Pass climate change bill — Minister urges National Assembly

The Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, on Wednesday, called on the National Assembly to speed up action on the passing into law of the Bill on Climate Change.

Ikeazor, who made the call at the opening of the National Council on Environment in Abuja, stated that the bill had already passed second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives.

“This has become necessary so as to have a legal instrument that would address the myriads of climate change actions and challenges across the country,” she stated.

The minister, who declared the three-day council meeting open, noted that it was important for stakeholders to meet and discuss better ways to manage the emerging environmental challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting had its theme as “Managing Emerging Environmental challenges: Need for Strategic Approach to Sustainable Development in COVID-19 Era and Beyond.”

She said the theme was strategically chosen to underscore the realities of global health challenges occasioned by the pandemic and the need to tackle the attendant issues.

As a sector, the need for us to deliberate on the increasing concerns with a view to generating actionable policy framework and measures to guide our actions towards addressing these emerging concerns is uppermost,” she said.

The minister added, “This is why we are here.”

Ikeazor charged participants to find lasting solutions to the multifaceted environmental challenges confronting the nation that include biodiversity loss, climate change and COVID-19 pandemic.

On his part, the Director-General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Mansur Matazu, appealed to the minister and the council to push for the ratification of the National Framework for the Application of Climate Service to ensure a seamless access to climate service information for the benefit of all.