Director-general of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Salisu Dahiru has said that carbon trading is necessary to help Nigeria mitigate the impact of climate change and meet its nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
Provided for in Nigeria’s Climate Change Act, Carbon trading, also known as carbon emissions trading, is the use of a marketplace to buy and sell credits that allow companies or other parties to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide.
Speaking during a workshop on the assessment of carbon pricing initiatives in Abuja, Dahiru said that carbon trading will be implemented by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and private entities interested in earning carbon credits.
He noted that the recurring flooding across the country is proof that nobody can escape the climate crisis.
“We are very familiar with the flooding that happened in the country last year. This year, we are seeing signs of flooding, this time around not only in the riverine areas but here in Abuja, which tends to highlight the fact that nobody can escape the impact of climate change.
He explained that the carbon trading scheme is an aspect of Nigeria’s national policy, hence the need for the government to put in place all the measures needed to address all mitigation challenges.
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“Not only for us or for the government to be investing but also for the private sector to see the potentialities of making what is always at the forefront for the private sector – profits from the carbon trading as the opportunity emerges.”
Dahiru maintained that there is a need for the trading scheme to properly align with the NDCs as contained in the Paris Agreement, adding that Nigeria was well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
“There are a number of building blocks that need to be prepared for this purpose and this workshop is one of them, this workshop is something that has been ongoing,” he said. “Today is the validation process so that we here in Nigeria, that will be involved in this process, become fully familiar with the process and understand them and also make our input,”.
Story was adapted from theCable.
