By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
State governments have expressed optimism that the carbon credit market will not only play a critical role in tackling climate change, but also grow to become major revenue earner.
Chairman of the Forum of Nigerian Commissioners for Environment, Dr. Nura Ibrahim Kazaure stated this on Friday in Abuja while speaking with Journalists during the closing ceremony of the 3-Day Stakeholders Engagement on Nigeria’s Carbon Market Policy and Manual of Procedure.
It was organized by the National Council on Climate Change Secretariat (NCCCS) with the support of the UNDP, the EU, UK government and others.
Dr. Kazaure who is the Jigawa State Commissioner for Environment and Climate Change commended the Director-General of the NCCCS and her team for hosting the meeting.
“This is what we’ve been craving for, because a lot of things are on track, but the sub-national are left behind. So ever since the DG came on board, we’ve seen a deliberate attempt and effort to ensure that inclusivity is the key.
“I recall she called the subnationals for negotiators training before we travelled to COP29 in Baku. So I think this is a very positive step and we have to commend the DG and the management of the NCCC and the environment sector or environment ecosystem generally.
“If this is going to be sustained, it’s going to be win-win for each and every one of us. And going back, these three days, we’ve learned a great deal. Before I came down here, issues of carbon market is something that is strange and it’s really great to most of us Commissioners for Environment looking at our background.
“For example, I am from the medical background. My colleague is an engineer, another background. So this gives us an opportunity to even understand what the carbon market is all about.
“Now we have really deconstructed the National Determined Contribution, taking a long Paris Agreement that’s 6.2, 6.4 and 6.8, so that we can understand now how they can leverage on this Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
“So to be able to get some revenues into the Federation or to the sub-nationals because it’s a window there, a great window. And we’ve also had the opportunity to look at the Nigerian Carbon Activation Policy.
“So this is very important and I think what is quite impressive about this whole workshop is to ensure that if we are generating carbon credit, it has to be credible. There has to be transparency and accountability so that nobody will doubt. The value will definitely show in the global market so that nobody can come and undervalue our carbon credit because of maybe double count and other things.
Speaking too, the Anambra State Commissioner of Environment, Engineer Dr. Felix Odumegwu said the meeting has unbundled the carbon market.
“Like he also stated, the issue of carbon market, carbon financing has been that vague. A lot of people do not really understand how to go about that, especially when it has to do with the sub-nationals. Right now, with integration and this initiative by NCCC, bringing together the sub-nationals and all those that matter in the environmental ecosystem to really unbundle this carbon market issue, I believe that it’s a win-win for every one of us that are commissioners.
“I believe right now, with what has been taught to us today, we would embark on very bankable projects that can really fit into such projects that can really be financed by some credit funders that have financed such projects. We had presentations from DBN, presentations from InfoCredit, Encom and even from the Ministry of Finance. For me and for my state, it’s a whole new beginning now.
“The state governments are doing a lot of projects, trying to transition from fossil fuel-powered lights to solar-powered lights. With urban forestation, planting at least a million trees every year, these are projects that we’ve been doing. We could really get credits for these projects because they are very bankable green projects that can be financed.
“With what we’ve learned today, we will start integrating some of these projects into the agenda so that we can earn carbon credits and be able to attract some of these financers,” he added.
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