By Michael Terungwa David
It is exactly one year today that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took the oath of office as the president of the most populous nation in the African Continent.
President Bola Tinubu
Since his assumption to office on May 29, 2023, several policies and reforms had been introduced for smooth implementation of the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of the present All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government.
A peep into climate change action and policies under the presidency of Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the last one year toward attaining cleaner energy and safer environment leaves much to be desired.
Phasing out of Subsidy Regime
To begin with, like every other candidate that sought the exalted seat of power to lead Nigeria in the 2023 general elections, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his political manifesto promised to remove the fuel subsidy, which increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor.
According to the President, subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources. We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions.
A critical look at the removal of the fuel subsidy in relation to climate action, one cannot help but concur that if properly implemented will significantly reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions especially from vehicles.
Joining World Leaders at COP28 in Dubai, UAE
Speaking at the Climate Change conference COP28, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), President Bola Tinubu said Nigeria would take a significant step towards a sustainable and eco-friendly future by introducing a pioneering initiative to deploy a fleet of 100 electric buses.
He explained that the strategic initiative was aimed at significantly reducing Nigeria’s carbon footprint and modernising the country’s transportation systems as part of a larger effort to position Nigeria and Africa as the pioneering frontier of green manufacturing and industrialisation with a focus on natural gas as a transition fuel alongside other renewable energy sources.
According to him, there is an urgent need to heal the bleeding earth, but there is also an urgent need for new investments in critical sectors to leverage Africa’s massive potential contribution to the new global green economy while enabling the continent to effectively adapt and transition.
“There is iron ore; there is investment there, too. Risk management is very key for Africa. The opportunities must be translated soonest. We are moving forward with urgency, and we will maximise the value given in return for those resources,” the President said.
However, one year down the line, these promises are yet materialise. This generated concerns amongst environmental experts, climate change enthusiasts and Nigerian populace.
Setting Aside of N530 Billion for Climate Action
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, disclosed at a dialogue on Mainstreaming Climate Action into Nigeria’s Development Plans in Abuja that the Federal Government had allocated N530 billion for climate action.
The Minister, who spoke through his Special Adviser, Mr Bolaji Onalaja, said that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had been consistent on climate actions since inception, which he said resulted in the allocation of the fund in the 2024 budget for the implementation of the energy transition plan.
Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan
In March 2024, another milestone policy on climate action took place as the President announced the appointment of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Zacch Adedeji, and the Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Mr Dahiru Salisu, to co-chair the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan.
The President said that the initiative would be a concrete manifestation of his administration’s unwavering dedication to a carbon-neutral future, while assuring investors that this is only the commencement of the government’s ambitious plans, with many more impactful initiatives on the pipeline.
“In further driving my commitment, I have recently approved an Inter-Governmental Committee on Carbon Markets to be chaired by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change to drive this visionary plan.
“We recognise the imperative of fostering an environment that not only attracts investment but also upholds standardised and sustainable industrial practices.
“As a manifestation of our forward-thinking approach, we are actively looking to implement robust, enabling policies and frameworks that will serve as the catalyst for the burgeoning growth of the carbon market within our national borders,” the President said.
Tinubu, while acknowledging the pressing need for a comprehensive global collaboration on climate-related challenges, called on global partners to join hands in accelerating collective efforts towards a net-zero future.
Bold Vision for a Greener Nigeria
Acknowledging the need to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and embrace cleaner energy sources, the president gave a matching order that all future vehicle, generator, or tricycle acquisitions by the government and its agencies must use either compressed natural gas (CNG), solar power, or electric energy sources.
Constitution of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative
The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGi) aims to roll out 800 CNG buses, 4,000 CNG tricycles, and 100 electric buses in its first phase, with over 2,500 CNG tricycles expected to be ready on or before May 29, 2024.
In keeping with the promise, just last week the Presidency said it was ready to launch about 2,700 CNG-powered buses and tricycles before May 29 when President Bola Tinubu marks one year in office.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement entitled ‘Presidential CNG initiative set for rollout.
He said the Federal Government was ready to deliver 100 conversion workshops and 60 refueling sites spread across 18 states before the end of 2024.
Onanuga said the deployment of CNG buses and tricycles and the vision to get at least one million natural gas-propelled vehicles on our roads by 2027 will mark a major energy transition in our country’s transportation industry.
This strategic move is a supposed demonstration of Government’s commitment to environmental sustainability, and also to unlock new investments in renewable energy but Nigerians are anxiously waiting to see the fulfillment of the promise.
The Presidential Committee on Climate Action and Green Economic Solutions:
The move by this administration to constitute a Climate and Green Initiatives Committee to oversee green economic Initiatives and the appointment of Special Presidential Envoy on climate action is in conflict with the act that established NCCC.
The Presidency said the Presidential Committee which had the President as Chairman, Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal as vice chairman, and Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser, as Secretary/ Special Presidential Envoy, would coordinate and oversee all policies and programmes on climate action and green economic development.
Presidency explained that the essence of the committee was to remove the constraints to coordination, foster a whole-of-government approach to climate-action programmes.
And also provide an efficient governance architecture and ensure that all relevant institutions in the sector are plugged into the President’s vision and are collectively implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda on climate action.
Combating Desert Encroachment Through Tree planting
Mobilisation of Nigerian youths to plant 250,000 trees annually to honour a pledge to plant 25 million trees by 2030 to fight back against encroaching desert across the northern region was a major bolster to climate action in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
NDC Implementation Framework for the period 2023 – 2030:
Another strategic move by the federal government on climate action is the launching of Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Implementation Framework for the period 2023 – 2030. This initiative aims to align and harmonise key climate and development policies, targets, strategies and plans to effectively address the climate change crisis.
The director-general of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Dr Salisu Dahiru, during the launch in Abuja, said the Implementation Framework emphasises practical implementation rather than just setting ambitious goals for stronger climate action.
Dahiru said that the comprehensive NDC includes an unconditional 20 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to the business-as-usual (BAU) projection, surpassing the previous target of 45 per cent set in the 2015 NDC.
Renewable Energy Solutions
As part of measures to ensure clean energy in Nigeria, World Bank approved over $750 million for the development of renewable energy.
The World Bank also approved the Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project,
According to World Bank, the DARES project aims to provide over 17.5 million Nigerians with new or improved access to electricity through distributed renewable energy solutions.
Grey Areas for Climate Action Implementation of President Tinubu
There is no doubt that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration designed robust policies for climate action, but few grey areas have been identified to conflict his climate action.
The removal of fuel subsidy is impacting on the livelihoods of millions of Nigerians who are exposed to climate risk and vulnerable to environmental change. The right palliatives measures should be implemented without delay to cushion the effect on the subsidy removal and should go beyond the distribution of food items.
Allocation of 5 percent that translated to N530 billion of the total 2024 budget of N28.7 trillion to climate action is insignificant, the federal government can do better than this in the 2025 budget year by giving more allocation to Ministries for climate action.
The budget of National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) that is saddled with the responsibility to drive climate action which stands at N800 million for 2024 budget year is grossly inadequate.
The inauguration of Presidential Committee on Climate Action and Green Economy conflicted the provision that established NCCC, and significantly reduced the power of NCCC.
The implementation of climate action is greeted with several concerns as President Tinubu seems to focus more on increase in oil production in the country without the corresponding action for energy transition in the country in line with our NDC and net zero targets.
The delay in the implementation of “Project 250k” by the federal government. The project was originally designed to engage Nigerian youths to aggressively plant 25 million trees from 2023 – 2030.
Another point of contention surrounding implementation of climate action is the inauguration of Lagos-Calabar coastal highway without engaging Environmental Impact Assessment. Environmental experts say it is a potential threat to the biodiversity.
Environmental enthusiasts look forward to seeing more in the implementation of climate action plans in line with the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. In this administration new year, this administration must effectively engage in the multilateral and international engagement to attract both quality and quantity of climate.
We need accelerated climate adaptation investment and action to advance development and climate resilience Nigeria. It is cheaper to spend one naira to prevent disaster than to spend 100 naira for disaster response.
Dr Michael Terungwa David (Founder, GIFSEP; Africa Regional Coordinator, Citizens Climate International; and Coordinator, Vote4ClimateNG Campaign)
