The Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdulahi has said that the Federal Government is willing to spend as much as 9 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to address climate change impact.
Abdulahi made this known while addressing African leaders during the inauguration of the African Carbon Market Initiative, a side event that Climate Action put together at the ongoing COP27 in Egypt.
Official data from the World Bank showed that Nigeria’s GDP was worth $440.78bn as of2021. Nine per cent of this amount which is$39.67bn is what Nigeria may have to spend on tackling climate change.
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In his address, Abdulahi gave insights into the efforts being made by the government to mitigate climate change and its impacts across the country. He also told participants that in 2021, Nigeria became the first African country to design a detailed Energy Transition Plan to tackle energy poverty and climate change and deliver universal access to energy by 2030 and net zero by 2060.
The minister also used the opportunity to call on African leaders to take decisive actions to mitigate the impacts of climate change, stressing that the continent was at a critical time with respect to the world’s climate future.
He told the gathering that this year alone, the world has witnessed disastrous extreme weather events, from terrifying wildfires in the United States to unprecedented heat waves in India, Pakistan, and Europe, to powerful floods in my country, Nigeria.
“These devastating floods have affected about 33 states, displacing over 1.4 million people, destroying over 100,000 hectares of farmland and causing about 600 deaths,” he explained.
Speaking further, he said that these glaring climate signals indicate that we do not have the luxury of time when it comes to the impacts of climate change, adding that although Africa contributes the least to both historical and current emissions, the continent bears the brunt of climate disasters.
“African leaders should strongly demand urgent and decisive climate action from developed countries that were most responsible for the emissions that cause climate change,” he said. “We cannot afford any more delays; our people and nations are on the line”.
Story was adapted from Punch.
