementation challenges’ that are captured in the Act.
“Climate Change is complex and dynamic which requires multidimensional and sectoral initiatives to address its impacts”, he observed.
The West African leader said latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report warned that rising greenhouse gas emissions could soon go beyond the ability of communities to adapt.
He further noted that current data shows alarming rise in sea level, devastating flooding, heat waves, wildfires, desertification, drying wetlands and many disruptive occurrences due to Climate Change.
The president regretted that the losses of precious lives, damage to state infrastructure and agricultural produce have become an issue of great concern to all.
He therefore, reiterated the determination of his administration to strengthen national response to climate change and accelerate the implementation of decisive actions to reduce its impacts on the people and economy.
“We cannot ignore what is happening in our local environment. The increasing repeated floods in several parts of the country is a wakeup call,” said the President.
According to President Buhari, Nigeria is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an established international treaty to combat “dangerous human interference with the climate system”, for stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
He said it against this background that he signed the Nigeria Climate Change Act despite noticeable implementation challenges in Nov. 2021, after COP26 in Glasgow.
“In a clear demonstration of our commitments as enshrined in our Nationally Determined Contributions and the Net Zero-Target by 2060, I also approved, on July 25, 2022, the appointment of the Director General and Secretary for the National Council on Climate Change.”
This group was responsible for Energy Transition, the supervisory oversight of the Ministry of Environment and the establishment of an Executive Management structure at the secretariat level to support the DG in running the Council Secretariat”, Buhari emphasize.
The president expressed optimism that the National Council on Climate Change would harmonise all issues relating to Climate Change, Energy Transition Plan, Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Trading Framework ahead of COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
President Buhari used the occasion to express gratitude to the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo for leading Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan.
He also lauded him for presiding over the global launch of the transition plan and initiating its marketing strategies through engagements with key stakeholders in the United States.
The urged the Council to consolidate on the primary steps taken to ensure the marketing plan is sustained.
Earlier, the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, thanked the president for “walking the talk” on climate change at the international, regional and national levels.
He also lauded him for demonstrating immense leadership towards Nigeria’s quest for net-zero by 2060.
The Nigeria Council on Climate Change is chaired by the President with the Vice President as its Vice Chairman.
