COP29: Nigeria delivers national statement, says carbon registry underway to reduce footprint

Minister of Environment, Mr Balarabe Abbas Lawal, on behalf of President Bola Tinubu, has delivered the country’s national statement at the ongoing United Nations climate conference (COP29), stating that as part of efforts to reduce the country’s carbon footprint, a national carbon registry is being developed.

On Tuesday in Baku, Azerbaijan, the minister said: “In our effort to reduce our carbon footprint and achieve our national objectives, we have developed a framework and strategy plan for participation in the Article 6 Carbon Market. In 2023, an Intergovernmental Committee on Carbon Market Activation Plan was formed to oversee the carbon market’s efficient implementation. Further, Nigeria has established an Article 6 Carbon Market Framework that incorporates national interests in the carbon market activation plan. Currently, a national carbon registry is being developed.”

He added: “Nigeria aligns with the rest of Africa in demanding greater, easier access to international climate finance, including grants and concessional loans, to support mitigation and adaptation efforts. We stress the need to significantly scale up adaptation finance to enable developing countries to accelerate adaptation and build resilience. We also urge accelerated efforts to operationalise the loss and damage fund to mitigate the damaging impacts of climate change.”

The minister noted that Nigeria is working towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2060 and enhancing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Accordingly, Nigeria has developed its NDC implementation framework and looks forward to partnering on its delivery.

“In Nigeria, in our stride towards reducing susceptibility to climate change, we are incorporating adaptation measures into policies, programmes and actions. An adaptation compact with project pipelines exists to help us build much-needed resilience. We are open to partnerships in this regard.

“Also, the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) is being finalised to make Nigeria more resilient to its development priorities and systems. To enable countries resilience strong enough to withstand climate change impacts, Nigeria hereby advocates for the provision of means of implementation to achieve the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA),” he stated.

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