By Gloria Akudoro, Abuja

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to promoting and embarking on climate-positive and nature-positive investments to boost adaptive capacity and also build resilience of the ecosystems while improving the livelihoods of the local communities and indigenous people.

The Hon. Minister of Environment Mohammed Abdullahi at the three-day National Council on Environment (NCE) which began on Tuesday, 2022 held in Abuja, maintained that the sector’s ambitious efforts towards zero emission are on course.

The Minister who described NCE a platform where challenges in the environment sector are subjected to interrogation with a view to proffering solutions on the problems confronting the sector, said this year’s theme of the NCE “Pursuit of Zero Emission: A Trajectory Towards Global Environment Renaissance” aptly captures an Environment in which we presently live in, an environment threatened by the debilitating effects of climate change.

“We are persuaded by the reality of the imperatives to pursue a low carbon emission trajectory as an indispensable option to preserve the health of the planet as we journey to net zero emission.

“Nigeria’s forest ecosystems exist within a context in which the ripple effects of population and economic growth in the country drive the rapid and massive depletion of forests at an annual rate that is estimated to be in the range of 0.72% – 2.38%.

“The forest sector’s GHG emissions in Nigeria mainly stem from deforestation and forest degradation from land use conversion and the key drivers are small scale and commercial agricultural expansion, heavy reliance on wood fuel particularly firewood and charcoal, unsustainable timber extraction, urban expansion, grazing, bush burning, large infrastructure development and mining.

“Land-use change accounts for 23% of global emissions, whilst forests and land-use related actions have the potential to deliver up to 30% of the emissions reductions needed for 1.5 degrees.

“Ecosystems aid efforts to adapt to climate change through securing and regulating water supplies and protecting communities from flooding, storms and erosion in which these activities are currently significantly under-resourced and under-leveraged to about 5% of global climate finance.”

However, the Minister assured that collective effort will succeed in fighting climate change, delivering resilient and inclusive growth, and halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation and also keep within reach 1.5°C.

To ensure a giant strive is achieved, Abdullahi noted that the Climate Change Act which was enacted in November, 2021 by Mr President will go a long way in catalysing the realization of the country’s climate ambitions and commitments including contribution to zero emission.

He said the Act also establishes the Climate Change Fund which will help us address climate finance issues with regards to adaptation, loss and damage, innovations to reduce GHG emissions, development of technology for renewable energy and transition to a green economy, among others.

According to him, “The Act provides for the phenomenon of carbon budgeting which will be set in a five-yearly cycle with annual targets assigned to private and public entities, with the Council imbued with the powers to monitor and ensure that set budgets and targets are met as at when due in order to attain the Net-Zero by 2060.

“In its backdrop Mr. President appointed the pioneer Director General of the National Climate Change Council to foster its interest.

“For the stakeholders, the Act further provides for establishment of state and Zonal Directors which tends to provide a humongous bureaucracy, membership of the Council also inadvertently takes out Commissioners of Environment as members of the Climate Change Council, the Secretariat has no Directorates to support functions of the Director-General, no transitional provisions in relation to functions of the Department of Climate Change and the Climate Change Council amongst others.”

He added that the Ministry has initiated an amendment of the Act by setting up a technical review committee which has concluded its assignment providing next steps on the way forward.

“Further, Nigeria has developed an Energy Transition Plan (ETP) which shows a detailed roadmap for Nigeria to achieve both SDG 7 by 2030 and Net Zero by 2060.

“This roadmap highlights the scale up the needed effort required for a developing nation to achieve net zero including the scale of financing, renewables to be deployed as well as importance of transition fuels.

“To meet our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target and fast track our low carbon development pledges to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Nigerian Sovereign Green Bond was issued in line with our Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP).

“These Green Bonds are used in financing environmentally friendly projects through debts tied to sustainability targets.

“In December 2021, we launched the Deep Decarbonization project with the support of the French Development agency (AFD).

“This project is a National research and capacity development project for the implementation of a Deep Decarbonisation pathway program for Nigeria.

“Nigeria has adopted a good number of measures to ensure that it sustainably manages its environment which includes developmental policies on the environment, solid waste management, plastic waste management, biosafety policy, gender and climate change,” the Minister stated.

In his remark, the Minister Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, thanked the Environment Minister for hosting a successful gathering of the highest decision making body in the nation’s environment sector, also urged the Minister to take time to visit the reopening of millennium park, which is a model of its vision for an environmentally friendly FCT.

He said the Ministry’s long term strategy is the use of electric vehicles for public transportation while it continues to sensitize residents on the need to protect the environment.