As part of activities to show Nigeria’s determination to reduce the negative effects of climate change, the Federal Government has launched three initiatives, namely the Nigeria’s Long-term Low Emission Vision to 2050, the Investment and Financial Flow Assessment Reports, and National Youth Climate Innovation Hub.
Speaking during the launch yesterday in Abuja, the Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, reaffirmed the country’s commitment to a cleaner and climate resilient future.
“This occasion provides an excellent opportunity to give an update on the progress we have made as a country in our global commitments towards reducing GreenHouse Gas emissions (GHG) under the UNF CCC process. We have submitted the 2021 revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Climate Agreement, to which most of your MDAs made tangible contributions. This new submission has recommitted Nigeria to reducing emission by 20 per cent unconditionally but with a slight increase from 45 per cent to 47 per cent conditionally by the year 2030.
“Towards achieving this global commitment and in order to properly map resource mobilization, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) supported the ministry in developing the Investment and Financial Flow (I&FF) for the purposes of conducting an assessment to determine the costs of climate change measures and potential sources of investment funds,” he said.
The minister said the starting point for the I&FF methodology was to effectively address climate change adaptation and mitigation, adding it was also to aid decision makers to recognise the need for solid information on current and future climate change-related investments and financial flows, as well as their timing, sources and investment entities.
He added document would serve as a guidance note for government agencies as well as private sector organizations undertaking climate actions.
Abubakar further said Nigeria was committed to Article 6 of the Framework Convention and Article 12 of the Paris Agreement, seeking to empower citizens to engage in climate actions, through youth engagements, education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information and international cooperation, even as he urged the political elite to commit to supporting the Nigerian youths for climate innovation and solutions as the country launches the National Youth Climate Innovation Hub Reports.
The report was pooled from Regional Youth Innovation workshops on climate action themed ‘Unlock Youth Innovativeness in Nigeria’s Climate Action’ organized across the six geo-political zones from August 15-30, 2019, aimed at harvesting and collating innovations and Ideas that would be showcased at the UN Climate Action Summit.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Environment, Chief Sharon Ikeazor, emphasized that one of the goals of the Buhari government was to incentivize climate actions, creating economical value from the adaptation and mitigation actions that would be undertaken by the public and the private sector, stressing the implementation of these activities would definitely push Nigeria to low carbon development pathways.
She pointed out that the young people are socially conscious, active agents of change, responsible, idealist, and well-versed in technology, describing them as great role models for society. This was even as she noted that youth activism and engagement could bring about important social and environmental change that could sustain the earth.
Ikeazor said the ministry realized that young people could play an active (not only vocal) on ground role in protecting and improving our environment, adding they can change the future of our societies with their passion and courageous behavior. Unfortunately, today we have not fully harnessed the power of this demography in protecting the environment nationally.
“In this light, the Federal Ministry of Environment has engaged and supported some Nigerian youths in series of activities, one of which we have gathered here to pledge support to today: the regional climate innovation workshops, which was undertaken in the six geo-political zones of the country in 2019, to primarily collate, harvest innovations/ideas and to establish Youth Regional Climate Innovation Hub with the support of the UNDP. This initiative dovetailed into the climate innovation boot camps training across the zones in 2019, where the collated ideas from the regional innovation hub were further developed into business plans and green bankable project proposals,” she further said.
