By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
A climate change expert, Engr. El-Hadji Mbaye Diagne has advocated stakeholders involvement in harnessing carbon pricing as a means of implementing Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.
He stated this at a one-day Collaborative Instruments for Ambitious Climate Action (CI-ACA) capacity building workshop in Abuja.
The workshop was organised by the Department of Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, with the support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC.
El-Hadji said that African countries, including Nigeria need best instruments to implement the NDC, hence different actors, NGOs, local bodies etc should collaborate.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment, Abel Enitan in his opening remarks said that there is a growing shared understanding that the response to carbon pricing can only be effective if the knowledge of carbon pricing is linked across all stakeholders.
He said: “Today, we are here to raise awareness and build capacities about economic instruments, such as carbon pricing that can be explored to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Nigeria towards reaching her commitments in her Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
“The Collaborative Instruments for Ambitious Climate Action (CI-ACA) is an initiative of the UNFCCC with an objective to assist parties in the development of carbon pricing instruments for implementing their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and foster corporative Climate Action.
“Establishing carbon pricing tool in Nigeria is essential as this will mobilise resources needed in meeting the NDC obligation as well as other SDGs goals.
“Accordingly, we recognise that to achieve progress in the upscale of carbon pricing and the objectives of the Government under the Paris Agreement, there is need for this workshop to raise awareness amongst the relevant stakeholders in Nigeria.
He acknowledged and appreciated the support and contribution of the UNFCCC to assist Nigeria in joining the over 60 parties that have developed carbon pricing mechanism.
“It is obvious that the challenges of climate change are massive, and since no individual country can confront the phenomenon, we call for joint and cooperative efforts to tackle the problem nationally as well as globally,” the PS added.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, the Acting Director, DCC, Mrs Halima Bawa-Bwari noted that the impacts of climate change are evidently around us and has become an important issue for world discuss today.
She said that urgent and concrete actions need to be taken to address these impacts that range from increased atmospheric temperature, sea level rise as well as irregular rainfall patterns.
“The aim of this workshop is to raise awareness amongst stakeholders on economic instruments, such as carbon pricing, that can be explored both at national and regional level to curb emissions in line with the goals defined in the Paris agreement.
“Nigeria has just submitted her revised NDC with 2 additional sectors making it 7 sectors across the economy and has an ambitious target for the reduction of GHG emissions. Carbon pricing can help in the achievement of NDCs and low-carbon development strategies.”
The workshop was attended by representatives of government MDAs, private sector, NGOs etc.
