The Minister of Environment, Barr. Mohammed Abdullahi, has assured that the Climate Change Act will bring about a cleaner, greener lifestyle.
Abdullahi stated this during the opening ceremony of the World Environment Day (WED) 2022 themed “Only one Earth; Together we can protect it”.
The United Nations General Assembly set aside June 5 every year as World Environment Day to create awareness about the importance of human survival and the general well being of the planet.
Abdullahi, represented by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Engr. Hassan Musa, said: “The issue of environment is really important to us. The slogan focuses on living sustainably, in harmony with nature. The Climate Change Act will promote a cleaner, greener lifestyle and act as a legal framework that will allow us to tackle the climate change challenges. We also have the energy transition program which we’re working on with the ministries of petroleum and power to see how we can reduce our emissions to the climate.
“It is also important that the whole world looks towards addressing these challenges. Just last March, the United Nations Assembled on Environment met in Nairobi and discussed a lot of issues. Last week we were at Abidjan to look at the issues of desertification and land degradation, and how we can also work on them. A week later, between May 11 and 13, 2022, over 14 ministers of the world met again in Denmark, where I was privileged to represent the minister.”
Nigeria submitted her National Determined Contributions (NDC) last year which was reviewed before COP 26 in Glasgow.
Earlier, the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Aliyu said that the objective of celebrating World Environment Day in Nigeria is to mobilise the leadership and citizens to take inclusive and collective actions toward tackling environmental issues and promoting sustainable development.
The minister, represented by her special assistant on the environment and climate change, Rokiyat Patie, said: “There is no better time than now to raise the awareness of the threat to the life support of humanity on earth, the environment. Over the years, from one generation to another, Mother Earth has been continuously raped and the environment gradually depleted of its limited resources, including those that are meant to protect man and other living organisms”.
The EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Samela Isopi, in her good well message, said that the European Union is at the forefront to protect the environment and fight against climate change as both directly affect the lives of citizens. “The European Union has set ambitious goals. We asked that the world leaders take action. We showed that here in Abuja last Saturday when we joined forces with them in a symbolic clean-up of the Jabi Lake to mark this year’s World Environment Day.
“In Europe, we take the challenge of plastic pollution seriously; plastics are everything, they are cheap, convenient and light. The EU and its member states will engage with partners around the world to speed up the actions agreed on at COP 26.”
Similarly, the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann, said: “This is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on major and most truthful of a challenge of this century. What is at stake is a capacity to avoid the destruction of our planet.
“There is only one Earth; yet, we are using and abusing it over and over again. But, together, we can protect it. As you may know, for a long time, France has placed issues such as climate change, renewable energy and protection of biodiversity as the main priorities of its foreign policy.
“France is playing its full part in this effort within the international community and is deploying comprehensive diplomacy to respond to the urgency of climate environmental crisis here in Nigeria. The French Embassy, the French Development Agency (AFD) and their partners, including the Ministry of Environment, are working hard to spread these convictions and support to support initiatives of the civil society aiming to reduce the impact of climate change in Nigeria.
“The AFD is 100 per cent-compliant with the past Paris Agreement. If all leaders and all citizens take action, there is hope that, together, we can manage to protect our planet. My dear colleague from the EU said we have no ‘plan B’. Let us all remain fully mobilised to pursue these efforts and tangible actions because [we have] only one Earth but together we can protect it.”
Blatmann thanked the personnel of the Ministry of Environment, volunteers and all who partook in the cleaning of the Jabi Lake over the weekend.
