President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, said the efforts by his regime to address the impact of climate change had translated into food sufficiency, less hunger, better livelihoods, and reduced poverty among others.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President spoke at a Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate.
The statement was titled ‘Climate action: Nigeria ready to galvanise stakeholders, support multilateral processes for attainment of Paris Agreement, says President Buhari.’
Adesina quoted the President as telling world leaders that Nigeria was one of the most vulnerable nations, and it had started undertaking major environmentally sound and climate-friendly programmes, while treading the path of sustainability.
“President Buhari said the overall outcome of the highlighted actions had translated into food supply sufficiency, improved nutrition, less hunger, increased employment, new jobs opportunities, better livelihoods, reduced poverty, decreased vulnerability to health challenges and higher quality of life,” the statement read.
Adesina further quoted the President as saying that, “We are expeditiously implementing programmes that stimulate gradual transition away from the use of wood stoves to kerosene, Liquefied Natural Gas, biogas and electricity.
“The immediate effects include healthy competition among private sector players leading to higher productivity, employment and faster service delivery.
“In the agriculture production and supply chain sector, we are targeting improved efficiency and productivity through the provision of accurate and timely weather forecasting to farmers, supply of drought tolerant and early maturing crop varieties, and promoting empowerment towards the diversification of sources of livelihoods.
“Beyond ending gas flaring by 2030, the oil and gas sector has undertaken steps for diversification; risk management system; insurance hedging; research and development and emergency/crisis planning.”
He said the President assured the international community of Nigeria’s preparedness to galvanise relevant stakeholders for climate action, and readiness to support regional, continental and global multilateral processes for the attainment of the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
According to him, the President said the fight to redress the impact was the responsibility of all countries and stakeholders, congratulating President Joe Biden of the United States for renewed interest in the Paris Agreement.
“I would like to express my profound appreciation to the President of the United States, His Excellency, Joe Biden, for convening this Summit at a time the world is experiencing tremendous vulnerability from the COVID-19 pandemic and Climate Change impacts, among several other global challenges.
“The issue of Climate Change has taken the front burner globally, as its effects can be seen and felt all around us; ranging from increased atmospheric temperature to irregular rainfall patterns as well as sea level rise owing to the melting of glacial ice.
“Nigeria commends the Biden Administration for the positive decision of returning the United States to the Paris Agreement. In addition to bringing about abundant green economic opportunities to the US economy, the move further complements the larger transition process of global economies to low carbon development pathways,” the President added.
He said the summit would prove instrumental in galvanising high-level political support for the implementation of the Paris Agreement and its Katowice Rulebook as well as inviting more countries and stakeholders to take more climate-oriented responsibilities.
