… Urges all educational institutions to implement S.26
A member of the Governing Board of North East Development Commission (NEDC), Rep Sam Onuigbo, has asserted that legislations such as the Climate Change Act are critical for transformative actions.
He noted that the law along with the accompanying actions by the Nigerian Federal Government are aimed at ensuring that no critical segment, especially the poor and vulnerable groups are inequitably pushed behind in the country’s coordinated march towards climate justice.
Onuigbo, who sponsored the Climate Change Bill in the Ninth National Assembly maintained that the drive towards climate justice and just energy transition will enable the country to achieve a low-carbon and environmentally sustainable economic development.
The former lawmaker made the assertions while delivering a keynote address titled “Climate Change Act: Implications for Climate Action in Nigeria,” during the Climate Justice and Just Energy Transition conference in honour of Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba’s 60th anniversary celebration at the Coal City University, Enugu.
Onuigbo, who is also chairman of Climate Change and Security Committee of the NEDC Board, noted that history has shown that “in our constantly evolving world, it is not the strong that survive, but those willing to adapt to change.”
He urged the Federal Ministry of Education to work with all levels of educational institutions to include climate change education in their curricula, in line with Section 26 of the Act.
He stated: “This is especially relevant for the climate crisis which affects every facet of our lives. This has led to several efforts by international organizations to converge several times to find solutions to the climate crisis.
“The evolution of global efforts at addressing climate change was well-captured in Peter Jackson’s “From Stockholm to Kyoto: A Brief History of Climate Change.” Jackson opined that “[i]n the midst of the current international debate on global warming, it is instructive to note that it has taken the United Nations and the international community some two generations to reach this point.
“It was not until the UN Scientific Conference which was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, that the United Nations first developed action plans and a declaration mentioning climate change as a global problem. Consequently, the governing board of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established.”
Onuigbo, who was named as one of the 30 Global Leaders on Climate Change in November 2023 by the New York-based Business Insider magazine, declared: “Now more than ever, the world seems to be coming to a consensus that large-scale and coordinated climate action is the only path to a sustainable future.
“So, despite differing opinions, we were able to agree, at COP28 in Dubai, to a just and gradual phase-out of fossil fuels, and the tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030.[1] While I fully understand the implications of fossil fuels phase-out for a hydrocarbon dependent rentier state like Nigeria, we must also remember the cost of inaction and the grave danger of stranded critical assets.”
While contending that what is important is “to ensure that our transition is done in a just and equitable way,” Onuigbo recalled that since COP28, the International Energy Agency has launched an online tracker of global efforts to meet the renewable energy commitments at COP28.
Tracking some positive international global actions, he said: “The (President Joe) Biden administration has unveiled US$7bn in grant funding for solar under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All programme; the World Bank in partnership with the Africa Development Bank has unveiled a US$500bn plan to provide clean energy for 300million Africans.
“The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has in conjunction with other partners, sought stakeholders’ input in the development of Regional Energy Transition Outlooks, and the Federal Government of Nigeria has released N100bn as part of funding for the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative to reduce emissions in the transportationn sector and cushion the effects of subsidy removal.”
He therefore asserted that there is a huge sense of urgency globally in tackling the climate crisis with even the legislatures across the globe making efforts to provide legal backing to their respective countries.
“Make no mistake about it, without legislative backing, it is impossible for governments to be legally bound to their climate change commitments. The world seems to have come to terms with this and has encouraged increased legislative actions to back up climate change commitments and goals by countries,” the former lawmaker stated.
Quoting Ruth Wolstenholme, Onuigbo declared that “Parliamentarians can play a crucial role in addressing this challenge by ensuring government accountability and effectiveness as well as providing a vital knowledge link with constituents.
He maintained that since both aspects are important in ensuring a country’s response and resilience to climate change, lawmakers “also have opportunity to promote the voice of citizens at home and during international negotiations.”
“This aptly captures the critical role of legislators in the battle against climate change. Without legislators making the laws, providing oversight, engendering knowledge sharing with their constituents, and generally holding everyone accountable, no country will effectively meet its climate change goals and obligations.
“It is therefore appropriate to state here that, aware of the importance of the role of legislation for climate change, the government of the United Kingdom set the ball rolling in 2008 with the first standalone climate change legislation. Other countries of the world followed suit,” he noted.
the former federal lawmaker, while itemizing some key provisions in Nigeria’s Climate Changer Law, disclosed that a lot of deep thinking went into the drafting of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act.
His words: “The Act was structured to provide overarching guidelines on climate action in the country. Primarily, the focus of the Climate Change Act 2021 was to galvanise actions that are intended to realize the aims and aspirations of the delivery of the triplets of Rio de Janeiro 1992 (climate change, biodiversity governance, sustainable forest and land management to fight off desertification); actualize its net-zero pledge; and particularly the goals of the Paris Agreement of reducing global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“This Act has provisions that have highlighted the importance of climate action and recognised the importance of biodiversity governance with desertification as part of the major challenge facing the country today.
“In 2021, Nigeria updated her ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are the essential tools and framework for attaining her commitments towards reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
“The updated NDC has an unconditional contribution of 20% below business-as-usual by 2030, and 47% conditional contribution on international support in finance mobilization and technical know-how. It covers the key prioritized sectors of Agriculture, Energy, Forest and Other Land Use (FOLU), Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU), Oil & Gas, Transport, Waste and Water.
“The NDC Implementation Framework was launched to drive the delivery of Nigeria’s NDCs targets through 2030. It is in line with these objectives that the Explanatory Memorandum of the Act states that it is “…to provide for the mainstreaming of climate change actions, establish the National Council on Climate Change, and related matters.
See the full text of the lecture below:
CLIMATE CHANGE ACT: IMPLICATIONS FOR CLIMATE ACTION IN NIGERIA
PAPER PRESENTED BY REP. SAM ONUIGBO FCIS, FNIM, KJW, DURING THE CLIMATE JUSTICE AND JUST ENERGY TRANSITION CONFERENCE IN HONOUR OF PROFESSOR CHINEDUM NWAJIUBA’S 60TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, AT THE COAL CITY UNIVERSITY, ENUGU, 16-17 JULY, 2024.
[Protocol]
Background
1. The Bible says in the book of Romans 12:15, “Celebrate with those who celebrate…” I am delighted to be here today to celebrate with my brother and erudite scholar, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, former Vice Chancellor of Alex Ekwueme University, Ndufu-Alike, Ebonyi State, on his Diamond Jubilee.
Appreciation
2. Let me first express my gratitude to the Coal City University, especially the Vice Chancellor and the Faculty of Natural and Applied Science; past and present students of Professor Chinedum Nwajiuba; the Centre for Climate Change and Development of the Alex Ekwueme University; friends and well-wishers of Professor Nwajiuba; and indeed everyone else involved in putting together this important “Climate Justice and Just Energy Transition Conference” in honour of the 60th birthday of my good friend. I am also grateful for the opportunity to stand before all of you to present this paper on the “Climate Change Act: Implications for Climate Action in Nigeria.”
Thank you all.
Introduction
3. History has taught us that in our constantly evolving world, it is not the strong that survive, but those willing to adapt to change. This is especially true for the climate crisis which affects every facet of our lives. This has led to several efforts by international organizations to converge several times to find solutions to the climate crisis.
4. The evolution of global efforts at addressing climate change was well-captured in Peter Jackson’s “From Stockholm to Kyoto: A Brief History of Climate Change.” Jackson opined that “[i]n the midst of the current international debate on global warming, it is instructive to note that it has taken the United Nations and the international community some two generations to reach this point.[2]” It was not until the UN Scientific Conference which was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, that the United Nations first developed action plans and a declaration mentioning climate change as a global problem. Consequently, the governing board of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was established.
5. It would take another twenty years before the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, where the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 were adopted with the latter specifically seeking to deal “with the protection of the atmosphere, establishing the link between science, sustainable development, energy development and consumption, transportation, industrial development, stratospheric ozone depletion and transboundary atmospheric pollution[3].” The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was also established on May 09, 1992. The UNFCCC has since become the rallying point for global action on climate change.
6. After the birth of the “Rio Triplets,” comprising the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), UNFCCC, and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the world has moved from the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 to the Paris Agreement of 2015. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which was adopted in 2015 and fully enacted in 2016 (former President Buhari signed for Nigeria on September 22, 2016 at the UN Headquarters, New York) is the current global instrument of the UNFCCC in the fight against climate change.
7. I have referenced this piece of history to set the scene for our conversation, as it shows incremental global efforts at tackling climate change— efforts which we must continuously improve on collaboratively.
8. Now more than ever, the world seems to be coming to a consensus that large-scale and coordinated climate action is the only path to a sustainable future. So, despite differing opinions, we were able to agree, at COP28 in Dubai, to a just and gradual phase-out of fossil fuels, and the tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030.[4] While I fully understand the implications of fossil fuels phase-out for a hydrocarbon dependent rentier state like Nigeria, we must also remember the cost of inaction and the grave danger of stranded critical assets. What is important is to ensure that our transition is done in a just and equitable way.
9. Since COP28, the International Energy Agency has launched an online tracker of global efforts to meet the renewable energy commitments at COP28[5]; the Biden administration has unveiled US$7bn in grant funding for solar under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All programme[6]; the World Bank in partnership with the Africa Development Bank has unveiled a US$500bn plan to provide clean energy for 300million Africans; the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has in conjunction with other partners, sought stakeholders’ input in the development of Regional Energy Transition Outlooks, and the Federal Government of Nigeria has released N100bn[7] as part of funding for the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative to reduce emissions in the transportation sector and cushion the effects of subsidy removal.
10. There is a huge sense of urgency globally in tackling the climate crisis with even the legislatures across the globe making efforts to provide legal backing to their respective countries. Make no mistake about it, without legislative backing, it is impossible for governments to be legally bound to their climate change commitments. The world seems to have come to terms with this and has encouraged increased legislative actions to back up climate change commitments and goals by countries. But how can legislation help in driving climate action?
The Role of Legislation in Climate Change
11. According to Ruth Wolstenholme:
Parliamentarians can play a crucial role in addressing this challenge – ensuring government accountability and effectiveness as well as providing a vital knowledge link with constituents, both aspects being important in ensuring a country’s response and resilience to climate change. Parliamentarians also have opportunity to promote the voice of citizens at home and during international negotiations.[8]
12. This aptly captures the critical role of legislators in the battle against climate change. Without legislators making the laws, providing oversight, engendering knowledge sharing with their constituents, and generally holding everyone accountable, no country will effectively meet its climate change goals and obligations.
13. It is therefore appropriate to state here that, aware of the importance of the role of legislation for climate change, the government of the United Kingdom set the ball rolling in 2008 with the first standalone climate change legislation. Other countries of the world followed suit.
Comparative Review of Some Climate Change Laws
14. The UK Climate Change Act was structured around four key pillars, namely: Goal; Pathway; Toolkit; and Monitoring Framework.
15. Through this structured approach, the Act defines goals to be achieved as captured by its 2050 Emissions Target and Climate Change Risk Assessment; and lays out a clear pathway to achieving these goals. For them, the pathway to doing this is through Carbon Budgets and setting up of a National Adaptation Programme. It further demands that the government continuously comes up with policies to help keep these goals in sight, while providing a monitoring framework to evaluate progress through the setting up of the UK Climate Change Committee, an independent non-departmental public body formed under the Climate Change Act “…to advise the United Kingdom and devolved governments and Parliaments on tackling and preparing for climate change.”[9]
16. However, unlike the Nigerian Climate Change Act, the UK Climate Change Committee is an independent body which advises the government on tackling climate change, and where necessary, point out to, or warns the government on where it is falling short of the objectives of the Act.
17. Here in Africa, a review of the Climate Change Acts of Kenya and Uganda also shows a commitment to emissions reduction, adaptation, and climate resilience. For each, there is an effort to establish an overseeing structure to help guide action. For instance, the Kenyan Act established the position of a Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury who must formulate a National Climate Change Action Plan while drawing analytical support from the Climate Change Directorate. Uganda, on the other hand, has a National Climate Change Advisory Committee which provides independent advice to the Policy Committee on the Environment, and also to the Minister. It also requires the presentation by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of a certificate of approval from the Climate Change Committee, indicating that the MDA has made adequate provisions for climate actions in their budgetary provisions.
18. Specifically, Section 30(b)(6a) of the Ugandan National Climate Change Act states “The Minister shall, in consultation with the Chairperson of the National Planning Authority, issue a certificate certifying that the Budget Framework Paper is climate change responsive and contains adequate allocation for funding climate change measures and actions
“(6b) The Minister and the Chairperson of the National Planning Authority shall evaluate all votes of the Budget Framework Paper before issuing the certificate referred to in subsection (6a).”
19. Like Nigeria, both countries are also federations with sub-national units. In that vein, Kenya’s Climate Change Directorate provides national coordination and advice to counties, with the counties also having to adopt the Act. In Uganda, the Natural Resources Department of each District is expected to liaise with the National Department on Climate Change for advice on all issues regarding climate change.
20. A detailed look at the Climate Change Acts of the two countries will also reveal conscious efforts at multi stakeholder engagements, finance mobilisation, alignment with the Paris Agreement and specific sustainable growth needs of the countries, etc.
21. Furthermore, aware of the key role that climate action has to play in Africa’s sustainable development, the African Union during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, in February 2023, mandated the African Union Commission to convene a summit on Climate Change. This resulted in the inaugural Africa Climate Week/Africa Climate Summit which was held in Nairobi Kenya, in September 2023[10]. I was privileged to participate in the extraordinary session for legislators which was convened at the Kenyan National Parliament.
22. I have taken us on this journey of reflecting on the key provisions of the climate change laws of some countries to re-iterate my point at the beginning that climate legislations are critical as they provide legal backing for countries to attain their climate change goals. Without these legal frameworks, there will be no obligation to enforce.
Nigeria’s Climate Change Law: Key Provisions
23. A lot of thinking went into the drafting of Nigeria’s Climate Change Act. The Act was structured to provide overarching guidelines on climate action in the country. Primarily, the focus of the Climate Change Act 2021 was to galvanise actions that are intended to realize the aims and aspirations of the delivery of the triplets of Rio de Janeiro 1992 (climate change, biodiversity governance, sustainable forest and land management to fight off desertification); actualize its net-zero pledge; and particularly the goals of the Paris Agreement of reducing global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This Act has provisions that have highlighted the importance of climate action and recognised the importance of biodiversity governance with desertification as part of the major challenge facing the country today.
24. In 2021, Nigeria updated her ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are the essential tools and framework for attaining her commitments towards reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. The updated NDC has an unconditional contribution of 20% below business-as-usual by 2030, and 47% conditional contribution on international support in finance mobilization and technical know-how. It covers the key prioritized sectors of Agriculture, Energy, Forest and Other Land Use (FOLU), Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU), Oil & Gas, Transport, Waste and Water. The NDC Implementation Framework was launched to drive the delivery of Nigeria’s NDCs targets through 2030. It is in line with these objectives that the Explanatory Memorandum of the Act states that it is “…to provide for the mainstreaming of climate change actions, establish the National Council on Climate Change, and related matters.”
25. Consequently, Part 1—Objectives and Applications of the Climate Change Act 2021— Section 1 states that, “The Act provides a framework for achieving low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, inclusive green growth and sustainable economic development by ensuring that Nigeria formulates programmes for achieving its long-term goals on climate change mitigation and adaptation…in line with national development priorities….”
26. Section 2 which is on jurisdiction, states that the Act applies to the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government of Nigeria, and to public and private entities within the territorial waters of Nigeria, while Section 3 establishes the National Council on Climate Change and vests it with immense powers to make policies and decisions on all matters concerning Climate Change in Nigeria.
27. Indeed, there are critical sections of the Act which reflect its intendment to serve as a holistic legal framework for climate action that will translate to the building of a resilient, green, and sustainably developed country. For instance, Section 15 of the Act makes provision for the setting up of the Climate Change Fund which will help address the funding issues associated with climate actions in the country. Sections 19 and 20 speak specifically to carbon budgeting and National Climate Change Action Plan respectively. Both are targeted at providing specific guidelines to action that will help us transit to net zero while building our future in a green, resilient and sustainable way. Sections 22, 23, 24, and 25 assign responsibilities to not just public entities, but also to the private sector, MDAs, and civil society organisations, while Section 26 speaks to the need for climate education and the inclusion of climate education into our educational curricula at all levels bearing in mind that climate change is inter-generational.
28. As part of efforts to address the convergence of the Rio triplets (climate change, biodiversity, and desertification), Sections 27, 28, and 29 focus on the use of nature-based solutions such as REDD+ (Reducing Emission from Deforestation and forest Degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks). This was clearly in sync with why the United Nations in March 2012 introduced Environmental-Economic Accounting to address climate change, engender biodiversity conservation, and the restoration of degraded lands and forests.
29. It is important to also point out that the Act in Section 22 mandates every MDA to have a Climate Change Desk Officer of a Directorate cadre whose responsibility it is to ensure that climate action is mainstreamed into the annual plans and budgeting of all MDAs in Nigeria. One important aspect of climate action is the need for proper monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. We were fully aware of this hence the provision for National Assembly oversight in Section 21, and public engagement in Section 30.
30. A very critical part of the Climate Change Act is the establishment of the National Council on Climate Change in Section 3, while Section 5 outlines the composition of the Council. The Council, as you might have noted is made up of Ministers from several Ministries, Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, representatives of the private sector, women, youths, persons living with disabilities, and Civil Society Organisations, with the President of Nigeria as the Chairman of the Council and the Vice President as the Vice Chairman. This is because climate change is a cross-cutting issue and therefore everyone must be involved.
31. It was always the intendment of the Act to ensure that the National Council on Climate Change is constituted as it is— high level. In doing this, I leaned on my experiences as a community leader, former member of the diplomatic community, former member of the executive arm of government, private sector practitioner, to decide that the leadership must be by the President in order to avoid the confusion and inaction caused by what I call “Peer jealousy.” Climate Change is a serious issue and therefore deserves the attention of the highest level of government to bring clarity and transparency to the implementation of the Act, and also to eliminate peer jealousy.
32. A deeper dive into the provisions of the Act especially as it concerns provisions by some Sections is necessary. The focus here will be on the provisions for carbon budgeting and net zero, national action plan, vertical implementation, etc.
Carbon Budgets
33. The Act in Section 19 empowers the Ministry responsible for Environment, in consultation with the Ministry responsible for national planning, to set a time-bound carbon budget. In particular, Section 19(1)(a) stipulates thus: “set carbon budget for Nigeria to keep average increase in global temperature within 2 degrees Celsius and pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.” Once the carbon budget is set, it shall be approved by the Federal Executive Council. The carbon budget will help make five-yearly provisions that will help with emissions reductions and guide the country to net zero by 2050-2070.
National Climate Change Action Plan
34. Section 20 of the Climate Change Act empowers the Secretariat to develop a five-yearly National Action Plan. This is to be done in collaboration with the Ministries responsible for Environment, Budget and National Planning. It shall serve as framework that guides Nigeria’s climate actions and has to also be approved by the Federal Executive Council. The key components of the Action Plan shall be: an articulated carbon budget for the five-year cycle, consistent with the carbon budget; an articulated annual carbon budget for each of the years that make up the five-year cycle; past, current and projected GHG emission profile of GHG emission sectors of the economy; details of past, current and proposed climate mitigation and adaptation actions across the sectors of the economy including the rationale, costs, funding source and benefit of such action; details on the level of compliance with international climate commitments; and proposed incentives for private and public entities, which achieve GHG emission reduction.
35. It is important to point out that Section 20(3) of the Act makes provision for public participation in the development of the Action by stipulating that it shall be published and made open to the “general public for consultation for a period not less than eight weeks, ending 14 days before its presentation to the Council.”
Carbon Trading
36. Aware of the flourishing global carbon market and the opportunity for the country to explore it for climate finance, Section 15(e) makes provision for the setting up of mechanisms for carbon emissions trading and carbon tax. At COP28 in Dubai, President Tinubu would go ahead to appoint … “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, to co-chair the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan.”[11]
Beyond the National, Implementation of the Act at the Zonal and State Levels
37. The Act makes provision for implementation at not only the federal level, but also at the zonal and state levels. Consequently, the Act stipulates in Section 11(1) (a) and (b) that the Secretariat to the National Council on Climate Change shall also have the following: Six Zonal Coordinators for the six geo-political zones; and State Directors for the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
38. It is important to point out that due to the federal structure of the country, the National Assembly can only legislate for the country on items that are in the Exclusive List. Environment is not on that list hence it will be important for state Houses of Assemblyy to “domesticate” the Act. This will effectively obliterate the type of confusion raised by the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act due to contradictory judgements from courts of coordinate jurisdictions. However, the Zonal Coordinators and the State Directors can oversee implementation at the zonal and state levels respectively in an advisory and collaborative manner, or for institutions that are federal in nature.
39. What the foregoing emphasizes is that Nigeria’s Climate Change law was painstakingly drawn up to advance and enforce multilevel actions towards not only meeting the country’s climate change goals, but to also ensure that the country is set on the path of sustainable development, leveraging on climate actions.
The Climate Change Act and the Issue of Locus Standi
40. The Climate Change Act makes provisions for the right of citizens to sue in relation to inaction on issues concerning the environment. It is important to reference first that the tone for the enactment of the Climate Change Act was set by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). Section 20 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria states that “the State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard the water, air and land, forest and wildlife of Nigeria.[12]” Furthermore, Section 33(i) of the Constitution states that “every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.” These provide grounds for citizens to seek redress in court in the event that efforts are not being made to protect the environment, thus endangering their lives.
41. The issue of locus standi was given judicial backing in the Centre for Oil Pollution Watch v NNPC (2018) LPELR-50830(SC) case where the Supreme Court of Nigeria stated clearly that in matters of environmental pollution, citizens who are impacted by environmental actions have the locus standi to sue. In this case, the Supreme Court liberalized and broadened the rule of standing as it highlighted “that public spirited individuals and organizations can bring an action in courts against relevant public authorities and private entities to demand their compliance with relevant laws and to ensure the remediation, restoration and protection of the environment.”
42. In furtherance to this, Section 34(1) of the Climate Change Act explicitly provides that “a person or private or public entity that acts in a manner that negatively affects efforts towards mitigation and adaptation measures made under this Act commits an offence and is liable to a penalty to be determined by the Council.” In Section 34(2), the Act empowers the court to make decisions in lieu of such violations.
Government Actions in line with the Provisions of the Act
43. Following assent to the Act by former President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR on November 17, 2021, the Federal Government has taken a number of actions to ramp up climate action in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Apart from the constitution and inauguration of the Council and its Secretariat by President Buhari, President Tinubu has further taken some very bold steps. In an opinion piece published on CNN, Mr. President affirmed this commitment of the country’s climate change actions thus: “Nigeria has taken significant steps and acted decisively in enacting the Climate Change Act and committing to net-zero emissions between 2050 and 2070.[13]
44. Some of the key actions taken subsequently by the Government are:
· Enactment of the Electricity Act 2023 with its provisions in Sections 164-167 for improved access to renewables.
· Removal of petroleum subsidy.
· Launch of the Presidential Initiative for Compressed Natural Gas.
· Unveiling at the global stage in December, 2023 at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, during COP28, and its subsequent launch in Abuja of Nigeria’s Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) to guide the country’s efforts at achieving net zero.
· Flagging off the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan at COP28, and also joined the African Carbon Market Initiative.
· Signing of a $500 million renewable energy pact and a gas export deal with Germany’s DWS which will convert flared gas into high-grade natural gas[14].
· Mandating Ministries, Departments and Agencies to only buy CNG-powered vehicles as part of efforts to decarbonize the transportation sector.
· The official launch in April, 2024, by the Federal Executive Council of the National Clean Cooking Policy.
· President Bola Tinubu appointed Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (InfraCorp) as the lead arranger and developer of Evergreen City, Nigeria’s Green Industrial Zone, and also approved the establishment of the Presidential Steering Committee on Project Evergreen – the Supervisory Technical Working Group – to oversee the pioneering endeavour. This action was taken with the clear objective of making Nigeria the leading manufacturing hub in Africa for renewable energy technologies, green solutions, and climate-adaptation technologies for the maximum benefit of Nigerians and Africans at large.
· The Launch on May 23, 2024 of Nigeria NDC Implementation Framework 2023-2030
· Etc.
Summary
45. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen. We are no longer debating whether climate change is real or not. We know that it is, as severe and unpredictable weather events around us affirm daily. From the floods we now witness frequently, the massive landslide in Kaokalam village in Papua New Guinea that reportedly killed 2000 villagers in their sleep, the midair storm that hit two international airlines: Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways, the heat wave in Mecca that killed 1,300 persons, irregular rainfalls, the menace of gully and coastal erosion, desertification and land degradation leading to loss of arable land, loss of over 90 percent of Lake Chad, forced migration, competition for scarce resources and food insecurity, confrontation and security challenges, even the die-hard sceptic knows that the world is reeling under the impacts of climate change.
46. At the inaugural Summit for Clean Cooking in Africa held on May 14, 2024, in Paris, Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency (IEA), declared: “Today, 4 out of 5 families use open fire or basic stoves for preparing meals. And the toxic fumes coming from the cooking practices are causing respiratory diseases especially for women and children. And each year, more than 500,000 people mainly women and children die prematurely because of the respiratory diseases caused by the cooking practices. This is not acceptable in this 21st century.” According to Dr. Iziaq Salako, Honourable Minister of State, Environment, Nigeria accounts for over 77,000 fatalities annually. Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) disclosed that over one billion Africans lack access to clean cooking, and also loose lives, millions of man-hours in search of firewood, charcoal, causing deforestation and desertifications, etc. He announced that the AfDB has pledged US$2bn to actualize access to clean cooking over the next 10 years. Similarly, Dr. Tedros A. Ghebreyesos, Director-General of World Health Organization disclosed that “WHO estimates that every year 3.2 million people die from household pollution generated by dirty fuels and stoves for cooking.”
47. Yet all these challenges present us with golden opportunities for green-growth, sustainable development, and building a planet where we are respectful of nature and its healing powers. Clearly, Africa’s and by extension Nigeria’s priorities are economic growth, creation of employment for its over 477 million youthful population under 35 years, climate resilience, benefit from blue economy, access to clean cooking and also to energy generally, to take advantage of the abundance of over 60 percent of critical mineral resources required for the production of over USD$7 trillion Electric Vehicles (EV) market. We must leverage on all available opportunities through partnership, global collaboration, finance mobilization, climate diplomacy, green industrialization, etc.
48. It has become clear that without increased emission reduction efforts in all sectors–industrial, energy, transport, open fires, clean cooking, the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius will stay unreachable. According to Gauri Singh, Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), industry decarbonization represents the next great transformation across different sectors. Decarbonization can create growth opportunities through technology advances, and new sustainable revenue streams while creating a new generation of equitable and sustainable jobs.
Conclusion
49. What I have tried to do here today is to show how a legislation and its implications can play a key role in advancing this journey. This is important because from Section 1, it stipulates, “This Act provides a framework for achieving low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, inclusive green growth and sustainable economic development by…”
50. And to re-affirm that Nigeria’s Climate Change Act, fully activated by several presidential pronouncements, is eminently positioned to guide our actions. President Bola Tinubu in his opinion piece published by CNN declared; “We envision Africa becoming the leading green manufacturing hub globally, with targeted support and access to global markets. Nigeria and much of Africa possess a unique advantage–we do not need to decommission coal-fired power plants. We have an unparalleled opportunity to leapfrog decades of conventional, high-emission industry by building our industrial future on a new green foundation.”
51. I will like to end by using an example very close to all of us gathered here today at the Coal City, to buttress how a good legislation can help enforce action and ensure that goals are achieved. On April 22, 2024, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), transferred regulatory oversight of the Enugu electricity market to the Enugu State Government. This was inline with the Constitutional amendment we effected during the 9th Assembly, and the subsequent enactment of the Electricity Act 2023, which unbundled the electricity sector and has now made it possible for States, and even private investors to go into the market and leverage on off grid and mini grid options to tackle the energy problem we have in this country. Without legislation, this would not have been possible.
52. In essence then, legislations such as the Climate Change Act are critical for transformative actions. This legislation along with the accompanying actions by the Nigerian government are aimed at ensuring that no critical segment, or poor and vulnerable groups are inequitably pushed behind in our coordinated march towards climate justice and just energy transition to achieve a low-carbon and environmentally sustainable economic development.
53. May God bless us all
