The Federal Ministry of Environment, says due to consequences and adverse impact of climate change on Nigeria, the country joined the global community to adopt treaties meant to tackle climate change.
A Director in the Federal Ministry of Environment Ministry, Dr Inibong Abiola-Awe says climate change is a critical issue, both for its global importance and threats to Nigeria and its people.
According to her, there will be some changes in climate that cannot be avoided due to past and inevitable future global emissions, but the detrimental effects can be avoided if we can reduce greenhouse gases emission to an acceptable level.
”Therefore, we must move towards taking climate action as a nation. Since taking actions that will alleviate the effects of climate change and a warmer world is everyone’s responsibility, we will be interacting and working with the general public, individuals, communities, businesses & industries, development partners and the global community”. she stated.
Nigeria become a UNFCCC
Nigeria became a party to the UNFCCC in 1992 and ratified the Convention in 1994, it also became a party to the Kyoto Protocol in 2004.
Nigeria ratified the Paris Agreement (PA) in March 2017, which was approved by the UNFCCC on the 16th May 2017 and entered into force on 15th June 2017.
Last year, United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, COP27, was the 27th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from November 6-20, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
The event was attended by Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, with more than 92 heads of state and an estimated 35,000 representatives, or delegates, of 190 countries.
President Joe Biden’s speech
In a remarks, United States President Joe Biden had called for Actions to tackle the climate crisis as the extreme weather events costing $145 billion and more destructive hurricanes and tornadoes.
”As President, I have a responsibility to act with urgency and resolve when our nation faces clear and present danger. And that’s what climate change is about. It is literally, not figuratively, a clear and present danger.” Mr Biden stated.
Mr Biden says national security is at stake as well. Extreme weather is already damaging our military installations here in the States. And our economy is at risk. So we have to act.
Impact of Climate change
At the meeting, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said ”We have determined a way forward on a decades-long conversation on funding for loss and damage, deliberating over how we address the impacts on communities whose lives and livelihoods have been ruined by the very worst impacts of climate change”.
COP27 saw the launch of a new five-year work program at COP27 to promote climate technology solutions in developing countries.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres announced a USD 3.1 billion plan to ensure everyone on the planet is protected by early warning systems within the next five years.
The UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero commitments published a report at COP27, serving as a how-to guide to ensure credible, accountable net-zero pledges by industry, financial institutions, cities and regions.
Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldein, High-Level Champion for COP27, said the membership of the Race to Zero and the Race to Resilience has grown significantly with more than half of the finance actors in Race to Zero now releasing interim targets.
Nigel Topping, High-Level Champion for COP26, said tackling climate change is our generation’s moonshot; not to demonstrate one country’s industrial prowess, but to save everyone and everything we hold dear.
Addressing the adaptation gap and strengthening resilience
Promoting resilience to become the foundation of sustainable development pathway implementation in a manner that builds non-party stakeholders’ contributions to address loss and damage through equitable, holistic, and collaborative efforts.
Sharm el-Sheikh, Adaptation Agenda Outcome on Oceans and Coastal Zones related to Mangroves and the launching of the Mangrove Breakthroughs
Private Finance actors to help mobilize the USD$140 billion to USD$300 billion annually by 2030, and for insurers to institutionalize a longer-term industry approach to adaptation and resilience.
The finance deep-dive report provides additional detail on the Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Outcomes for Finance and offers solutions for how they can be delivered.
Action Against Climate Change
Sustainable Development Goal 13 Climate Action calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its implications.
Most countries are adopting the Paris Agreement to address and limit the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.
Climate Change is now affecting every nation, including Nigeria, with changing in weather pattern, rise in sea level, incessant rainfalls, destruction of lives and property in communities across the country.
Since Climate Change remained a global phenomon that does not respect national boundaries, implementation of the Paris Agreement is key to achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
Writing by Adeniyi Bakare