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A climate change media advocacy group, Media Advocacy on Climate Change Initiative (MACCI) has set a performance agenda for the recently sworn-in Minister of Environment, Muhammad Mahmood.
The Executive Director of the group, Victor Emeruwa in a release made available to National Wire said the Minister must endeavour to do things differently in order to achieve a different result.
“The Minister of Environment must be determined to do things differently with regards to issues of Climate Change,” Emeruwa said, adding that, “At the moment, Nigeria is not moving fast with adaptive measures to mitigate the impact of Climate Change.
“We face enormous risk if nothing is done to urgently reverse the already observable consequences of Climate Change which is already showing up in the form of extreme flooding, shortage of water in the Lake Chad region which is causing conflict between herders and farmers.”
The Executive Director also said that the country must put back the issues of Climate Change as an integral element for National priority and form a common ground for adaptation of all activities required for mitigating the impact on the economy and livelihood.
“In Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 Economic Transformation blueprint, Climate Change is recognized as having the potential to cause ‘damaging and irrecoverable effects on infrastructure, food production and water supplies,” he said.
Emeruwa also advised the Minister of Environment as a matter of priority to implement the National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action on Climate Change in Nigeria, (NASPA-CCN) a policy document drafted since 2011. According to him, the document is a comprehensive policy material that requires immediate execution.
“We urge the Minister to call a Conference of Party on the document and present a guideline and timeline for implementation of the policy.
“As signatories to several United Nations treaties on Climate Change, including the 2016 Paris Agreement, Nigeria must apply urgency to the issues of reduction of green house emission, adaptation and financing,” Emeruwa said.
Stating further, he said, “According to the National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action on Climate Change in Nigeria, the country will lose 15 to 25 percent of her GDP to effect of Climate Change if urgent actions are delayed.”
Concluding, Emeruwa enjoined the Minister to address climate change issues without delay. “We therefore urge the newly appointed Minister of Environment to take leadership in addressing and prioritising all issues of Climate Change as it affects Nigeria,” he advised.
