Is debt-for-climate swap a win-win situation?

Nigeria, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, stands to reap billions of dollars in debt relief from some creditors if the Debt-for-Climate (DFC) swap deal the country proposes is accepted.

“Debt-for-climate swap is a type of debt swap where bilateral or multilateral debt is forgiven by creditors in exchange for a commitment by the debtor to use the outstanding debt service payments for national climate action programmes,” Osinbajo said.

“Typically, the creditor country or institution agrees to forgive part of a debt, if the debtor country would pay the avoided debt service payment in a local currency into an escrow or any other transparent fund and the funds must then be used for agreed climate projects in the debtor country.”

Justifying the rationale behind such a debt swap deal, Osinbajo said that the commitment to it would “increase the fiscal space for climate-related investments and reduce the debt burden for participating developing countries.”
Climate change is a broad term used to refer to changes in the earth’s climates at local, regional or global scales, and can also refer to the effects of these changes. In recent decades, the term ‘climate change is most often used to describe changes in the earth’s climate-driven primarily by human activity since the pre-industrial period (c. 1850 onwards), particularly the burning of fossil fuels and removal of forests, resulting in a relatively rapid increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the earth’s atmosphere.
Global warming is a term often used interchangeably with climate change, as it is one of the most important measures of global change. Global warming refers to the rise in average global temperatures, which is linked to significant impacts on humans, wildlife and ecosystems around the world.


Because there are more factors and impacts than only rising surface temperatures, the term climate change is used to include these additional impacts. There is strong consensus among scientists, representing 97% of actively publishing climate scientists, that human influence has been the dominant cause of observed warming trends since the 20th century.
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen from hovering around 280 parts per million (ppm) in pre-industrial time to 413 ppm as of early 2020.


This concentration of carbon dioxide is unprecedented in recorded history. Scientists have reported that we need to return to a ‘safe’ concentration of 350 ppm by 2100 to stabilise global warming.
Osinbajo, recently, tabled Nigeria’s DFC proposal on how to check the effects of climate change during some engagements he had with stakeholders in the United States of America. Due, largely, to the success of his engagements, Osinbajo said that Nigeria will reap a huge debt relief from some of its creditors.
Chiefs among the groups of stakeholders who met with the Vice President were some top officials of the US government and, of course, during the meetings, Osinbajo did not hesitate in pushing the case for the debt-for-climate.


Osinbajo said that the “proposed DFC swaps would be a very useful intervention and helpful as it will reduce debt burdens,” while advancing the climate change objectives of the international community.”
He described the idea as a climate change-related financing instrument, deserving of global consideration as it is a win-win proposal.


And, indeed, it is! Among the direct consequences of climate change include displacement of people and communities due to sea level rise and extreme weather events, whereas indirect consequences may include disruptions to economic development, food production, escalation in water crises and increased public health risks.


The impacts of climate change will not be evenly felt around the world – people living in the poorest countries and geographically vulnerable regions (such as small-island states) will be first and significantly impacted.


This is because communities living in poverty are more likely to be exposed to environmental hazards, are often more dependent on natural resource-based livelihoods such as agriculture and have fewer resources to cope with climate impacts.
Each fractional degree of warming also results in outsized impacts on biodiversity and species extinction, and disturbances in natural ecosystems.


Even if carbon emissions in the atmosphere can be absorbed and stabilised over a long period, many of the impacts on wildlife, land, water and people will be irreversible once they occur, which makes halting the release of greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global warming as much as possible, the priority of the entire world.


Recently, across the northern hemisphere, a foretaste of the effects of climate change has started unfolding in the form of heat waves, uncontrolled forest fires, displacement and deaths. In Europe, the crisis has already claimed about 2,000 lives in Portugal and Spain and is afflicting thousands in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Greece and others.


The United Nations Environment Programme warns that while Africa had contributed negligibly (about two to three per cent) to the changing climate, the continent stands out disproportionately as the most vulnerable owing to its low level of socio-economic growth and lacking resources needed to mitigate the impact.
Thus, unless the countries of the world come together to fight climate change and win collectively, they stand the risk of losing together. In this vein, with the support of the developed countries, Africa can develop into a global supplier of carbon credits, ranging from bio-diversity to energy-based credits in a situation that would be a leap forward in aligning carbon pricing and related policy around achieving a just transition.


Of course, it is regrettable that humanity is today facing the inexorable consequence of its collective failure to hearken to experts’ warnings on worsening global warming.
Therefore, as Osinbajo canvassed, the world must act now with utmost urgency to halt environmental degradation and save the planet.


Thankfully, while responding to the debt-for-climate proposal proposed by Nigeria, the Administrator of USAID, Samantha Power, said to Osinbajo that the idea is “fresh thinking that is very exciting,” and the US government is open to such new.

81 presidential garlands for Emir of Zazzau-Suleja

President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday congratulated the Emir of Zazzau-Suleja, Alhaji Muhammadu Awwal Ibrahim, on the attainment of his 81st birthday.

The Zazzau-Suleja is a Hausa emirate established in the early 19th century, in what is now Niger State.

Awwal Ibrahim was born in Suleja in 1941. He attended Provincial Secondary School, Bida, from 1956 to 1961 and, later, School for Arabic Studies, Kano. He earned a degree in English from Abdullahi Bayero College (now Bayero University Kano) in 1967 and obtained his master’s degree in 1970.

He joined Ahmadu Bello University in 1967 as a lecturer of languages. From 1967 to 1976, Awwal Ibrahim moved up within the administrative ranks and became an acting registrar of Bayero University Kano and executive secretary of the Center for Cultural Studies between 1973 and 1975.

When Niger State was created in 1976, he transferred his services to the new state as an administrator. He started as a permanent secretary and served in many ministries, including the local government ministry.
In 1979, he left civil service to contest for the position of governor of Niger State under the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Awwal Ibrahim became the first elected governor of Niger State.
Awwal Ibrahim was forced out of office after the coup that brought General Muhammadu Buhari to power in 1983.
Awwal Ibrahim became the Emir of Suleja in 1993. His accession resulted in rioting and destruction of property by opponents. He was deposed on May 10, 1994, by the regime of General Sani Abacha.
After the return to democracy in 1999, Awwal Ibrahim was restored to his position as the emir of Suleja on January 17, 2000. His restoration, again, caused a series of violent clashes, forcing the government to call in anti-riot troopers and imposed a 20-hour curfew.
In September 2001, Ibrahim was awarded the title of Commander of the Niger. In 2010 he was made the Chairman of the Niger State government’s Committee on Reformation of Almajirci. The Almajirai are itinerant students of the Quran who depend on alms to survive.
The President joined the Suleja Emirate Council and Niger State Traditional Council to celebrate with the royal father who has influenced the nation’s development in many ways.
Thus, the President felicitated the family, friends and associates of Awwal Ibrahim, extolling the traditional ruler for always accepting responsibilities to serve the nation and his community, working variously as a lecturer and permanent secretary, before he was elected Governor of Niger State in 1979.
Rightly, the President praised the visionary leadership provided by the emir in his domain, his experience and contributions to the development of the nation, particularly in the area of education, administration and governance.
In the end, however, while the President and the nation join Awwal Ibrahim in celebrating his birthday, the significance of the occasion goes beyond the day. Indeed, the occasion represents the celebration of someone that is loved and greatly admired by his own subjects and Nigerians in general.
Once more, Happy Birthday, Sarkin Zazzau-Suleja!