- Appoints Adedeji, Salisu co-chairs of Carbon Market Activation Plan
- Says administration committed to ending gas flaring, methane emission
- Sanwo-olu rallies global funding support for Lagos’ water needs
President Bola Tinubu yesterday confirmed the deployment of a fleet of 100 electric buses by the federal government as part of the country’s strategy for a sustainable and eco-friendly future.
Tinubu spoke at a high-level meeting with stakeholders and investors on the Nigeria Carbon Market and Electric Buses Rollout Programme in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on the margins of the COP28 climate summit.
He also informed the global community of Nigeria’s commitment to ending gas flaring in the country, including imposition of penalties against defaulters, while Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during a conversation at the Climate Summit, sought the financial support of the international community to address water shortage in the state.
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, quoted the President as saying that the roll-out of the electric buses was aimed at significantly reducing Nigeria’s carbon footprint and modernising the country’s transportation systems.
It was also designed to position Nigeria and Africa as the pioneering frontier of green manufacturing and industrialization with a focus on natural gas as a transition fuel alongside other renewable energy sources, he said.
The President named the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Zacch Adedeji, and the Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Mr. Dahiru Salisu, as co-chair of the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan.
”This initiative stands as a testament to our dedication to environmental stewardship as clearly exemplified through our collaboration with the Africa Carbon Market Initiative. Our visionary plan is a strategic guidepost, directing Nigeria towards becoming an investment-friendly destination for carbon market investments,” Tinubu said.
He added: ”We recognise the imperative of fostering an environment that not only attracts investment but also upholds standardised and sustainable industrial practices. As a manifestation of our forward-thinking approach, we are actively looking to implement robust, enabling policies and frameworks that will serve as the catalyst for the burgeoning growth of the carbon market within our national borders.”
The President assured prospective investors that this initiative transcends being a mere pilot project.
”It is a concrete manifestation of our unwavering dedication to a carbon-neutral future. I assure you; this is only the commencement of our ambitious plans, with many more impactful initiatives on the horizon,” he said.
President Tinubu, while acknowledging the pressing need for a comprehensive global collaboration on climate-related challenges, called on global partners to join hands in accelerating collective efforts towards a net-zero future.
”As we unveil our initiatives, I challenge other nations to emulate our strides in mapping out their sustainable futures with a clear understanding that Africa is a beacon of innovative solutions to climate-related challenges.
”In this pursuit, we acknowledge the pressing need for comprehensive global collaboration, and we reiterate our commitment to being an active participant in international efforts.
”Nigeria’s plans for a greener and cleaner economy can serve as an inspirational narrative for nations worldwide. Our comprehensive approach, rooted in visionary leadership and pragmatic action supported by our technical partners, is poised to become a blueprint for countries aspiring to also develop and catalyse their markets for sustainable growth.”
Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to espousing cleaner energy and halting the emission of methane and other non-greenhouse gases.
He challenged the world’s leading economies, which he accused of being the worst culprits of the current pollution of the atmosphere, to take responsibility and do more in saving the global environment, which he said needs urgent healing.
He, however, said he was aware of the need for participating countries to make commitments to the goal of limiting the earth’s temperature increase to 1.5C by the end of the century.
His words:”Sitting here in this room, I know that we have to commit ourselves. We have been doing so before today. We are committed to critical steps to reduce methane emissions by ensuring gas flaring is eliminated. There is a huge penalty for that. There is equally a huge incentive to do so.
“The measures that are taken here are a welcome development, no doubt about that. I am with the leadership of the UAE for the commitment shown so far.
“We are consolidating on gas export, usage domestically and export to other countries. I can assure you that we will be partners in progress to achieve renewable energy.
“We are committed to energy mix. We are providing cooking gas for our large population. We will continue to do that.
“We have signed off on reduction of methane. We will leverage on new technology and we hope that the two giant nations and the Emirates will be able to help us.”
Tinubu described the US and China as the biggest culprits in greenhouse emissions, pointing out that the earth was in need of urgent healing.
While expressing delight that both countries were represented at the summit, he said: “What I know of Africa is the fact that de-risking in additional investment and technological know-how is very necessary and the largest economies that have benefitted immensely should do more real fast because the earth needs healing and needs more attention.”
Adedeji pledged the full commitment of the Committee to drive the implementation of efficient policies and frameworks to achieve sustainable carbon market growth.
Reiterating Nigeria’s readiness to lead the global effort to combat climate change, Mr. Adedeji described the initial phase of the roll-out of the electric buses as a tangible symbol of Nigeria’s commitment to modernising its transportation system while reducing Africa’s modest carbon footprint.
Kenya President Ruto hails Tinubu over fuel subsidy removal
Kenya President William Ruto, also speaking at the summit, gave kudos to President Tinubu for his “very difficult decisions, including the removal of petrol subsidy.”
Ruto said tough as the decision was, similar moves were required to stabilise the economies of the various African countries.
“We all have to make such difficult decisions to get Africa moving, and I want to promise here that we will gather the courage to make the right decisions so that Africa can match into the future,” he said.
He stressed that it was also imperative for the continent to partner with other regions of the world in tackling the challenge of climate change and proving job opportunities “so that our young people don’t have to get into dangerous routes to go to other destinations.”
Other world leaders who spoke at the event included the President of COP28, Dr. Sultan Ahmed al-Jabar; the United States Special Envoy on Climate, John Kerry; and the Chinese Envoy on Climate, Xie Zhenhue, told the world that Nigeria has already preferred heavy penalty for defaulters.
Sultan al-Jabar spoke of the efforts being made to prove that success is possible in limiting the earth’s temperature.
He observed that the elimination of all CO2 gases can be done with the necessary cooperation and hard work on the part of the countries.
In his remark, John Kerry announced that over $1 billion in new grant funding has been mobilized since COP27 in Sharm el-Shiekh, Egypt.
He expressed happiness that more countries have made methane pledge endorsements.
He said: “Earlier today, the United States finalised standards to sharply reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations. And those efforts will achieve a nearly 80% reduction and is planning a rulemaking review.
“We, United States, are planning a rulemaking review on methane emission standards for landfills. The United States and the European Union launched a global methane pledge two years ago in Glasgow, with 100 countries joining.
“At COP 27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, we were able to grow the list of endorsements to 150 countries. And I’m pleased today to announce a new global methane pledge endorsements from Angola, Kenya and Romania. And I’m particularly excited that Turkmenistan Kazakhstan joined yesterday and Kosovo President Costco is here to join today. We’re working to turn the pledge itself into action.
“Over 86 countries covering well over half of emissions have national methane action plans in place and we are engaging with our partners to develop them. And we are launching exciting new initiatives and partnerships including lowering organic waste or low methane to support some national waste reduction efforts around the world.
“And to help support this country efforts my friend, President Biden, launched the methane finance sprint at the April 2023 major economies forum he hosted at the White House. That had the aim of raising $200 million in order to help us go forward.
“Well, I’m very pleased to announce today that the United States, the European Union, other governments, philanthropies and the private sector significantly exceeded that target. And together, we have mobilised over $1 billion in new grant funding since COP27 for methane that has more than tripled previous annual methane grant funding.
“And then we will leverage the score in project investment. And these funds are going to support cutting methane emissions across all sectors with a focus on low and middle income countries.
“As part of this effort, my friends, we have a group of oil and gas companies that have stepped up and decided to take a leadership role in helping to deal with this job on a local basis.”
On his part, the Chinese Envoy said his country was willing to cut down on greenhouse gases, but lack the capacity to do so.
He therefore called for support from the international community.
Sanwo-Olu rallies global funding support for Lagos water needs
And speaking on Friday at a side meeting with the theme: “Valuing Water: A Lifeline in Climate Transition”, organised by Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum and Sustainable Market Initiative at the COP28 Governor Sanwo-Olu pitched a sustainable funding proposal to raise private and philanthropic funding in addressing inadequate water infrastructure and supply shortages in Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu said Lagos with 22 million population has a daily demand of 700 million gallons of portable water but the state could hardly supply 210 million gallons per day owning to shortage of infrastructure.
The Governor said although provision of clean water had been generally considered a social service, it was an essential element of economic necessity, given its importance to keeping humans healthy.
Lagos, he said, is challenged by increasing demand for clean water. Sanwo-Olu said the inadequacy of supply infrastructure could raise disease vulnerability in underserved communities, pointing out that the State, despite being surrounded by abundant water bodies, could only manage to utilise 40 per cent of its installed water facilities.
He said: “Lagos has an investment of about $2.8 billion in water infrastructure, but there is a burden on the huge population, as we need to create an ecosystem where we can have access to basic needs in the 21st Century. Given our meagre resources, it is really a challenge, but we certainly cannot continue to give excuses. This gap is being felt by underserved communities and the risk to the public is high.
“We have continued to allocate resources to this sector from our budget, but the intervention is hardly enough to serve the needs of the residents. Four years ago, I gave a commitment of $100 million, but this is like a drop, given the number of investments required to fully explore the potential in the sector. We have huge infrastructure that is not being utilised, making us to operate at less than 40 per cent of the installed capacity.
“Out of the $1.7 trillion needed globally to address the gap in clean water adequacy, Lagos requires less than one per cent of the funds to provide safe water. It is my belief that this conversation would lead to sustainable solution that would meet the needs of millions of people that want water adequacy. Our goal is making committed partners believe in economic viability of their investments.”
Sanwo-Olu listed the country’s energy crisis as another factor slowing down the provision of clean water, stressing that irregular power supply rendered resources allocated to the sector inefficient.
The Governor called for equity in global investment towards accelerating water adequacy, noting that humans, regardless of their gender and geographical location, need equal access to clean water.
With 65 per cent of its population made up of young people of under 30, Sanwo-Olu told the funders that Lagos remained an African asset on which viable investments could be made.
He said: “It does not really matter which part of the world we come from; we all need equal access and must be able to hold ourselves accountable on this. In channeling resources, equity has to be a major focus of the global response.
“Lagos has the population. That is why we said a focused investment on water project in the most populated city in West Africa and in a population that is coming to raise global productivity by 2040 is one in the right direction.”
CSOs urged to unite, present Nigeria’s challenges at Conference
The Director, Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of the Environment, Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, urged Nigerian civil society organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders to speak in one voice as they present Nigeria’s challenges and opportunities for climate mitigation and adaptation.
Abiola-Awe said at a pre-COP28 CSOs and multi-stakeholders engagement (UNFCCC COP 28), themed: “Pre-COP28 CSOs and Multi-Stakeholder Engagement,” held in Lagos that the conference is a pivotal moment of collaboration to participate in the upcoming conference in Dubai.
She noted that grassroots participation is instrumental to addressing climate change, adding that stakeholders’ “engagement in the discussion is paramount to embark on the fight against climate change. It is an opportunity to demonstrate the power of collaboration with the government and the community.”
The climate change boss said that to ensure that the collective effort leaves no one behind, the CSOs should send the position of Nigeria together.
