Recently, there have been talks round the management of climate change in post COVID-19 era, as well as dialogue on policy options for Nigeria as it mull developing a low carbon resilient climate change, HELEN OJI reports,
Globally, climate change continues to be a burning issue that needs urgent attention. This inform the gathering of experts from around the world as they put heads together, exploring new ways to manage climate change in post COVID-19 Nigeria. They are seeking to find policy options for Nigeria in the development of low-carbon resilient climate.
Actionable policy
Speaking at the virtual meeting Vice-Chancellor University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Prof Charles Igwe, harped on the need to develop actionable policy directions that would guide environmental issues in Nigeria.
Prof. Igwe, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration, Prof Pat Okpoko, said UNN was keen on helping the country build a safe environment during and after the pandemic.
“That is why we established the Resource and Environmental Policy Research Centre to provide policy direction through quality researches,” he said.
He added that the university, through its Faculty of Environmental Sciences and other centres, would be willing to partner with national and internal bodies to achieve a green environment for the country.
The Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, said that the dialogue, tagged “Managing Climate Change in Post COVID-19 Nigeria: Policy Options for Low-carbon Climate Resilient Development”, was apt as the federal government was working towards fulfilling its obligations with the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) as pledged in the Paris Agreement.
Ikeazor said the policy options for low carbon climate resilient development, was apt and that it came at a time the Nigerian government was working towards meeting its obligations with the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) as pledged in the Paris Agreement.
The virtual meeting was hosted by the Resource and Environmental Policy Research Centre (REPRC), University of Nigeria Nsukka, Environment for Development (EfD) Nigeria, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Part of the government’s efforts at achieving the NDC obligation, Ikeazor said, includes, the issuing of green bonds in December 2017, large scale installation of solar power and the target towards ending gas flaring in 2030 with the approval of gas flare prevention and waste pollution regulation in 2018.
Ikeazoe explained that though the government’s efforts at achieving its NDC mandate was hampered by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, she was optimistic that the outcome of the dialogue would support the ministry’s effort at revising the NDC and fine-tune post COVID-19 economic sustainability plan of the federal government.
Recovery plan
The UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Lealem Berhanu Dinku, said the UNDP was committed to assisting Nigeria recover from the impact of COVID-19 through the development of appropriate recovery plan which would focus on governance, social protection, green economy and digital disruption.
While commending the Minister of Environment on the approval of National Action Plan on Gender and Climate Change by the Federal Executive Council, Dinku said the UNDP would support the implementation of the plan which he hoped would lead to a green economy future for Nigeria.
Speaking on Financing Low-Carbon Climate Resilient Development Path in Post COVID-19 Nigeria, the Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Professor Thomas Sterner, said
climate change was a major threat to the development of Nigeria’s economy because its major source of revenue, oil, has high sensitivity to climate change.
He opined that subsidy on petroleum products should be reduced to make more funds available for the implementation of green growth development plan in the country.
The Director, Environment for Development (EfD) Initiative, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Dr Gunnar Kohlin, supported the call for a Green Growth Plan for Nigeria.
He stated that Nigeria needed a consistent credible green growth strategy to attract low-carbon financing, maintaining that the transition to sustainable green environment would be knowledge intensive and, therefore, requires investment in new generation of leaders that would drive transformation through research and development.
Stable revenue
In his presentation on “Impact of COVID-19 on Climate Policy and Policy Options to facilitate Low-Carbon Climate Development in Post-COVID-19 Nigeria”, the Senior Director, African Development Institute, African Development Bank Group, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, Prof Kevin Urama, said prior to COVID-19, Nigeria lacked the institutional capacity to adapt to climate change because of its reliance on volatile oil revenue.
“Oil revenue does not provide platform for government to plan well,” he said while recommending that the Nigerian government should focus on more stable sources of revenue including climate smart agriculture and education.
On “Climate Change in Nigeria and Government’s Actions Towards Mitigation and Adaption”, Professor Emmanuel Oladipo of the University of Lagos said climate change was part of global development as “its reality cannot be denied regardless of different beliefs”.
Prof. Oladipo said projections showed that if global warming continues global sea level may raise about 1 metre, indicating that about 75 percent of the population of the Niger Delta area would be submerged in water and many parts of Nigeria would, witness high degree of dryness.
He urged the government to pay attention to climate change issues otherwise other aspects of developments which are currently pursued would be wasted in the future.
The Director, Resource and Environmental Policy Research Centre (REPRC), Environment for Development (EfD) Nigeria, Dr Nnaemeka Chukwuone, said recommendations made at the dialogue would be articulated into a policy document that would be sent to the Ministry of Environment for further actions.
Dr Chukwuone said that the REPRC, which focuses on research, policy advocacy and capacity building, would continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Environment and other international organisations to help Nigeria achieve its mandate on green and clean environment.
