President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the submission of the country’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) to address climate change to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Nigeria’s INDC was approved by the President on November 26 and submitted to the UNFCCC on November 28, ahead of Monday’s opening in Paris of the United Nations Climate Change conference, widely known as COP 21.
The Federal Government’s policy to address climate change, as espoused in the country’s INDC, commits to 20 per cent unconditional and 45 per cent conditional Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emission reduction post 2020.
The action plan announced by the Federal Government represents a fair and meaningful contribution to address climate change and equally reaffirms President Buhari’s commitment to an economic transformation which places inclusive, green growth as key priority for this administration.
President Buhari is fully aware of the acute threat that climate change poses to Nigeria’s development through flooding, desertification and insecurity, and many of these accrue from weather-related natural disasters.
In Paris, the issue of Lake Chad’s current depletion, which has become a cause of international concern, will be major focus of a meeting of the Lake Chad Basin Summit of Heads of State and Government, which President Buhari will attend with Nigeria’s delegation on Tuesday, December 1.
The Lake Chad is currently less than 10 per cent of its original size and little of the remaining waters is in Nigeria. Of an estimated 20 million people that lived on the Lake Chad Basin as at 2013, about 11.7 million were in the North Eastern region of Nigeria.
Also during the conference in Paris, President Buhari is scheduled to participate in the launching of International Solar Alliance by the Indian Prime Minister and the French President, where he will seek international partnerships to deliver Nigeria’s climate change response.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President (Media& Publicity)
