FEC approves
FEC approves Gender Action Plan on Climate
Change
Nigeria on Wednesday made history as the Federal Executive
Council (FEC) approved the first ever National Action Plan on
Gender and Climate Change as a road map to mainstream gender into
the Nationally Determined Contributions and incorporate gender
equality and women’s empowerment into Climate Change discourse and
actions.
Speaking after the FEC meeting, the Minister of Environment, Dr.
Muhammad Mahmood Abubakar said that, “the approval today reaffirmed
Nigeria’s commitments as a party to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement which
President Buhari signed to domesticate the International Gender
Action Plan among member countries to bolster the role of women in
climate action”.
The Action Plan, according to the Minister, presents milestones
for ensuring that in building a climate-resilient Nigeria, the
important and critical roles of women, youth and other vulnerable
groups are carried along in the implementation of relevant national
policies and strategies, including the NDC and the Paris
Agreement.
The priority sectors covered by the plan include Agriculture;
forestry and Land Use; Food Security and Health, Energy and
Transport; Waste Management, Water and Sanitation and covers the
period from 2020-2025 with a midterm review by 2022.
Speaking further, the Minister of State for the Environment,
Chief Sharon Ikeazor said that, “the Federal Ministry of
Environment, through the department of Climate Change, developed
the National Action Plan on Gender and Climate Change that focuses
on effective strategies for integrating gender into the
implementation of the national climate change initiatives,
including the Paris Agreement, the Nationally Determined
Contributions and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) in
Nigeria”, she stated.
According to ikeazor, Women commonly face higher risks in
responding to natural hazards and greater burden from the impacts
of climate change.
“Although they have intimate local knowledge and are managers of
common natural resources, they are often left out of the picture
when decisions on climate action are made”, she stated.
It is pertinent to mention that Nigeria is one of the few
countries in Africa (including Mozambique, Egypt) that have
developed the Gender Action Plan since it was adopted by COP23 in
Bonn, Germany.
It is expected that the newly approved plan will pave way for
the effective implementation of gender-responsive climate change
initiatives based on an inclusive approach, taking into account the
needs, interests and vulnerabilities of women, men, and youth from
the conceptual phase, through to program design, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation.
Ikeazor applauds the support of Women Environmental Programme
(WEP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) who led
the process of developing the action plan; Climate Change
Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the International Livestock
Research Institute (ILRI) and the Global Alliance for Green and
Gender Action (GAGGA) for their technical and financial support.
(END)
Saghir el Mohammed
Director Press
Federal Ministry of Environment