Nigeria reaffirms commitment to climate change agreements

NaijaAgroNet:

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the international community thatas a party to the Climate Change Convention and its Protocol, Nigeria remains committed to the adoption of a legally binding universal agreement to mitigate climate change, NaijaAgroNet reports.

He commended the countries that have announced their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) ahead of the October 2015 deadline. These contributions, he stated, will go a long way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. The INDCs will serve as a yardstick for measuring the commitment of parties to the Framework convention.

NaijaAgroNet learnt, Buhari was  speaking at the summit meeting on climate change  in New York,September 27, 2015, adding that “the  summit provides a unique opportunity for us to work together to address climate change and its impacts which is an undeniable issue of concern to the international community. The increase in global warming is an indication that we face a crisis of global proportions,” he said.

“In Nigeria, we have seen extreme weather variations, rising sea levels, encroaching desertification, excessive rainfall, erosion and floods, land degradation - all of which threaten the ecosystem. These developments have devastating human costs and are affecting food security, livelihoods and the very survival of our people.

“To address these negative effects, we have developed a National Policy to guide Nigeria’s response to Climate Change. Our response is broadly based on the twin strategy of Mitigation and Adaptation.
“In addition we must prioritize the means of implementing the INDCs, in terms of finance, technology and capacity building, especially in supporting developing countries, including those in Africa. This is fundamental to ensuring that collective action to combat climate change is indeed, collaborative and effective in the long run”.

“As we approach Paris, the Nigerian position which reflects the African consensus, is that a legally binding universal instrument will be beneficial to all State Parties. Nigeria will continue to champion the core principles and goals of the new Sustainable Development Agenda and hopes that the next Conference of Parties will eventually become a global milestone to combat and cushion the dire impacts of climate change,” Buhari said.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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