Climate Change Act will enable Nigeria tackle climate crisis – UNN

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has said that the signing of Climate Change Bill into law would create enabling rights to manage climate change crises effectively in the country.

Dr Nnaemeka Chukwuone, the Director, Resource and Environmental Policy Research Centre, Environment for Development (DEPRC-EfD), UNN, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

Chukwuone added that the signing of the Act was a concrete step towards environmental sustainability and low-carbon climate-resilient development.

According to him, “we noted with delight the signing of the Climate Change Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Nov. 18. The step will give Nigeria an enabling law for the management of its climate crisis and this makes Nigeria one of the few countries in Africa with such Acts.

“We commend President Buhari and the National Assembly for walking the talk on cutting Nigerian carbon emissions to net-zero by 2060.

“There is no better time to have a Climate Change Act than now, given the increasing need for environmental sustainability, low-carbon climate-resilient development and ecosystem conservation and the adoption of the system of Environmental-Economic Accounting in the country’s budgeting and national planning.

“The Act has come at a crucial time that the Federal Ministry of Environment in partnership with the REPRC-EfD, Nigeria and Natural Eco Capital and with support from World Bank, has already taken initiative.

“The initiative is aimed at helping Nigeria’s mainstream natural capital into its system of national accounts,” he said.

The director said that the partnership had done remarkable work on developing pilot Natural Capital Accounts (NCA) and natural capital accounting roadmap for Nigeria.

He said the partnership had pilot NCA for land cover, ecosystem extent, mangroves and greenhouse gas which were produced under the “Towards Natural Capital Accounts for Nigeria” project, supported by the World Bank.

“REPRC-ED is confident that the newly-signed Climate Change Act will help fast track the production of NCAs and mainstream them into national policies and plans.

“We also hope that the provisions of the Act will be domesticated at the state levels for maximum impact.

“Meanwhile, preserving our environment and ecosystem is a collective responsibility that requires a healthy partnership among relevant stakeholders.

“As a research Centre domiciled in UNN, the REPRC-EfD, Nigeria, is always ready to provide evidence-based advice and technical support to realise the government’s agenda on environmental sustainability,” he added.

He said that the REPRC-EfD, Nigeria, was established by the university to advance interdisciplinary research, capacity building and policy advocacy on different dimensions of environmental and resource economics.

He said that the REPR-EfD Nigeria has engaged with relevant stakeholders on the need to review Nigeria’s marine and fishery policies.

“It is our hope that very soon; marine and inland fisheries in the country will have an updated law and policy that will favour the sustainable exploitation of aquatic resources in Nigeria waters.

“All of us at the REPRC-EfD, Nigeria, are delighted with the signing of the Act by Mr President and look forward to its enforcement to drive Nigeria on the path of climate-resilient sustainable development,” he said.

By Vivian Emoni