From Our Correspondent
The Federal Government has earmarked N130 billion for the execution of energy transition plans to boost climate actions in the country.
Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, announced this at a dialogue on Mainstreaming Climate Action in Abuja.
TheNewsZenith reports that the theme of the dialogue is “Unlocking Climate Finance, Actionable Partways for Nigeria’s Low Net Emissions Growth”.
Mr Bolaji Onalaja, Special Adviser, represented the minister at the event.
Bagudu said President Bola Tinubu’s administration had been consistent on climate actions since its inception.
“This resulted in the allocation of funds in the 2024 budget to implement the energy transition plan.
“Despite the seeming challenges on environmental issues, the administration will implement the Presidential CNG initiative. And other energy transition programmes,” Bagudu said.
The minister explained that the National Assembly had passed the Climate Change Act 2021.
By the same token, “the government has established the National Council on Climate Change”.
Bagudu said the government designed the initiative to further evolve sustainable ways of financing climate change actions. This is to ensure low carbon emissions.
He thanked the organisers of the programme, urging all stakeholders, including government, Civil Society Organisations, local and international donor organisations to support the process of unlocking climate change actions financing in Nigeria.
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Earlier, the Executive Director of the African Policy Research Institute (APRI), Mr Olumide Abimbola, said the institute designed the programme to discuss Nigeria’s climate transition.
It is also to explore actionable pathways for mainstreaming climate action into Nigeria’s development plans.
Abimbola said APRI “is looking at providing evidence-based insights to inform Nigeria’s climate action”. It is also to ensure a just credible data and local realities-driven transition.
“Our aim on climate action in Africa is to serve as a resource hub that provides real, factual, evidence-based.
“Sometimes, hard truths regarding the policies and actions of government and other stakeholders working on climate transition in Africa.
“Climate change is already inflicting immense damage on lives and livelihoods, especially on people who have the least capacity to adapt to its effects in Africa,” he said.
According to the director, there is an increasing need for Africans to chart the continent’s climate transition pathways. This should be in line with local climate and socio-economic realities and development priorities.
“We need to begin to implement reform initiatives directed at clearly demonstrating that our plans are fact-based and rooted in the realities of our political economy.
“For us to do this, we need to reflect internally and evaluate actionable pathways for Nigeria’s Low Net Emissions Growth.
“Collaboratively, we want to learn and identify the measures that are required in designing actionable pathways for Nigeria’s low net emissions growth,” Abimbola said.
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