No Country Can Tackle Climate Change Alone, Buhari Tells UN Summit

President Muhammadu Buhari believes no country in the world can
confront climate change alone.

He called on UN-member countries to rededicate themselves to the
task of rebuilding and restoring a healthy environment for future
generations.

He made the appeal on Monday while addressing the opening
session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) in
Katowice, Poland.

The President warned that the challenges of climate change which
include rising temperatures, desertification, floods, low
agricultural yields and drying up of water bodies were enormous and
evident to all.

He pointed out the case of the receding Lake Chad, noting that
the effects of climate change were felt more on the vulnerable
communities who lacked the capacity and technology to properly
address such challenges.

“Obviously, no country can confront the phenomenon alone. In
this regard, Nigeria believes in joint and cooperative efforts to
tackle the problem,” President Buhari was quoted as saying in a
statement by his spokesman, Garba Shehu.

“We urge that efforts to address the challenges of climate
change be pursued within multilateral frameworks. Concerted efforts
should be made to strengthen sub-regional and regional
organisations, to serve as hubs for Climate Action and
partnership.”

Speaking specifically on Lake Chad, the President reaffirmed
that Nigeria remains committed to saving the lake, which he
described as a source of livelihood to 40 million people, from
extinction.

He said Nigeria would build on the success of an international
conference held in February in Abuja to create additional awareness
globally on the serious environmental and security challenges
facing the Lake Chad region.

The President told the summit that a consensus was reached at
the Abuja Conference that an inter-basin water transfer from the
Congo Basin remains the most sustainable option available to
resuscitate and safeguard the water body that was once the sixth
largest freshwater lake in the world.

On behalf of the member countries of the Lake Chad Basin
Commission (LCBC), he thanked the Italian Government for donating
1.5 million euros towards completion of the feasibility studies on
the proposed inter-basin water transfer project.

“I once again call on the international community to support
this worthy project, for the benefit of nearly 40 million people
that depend on the Lake for their livelihood, and to guarantee
future security of the region,” Buhari told the meeting attended by
world leaders and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“I would like to reiterate Nigeria’s commitment to
constructively supporting multilateral action aimed at addressing
climate change. We must rededicate ourselves to the task of
rebuilding and restoring the healthy environment we inherited for
future generations.”

President Buhari also used the occasion to highlight what
Nigeria has done and was doing on climate change after the adoption
of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015.

He said, “We in Nigeria have commenced the implementation of our
Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. In the next 15 years, we aim to achieve 20 per cent
emissions reduction below Business as Usual (BAU) and 45 per cent
emissions reduction with the support of our international partners
by 2030.

“Our efforts include the review and introduction of new
responsive legislation/policies, strengthening institutional and
manpower capacities, and encouraging gradual transition to low
carbon economy. Nigeria has also recently ratified the Doha
Amendment and will soon deposit the instrument for
ratification.”

The President thereafter pledged that Nigeria would continue to
pursue industrialisation and economic development, with sound
environmental management and best practices.

He revealed that the nation has unlocked the potential of its
sovereign green bond to galvanise private capital to finance
environmentally sustainable projects.

“In support of our NDC aspiration, we have embraced the issuance
of green bond as an innovative and alternative source of funding
projects that would reduce emissions and provide robust climate
infrastructure like renewable energy, low carbon transport, water
infrastructure and sustainable agriculture that our country needs,”
he said.

President Buhari also informed the summit that Nigeria believes
technology can be a powerful solution for simultaneously addressing
climate change and advancing development.

On the other hand, he stressed the need for developed countries
to accelerate the finance for research and development, in addition
to promoting access to climate-friendly technologies.

He said, “In addition, there is the need to raise global climate
action in the pre-2020 period, in terms of mitigation, adaptation
and means of implementation. For us in Nigeria, we are promoting
technologies and practices such as sustainable land management,
climate resilient agriculture, water efficiency and clean
energy.”

“We have also developed insurance-based initiatives to deal with
loss and damage, as well as adaptation to internally acceptable
practices,” he added.

The President commended the government and people of Poland for
hosting the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in the “beautiful
city of Katowice.”

At the formal opening of COP24, President Andrzej Duda of Poland
had told delegates that the conference was taking place on the
exact location where a coal mine was once operated.

He described Katowice as one of the greenest cities in the
country.

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