By Olukayode Idowu
The Federal Government has initiated a process aimed at developing a national emissions framework.
The process was initiated on Tuesday in Abuja by the Minister of Environment, Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi, who recalled that Nigeria signed the Paris agreement with the goal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees, and preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels in addition to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate-neutral world by mid-century.
Abdullahi said: “Towards collaborative achievement of this global temperature goal, the Federal Government of Nigeria has shown exemplary initiative in this respect.”
The minister said President Muhammadu Buhari speech at COP 26 in Glasgow, where he announced Nigeria’s Net Zero target of 2060, which made Nigeria the first major developing country and the first in Africa to undertake such a commitment,
marked the beginning of a road map signaling to the international community that while greater responsibility is on the developed world, Nigeria is
committed to providing leadership in climate governance both regionally and internationally.
He said: “As you may all be aware, operationalization of this Act started with the appointment of the pioneer Director General for the Climate Change Council.
“The government is further taking the lead on the establishment of a trading scheme, with legal framework provided in the Climate Change Act of 2021 for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through a cap and trade-based emissions trading schemes to meet the Net Zero target from today.
“We should all be reminded that a collective investment in addressing climate change will eventually provide immense dividends for the global economy alongside the economic co-benefits that come with it.
“Nigeria realises that its efforts on carbon management policy stands to gain from aligning our national emissions planning to
international mechanisms such as Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).”
The Minister added that: “Nigeria cannot afford to ignore the possibilities of generating upwards of 250 metric tons of CO2E annually amounting to an estimated value in excess of 3 Billion USD.
“The Federal Ministry of Environment is therefore poised to explore all options that are driven by our domestic realities and yet in tune with global benchmarks and best practices to ensure the development of a scheme that adds value to the environment, trigger bankable and commercial transactions which will ultimately generate jobs.”
Also speaking at the occasion, a representative of the United Nations Development Programme, Mohammed Yahaya, who welcomed Nigeria’s commitment toward achieving earlier stated goals, said, “The global carbon trade had in a short space of time grown into a market worth over USD$175 billion a year.
“The history of carbon markets can be marked as a great political success story and is today an integral part of international climate change policies across the world.
“Carbon credits are provided for activities that claim to benefit the climate either by removing CO2 from the air or preventing it being emitted in the first places, Carbon trading is the procurement of these credits. This is what has given birth the Emissions Trading Scheme or Systems.“