President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in New York announced that his administration will develop a more robust sectorial action plan toward reversing climate change in Nigeria.
Delivering an address to the United Nations Climate Action Summit with the theme, “A Race We Can Win. A Race We Must Win,” he said the government will expand the scope of its Sovereign Green Bonds in line with its intended upward review of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) towards the inclusion of the water and waste sectors by 2020.
He said, in the water sector, Nigeria will issue a Green Bond for irrigation and construct multi-purpose dams for power, irrigation and water supply while strengthening solid and liquid waste management systems to attract more private sector investors.
He said his government will take concrete steps to harness climate innovative ideas by including youths in decision-making processes as part of our over-all climate governance architecture.
The President added, “We will mobilize Nigerian youths towards planting 25 million trees to enhance Nigeria’s carbon sink.
“In the energy sector, Nigeria is presently diversifying its energy sources from dependence on gas-powered system to hydro, solar, wind, biomass and nuclear sources.
“Specifically, Nigeria is progressively working to realize 30 per cent energy efficiency and renewable energy mix by 2030. This is envisaged to lead to 179 million tons of carbon dioxide reduction per annum by 2030.
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“In addition, our Administration intends to develop a shelterbelt across 11 States of the Federation spanning a distance of 1,500 km and 15km across through the Great Green Wall initiative. Furthermore, the Federal Government has commenced the implementation of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Programme in Ogoniland, to recover the carbon sink potential of the mangrove ecosystem of the one thousand square kilometers (1,000 KM2) polluted site in the affected area.”
President Buhari further informed the summit that his government has introduced Climate Smart Agricultural Practices to unlock Seventy-Four (74) Million tons of carbon dioxide per annum, through relevant technologies, advocacy and best practices.
He stated, “as you are aware, the Lake Chad Basin, which used to be a region of productivity, food security and wealth for an estimated 40 million citizens living around the Chad Basin, has shrunk significantly from its original size due to Climate Change.
“We will continue to lead in efforts to have solid partnerships for the ecological restoration and recharge of the Lake.”
Buhari expressed confidence that this would improve the living conditions of the diverse nationals living in the area, promote inter-state cooperation, strengthen community resilience, as well as assist in addressing the environmental and security crisis that threaten the region, its resources and inhabitants.
He observed that the forty million citizens in the Lake Chad area expected the Summit to take into consideration their concerns.
He added, “they anticipate that the outcomes of this meeting would include solutions to address the Climate Change impact in the Lake Chad area.
“I am glad that the Secretary-General and some of the member states represented in this hall are partnering with us in this endeavour. We thank them for their cooperation and I look forward to deepening our partnership.”
Buhari stated that he shared the sentiment expressed by the Secretary-General that the world was on the verge of climate catastrophe, saying, “undeniably, Climate Change is a human-induced phenomenon.”
According to him, it was now imperative to step-up collective climate actions in line with the request of the Secretary-General.
In this regard, President Buhari reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to its obligation under the Paris Agreement, the aspirations enshrined in Nigeria’s NDC and to ensure a resilient future that mainstreams climate risks in his government’s decision making.