FOLLOWING the successful conclusion of COP26, the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has
pledged to support Nigeria on the decarbonisation of the power sector. This one among other areas the UK plans to support Nigeria actualises its climate ambitions.
Speaking in the aftermath of COP26 hosted by the UK, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing CB said: “Nigeria is highly vulnerable to climate change and although it has been ambitious in developing adaptation and mitigation plans, these plans need to be transformed into action – by the federal and state governments working closely with local communities, civil society and other stakeholders, and with the support of development partners.
“We will continue to support Nigeria make progress on decarbonisation of the power sector and stay the course on power sector reforms, creating the enabling environment for offgrid solar at scale by, for example, removing high VAT and customs on domestic solar equipment.
“We will also continue to support efforts that will see Nigeria take action to reduce greenhouse gases such as black carbon and methane from the atmosphere by ending gas flaring as well as adopting climate smart agro-forestry and agricultural reforms as sustainable solutions for Nigeria’s people, nature and biodiversity.”
The UK Presidency of COP26 has noted that at the conclusion of COP26 in Glasgow, nearly 200 countries have agreed to the
Glasgow Climate Pact to keep 1.5°C alive and have finalised the outstanding elements of the Paris Agreement.
Climate negotiators ended two weeks of intense talks with consensus on urgently accelerating climate action. The Glasgow
Climate Pact, combined with increased ambition and action from countries, means that the goal of limiting global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels remains in sight, but it will only be delivered with concerted and immediate global efforts.
The Glasgow Climate Pact will speed up the pace of climate action. All countries agreed to revisit and strengthen their current emissions targets to 2030, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), in 2022.
This will be combined with a yearly political roundtable to consider a global progress report and a Leaders summit in 2023.
President Muhammadu Buhari pledged that Nigeria would cut its emissions to net-zero by 2060 and called on developed countries to support countries like Nigeria which require adequate and sustained technical and financial support to attain
climate goals.
To demonstrate commitment to Nigeria’s international ambition and to support the implementation of Nigeria’s adaptation and mitigation measures, the President signed Nigeria’s Climate Change Bill into Law just days after COP26.