Climate change: Buhari seeks funds from int’l community
President Muhammadu Buhari says for Nigeria to respond effectively to climate change mitigation and adaptation challenges, critical mass of financial resources beyond what the nation can provide from its resources will be required.
The president, therefore, appealed to the international community to support Nigeria’s commitment to reducing the negative effects of climate change.
He made the appeal in Paris yesterday in a submission to the ‘One Planet Summit’ in France attended by over 60 heads of state and government as well as representatives of non-governmental and private organisations, with the theme, “Climate Change Financing.”
Buhari said Nigeria could not implement its nationally determined contribution without adequate financial, technical and capacity building support from the developed countries.
“Nigeria recognizes that ensuring sustainable funding is a major constraint in efforts to implement the Nationally Determined Contribution,” he said.
The president stated that “Having just come out of recession we are under no illusion of the challenges that we face in Nigeria.”
He said since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, Nigeria had been strengthening its efforts towards the implementation of the agreement and the Marrakech Call for Action, “and Nigeria had already ratified the Paris Agreement in May 2017.”
President Buhari, however, said the country’s “Nationally Determined Contribution to reduce our emission by 20% by 2020 and 40% by 2030 cannot be attained alone.”
He said Nigeria “has embraced the issuance of the green bond as an innovative and alternative source of projects funding that would help reduce emissions and provide robust climate infrastructure, such as renewable energy, low carbon transport, water infrastructure and sustainable agriculture in line with the Paris Agreement.”