COP28: Tinubu pledges to end gas flaring, says US, China biggest culprits in emission
As US envoy announces mobilisation of $1bn new grant
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed his administration’s commitment to end gas flaring in Nigeria in line with the global push to halt methane emission. The president spoke on Saturday during the ongoing United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) summit on methane and other non-greenhouse gases in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
President Tinubu, who shared the platform with 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 had already imposed heavy penalty for defaulters.
Commending the host country in the drive to reduce greenhouse gases, the president said he was aware of the need for participants to make commitments to the goal of limiting the earth’s temperature increase to 1.5C by the end of the century.
President Tinubu, however, pointed out that the world’s biggest economies, the US and China, were the biggest culprits in greenhouse emissions as he pointed out the earth needed urgent healing.
He said, “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 taken here are welcome, 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 would be able to help us.
“What I know of Africa is the fact that de-risking in additional investment and technological knowhow is very necessary, and the largest economies that have benefitted immensely should do more really fast because the earth needs healing and more attention.”
Speaking earlier, Sultan al-Jabar said the efforts being made had proven that success was possible in the objective to limit the earth’s temperature.
He observed that the elimination of all CO2 gases could be done with the necessary cooperation and hard work on the part of the countries.
In his remark, John Kerry announced that over $1billion in new grant funding had been mobilised since COP27 in Sharm el-Shiekh, Egypt.
He expressed happiness that more countries had made methane pledge endorsements.
“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 per cent reduction and is planning a rulemaking review.
“We, the 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,” he said.
He, therefore, called for support from the international community.
President Tinubu also said Nigeria was taking a significant step towards a sustainable and eco-friendly future by introducing a pioneering initiative to deploy a fleet of 100 electric buses.
He spoke at a high-level meeting with stakeholders and investors on the Nigeria Carbon Market and Electric Buses Rollout Programme on Saturday.
In a statement by his spokeman, Ajuri Ngelale, the president explained that the strategic initiative was aimed at significantly reducing Nigeria’s carbon footprint and modernising the country’s transportation systems as part of a larger effort to position Nigeria and Africa as the pioneering frontier of green manufacturing and industrialisation with a focus on natural gas as a transition fuel alongside other renewable energy sources.
To spearhead this transformative plan, the president announced the appointment of 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, to co-chair 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 investmentfriendly destination for carbon market investments.
“In further driving my commitment, I have recently approved an Inter-governmental Committee on Carbon Markets to be chaired by the executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the director-general of the National Council on Climate Change to drive this visionary plan,” the president stated.
He assured prospective investors that this initiative transcended being a mere pilot project.
In his remarks, the FIRS chairman acknowledged the visionary leadership of President Tinubu as the guiding force behind Nigeria’s commitment to harnessing its vast carbon potential.
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, Adedeji described the initial phase of the rollout of the electric buses as a tangible symbol of Nigeria’s commitment to modernising its transportation systems while reducing Africa’s modest carbon footprint.