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The President, Society for Planet Prosperity (SPP) and the Director, Centre for Climate Change and Development (CCCD) at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ebonyi State, Prof. Chukwuemerije Okereke, has emphasised the importance of adequate finance in meeting the 2060 net zero aspiration and other climate change targets in Nigeria.

Prof. Okereke made this known while giving an opening speech at a webinar on “The Role of the Climate Change Act in Catalysing Climate Finance” recently organised by the SPP in partnership with GCA Capital partners.

He noted that, for the new National Climate Change Council to meet all the obligations as contained in the Climate Change Act, adequate financing is critical and germane. He advocated for alternative funding to ensure that the council fulfill its mandate as enshrined in the Climate Change Act.

Speaking on the topic “The Role of the Climate Change Act in Catalysing Climate Finance”, the keynote speaker and the CEO of GCA capital partners, Mr. Obi Ugochuku, submitted that the Climate Change Council should be a vehicle for finding alternative finance for climate change activities.

He explained that some of the public sources of funding that can be available to the council include Appropriation, Linkage with national and subnational plans, Carbon tax, administrative interventions, and Linkage with climate finance ambitions, while the private sources included corporate issuances, institutional investors, and catalysing private sector sources, and the multilateral and bilateral sources involve keying into global sources for support and leveraging global climate finance commitments.

Mr. Ugochuku concluded that while there are existing funding opportunities both at the national and international arena to meet the climate change targets in Nigeria, accessing the fund requires strong commitment to ensure that the funds are channeled to what they are meant for.

In his contribution during the webinar, Mr. Olugbolahan Mark-George, a Climate Finance Advisor to the Federal Government of Nigeria, enumerated different ways that the National Climate Change Council could swing into action on the financial aspect. He stated that the harmonisation of all the existing policy documents on climate finance, introducing functional structure to check all MDGs budget through climate filter, updating of data to guide decision-making, tracking of budgetary allocations on climate finance and leveraging on public finance to access private finance and global finance are crucial in ensuring the success of the National Climate Change Council.

While contributing as a discussant, Dr. Eugene Itua, the Coordinator of Nigeria’s Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LTS) Development, maintained that finance is key in piloting the affairs of the Climate Change Council, stating the need for the council to accelerate action on nature-based solutions with a good return on investment and the development of an enabling environment for sustainable development and sustainable finance.

Dr. Itua pointed out that it was the function of the council to galvanise the whole system into action through collaboration with the private sector and other stakeholders to ensure that enough finance is mobilised to actualise the goals and objectives of the council.

In his remarks, Prof. Emmanuel Oladipo, who is of the University of Lagos, Akoka, stated that climate change should be seen as a part of development and Nigeria should not wait for external funding to fight climate change because it is affecting us directly. He noted that we must start with a small amount in terms of mobilising climate finance knowing fully well the economic situation of the country, while more funding would be attracted through good proposals.

Prof Oladipo stressed the importance of the Climate Change Council to engage, dialogue, and employ experts to help run the affairs of the council if the government wants to achieve optimum results in climate finance mobilisation.

The webinar had in attendance over 50 participants from different MDGs, CSOs and other stakeholders in the Nigerian environment sector.

On July 25, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the appointment of Dr. Salisu Mohammed Dahiru as pioneer Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council on Climate Change.  The Nigeria Climate Change Act has some key financial provisions which include financial mobilisation, the establishment of a Climate Change Council with a mandate to mobilise finance, and the establishment of a Climate Change Fund, which could be a repository for a plethora of climate-related instruments.

By Chinedu Nwasum

The Society for Planet Prosperity (SPP) in conjunction with GCA Capital Partners is organising a webinar on “The role of Climate Change Act in Catalysing Climate Finance in Nigeria”.

The aim of the webinar is to share experts’ opinions on different ways through which the National Climate Change Act, of which the implementation has recently started with the inauguration of the National Climate Change Council (NCCC) and the appointment of a Director General, could work strategically to mobilise significant resources towards the delivery of these far-reaching green investment objectives in Nigeria.

For Nigeria and many other developing countries, the lack of finance represents one of the most formidable barriers to fast tracking action on climate change and achieving a green transition within their jurisdictions. In the run up to COP26, Nigeria presented a revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) with a set of investment actions valued at $177 billion. The country’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) adopted in January 2022 by the Federal Executive Council and on which President Buhari’s net zero carbon pledge by 2060 at COP26 was anchored, suggests an investment of $410 billion by 2060 for Nigeria to meet its carbon neutrality pledge.

Meanwhile a combination of top-down and bottom-up analyses undertaken by UNEP indicates the demand for additional sustainable investment in Nigeria could be a cumulative $92 billion up till 2030. For a country with a high rate of poverty, a debt of $92.75 billion (and rising), and a less than impressive experience with attracting international climate finance, achieving this scale of investment represents quite a challenge. The passing of the Climate Change Bill, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, President of Society for Planet and Prosperity and Director, Centre for Climate Change and Development, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, has teamed up with Mr Obi Ugochuku, CEO, GCA Capital Partners, to undertake an analysis of the various ways through which the National Climate Council can leverage the provisions of the Climate Change Act to Catalysing Climate Finance in the Country.

Professor Okereke led the technical team constituted by the Speaker of the Federal House of Rep, Femi Gbajabiamilla, to review the Climate Change Bill. Mr Obi Ugochuku is a foremost climate finance expert who led the process that resulted in the issuance of the first and second sovereign green bonds for Nigeria. Dr Eugene Itua of National Eco Capital will be the discussant.

The webinar will present the key findings of the report (which will also be released immediately after the webinar).

Evidence from the GCF shows that Nigeria has only been able to mobilise $118 million from the Green Climate Fund, compared to South Africa’s $600 million. South Africa recently set a record at COP26 when it announced that it had reached an agreement with a consortium of donor countries to receive $8.5 billion to support her energy transition and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Similarly, with Morocco, the issuance of domestic corporate bonds has been active, reaching a total of $550 million. This maybe attributable to the size of the South Africa market for green instruments but also to proactivity and acting strategically.

The report shows that the Council can leverage several aspects of the Act to expand the flow of climate and green finance in Nigeria. COP27 is around the corner, Nigeria must not attend merely to make commitments that it will struggle to fulfill with limited or no strategy for mobilising finance. With the devastating impact of climate change in Nigeria so evidently demonstrated by the unprecedent flooding events in the country, it is time to put in place a robust and long-term plan to enhance climate mobilisation to underwrite green and climate resilient investment for Nigeria.

The webinar, which will take place on Friday, November 4, via zoom, from 4.30pm to 6pm, will feature Mr Obi Ugochuku, as a panelist, Dr. Eugene Itua and Olugbolahan Mark-George (Climate Finance Advisor to the Government) as discussants, while Samuel Onuigbo (Rep Member) and Dr. Salisu Dahiru, the Director-General, National Council on Climate Change, as special guests of honour. Prof. Okereke will moderate the session.

By Chinedu Nwasum

Researchers and high-level representatives from relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, convened for a lunch meeting in Abuja to review an economic analysis of inclusive green recovery and transition opportunities in Nigeria’s agriculture and energy sector.

The policy brief, commissioned by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and funded by the Danish Government, is aimed at supporting the Federal Government of Nigeria’s efforts towards the fulfilment of its objective to achieve economic recovery and green growth in the energy and agriculture sectors.

The policy analysis, credited to Robert Onyeneke, Chukwumerije Okereke and Chukwuemeka Emenekwe, shows the costs and benefits as it relates to the environment, health, and employment opportunities in Nigeria’s agriculture and energy sectors.

Opening the meeting, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, the Principal Investigator and the Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development (DCCC) at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, said: “The impact of climate change is felt in all sectors; if you take the agricultural sector for example, of the five key staple crops consumed in Nigeria: maize, cassava, millet, sorghum and yam, climate change will negatively affect all of them, in some cases causing up to 70% decrease crop yield.

“This is a looming disaster and almost an existential threat because up to 70% of Nigerians depend on agriculture for their livelihood and the agricultural sector accounts for roughly 26% of our GDP. If we think outside of the box, we can explore ways to act on climate change and recover from the COVID-19 in ways that boost our economic growth. Nigeria has many things going for it and there is a need to identify those opportunities and capitalise on them,” he explained.

Also commending the efforts of the researchers and re-emphasising the need for such policy analysis to inform the government’s direction, Dr. Iniobong Abiola-Awe, the Director of the Department of Climate Change in the Federal Ministry of Environment, commented that “this policy analysis is timely, closely following the establishment of Nigeria’s Climate Change Council. The outcomes from this engagement will also strengthen Nigeria’s position during COP27 in Egypt.”

She also appreciated the Danish Government for providing the fund and thanked other ministries for their corporation.

Some analysed options in the energy sector as shared in the analysis include: providing five million off-grid households and SMEs with solar power; providing off-grid solar power supply to seven federal universities and seven university teaching hospitals across Nigeria; substituting 30 million homes cooking with dirty fuels traditional biomass to LPG; and moving 7.3 million households currently cooking with traditional biomass to improved cookstoves.

Under the agriculture sector, analysis options show the possibility of achieving intermittent aeration of rice paddy fields (~50% of total) in the systems of rice management through intensification; increasing the national cattle herd growth rate from the current 1.5% growth rate to 3.3% per annum using sustainable/intensive management methods in the area of sustainable cattle production (SCP) and improved natural forest management at about 128,528 ha of natural forests in the area of sustainable forest and land management (SFLM). The main outcomes analysed showed the contribution of each Initiative through economic, environmental and employment lenses.

The policymakers’ recommendations included a need for similar modelling focusing on gas. There was also a call for scaling up this analysis to cover other NDC sectors, model large-scaled surveys and design state-level analysis, as well as spotlight the private sector’s potential and leveraging opportunities.

Some of those in attendance included representatives from the World Resources Institute, the Embassy of Denmark in Nigeria, and officers from departments and agencies under various federal ministries including the Federal Ministry of Environment, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Ministry of Power, Federal Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning, and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

By ‘Seyifunmi Adebote

(this was first published by Environews)

The Society for Planet Prosperity is seeking expert input and opinion on the top 10 net zero measures for Nigeria and their sustainable development co-benefits.

The top ten measures to net-zero project is aimed at identifying 10 key steps and decisions that if taken in the next 5 years will enable Nigeria to meet the government’s 2060 net zero objective while also supporting the sustainable development of the country.

The project involves going through all the policy documents the country has produced in the last 10 years, including the NDCs, the Energy Transition Plan, the Mid-term Development Plan, the Long-term Vision, and the National Recovery Plan and identify several interesting measures that can help Nigeria, achieve its Long-term Climate goals.

The specific aim is to map 10 key steps and decisions that if taken in the next 5 years will underpin a socio-economic transformation required to enable Nigeria to meet the government’s 2060 net zero objective. The project presents these steps and decisions in a format that is accessible to a wider public through communication materials that can stimulate and inform a wider public debate.

The outputs are intended to support Nigerian stakeholders including policy makers, businesses, civil society organizations, and international development partners and crucially the general public, in moving this important issue out of the confines of expert debate and furthering societal debate about climate choices, regardless of people’s political perspective.

In view of this, we are seeking expert input for our questionnaire on the top net zero measures for Nigeria and their sustainable development co-benefits. Kindly fill this 5-minute questionnaire on or before Friday the 12th of August if you’re an expert in the following sectors:

Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU)

Industry and Housing

Oil and Gas

Power

Transport

Waste

Water

Click this link to fill the questionnaire: https://forms.gle/qhFJwuVDGzdQi5Az7

Recall that the top 10 net zero measures project was launched recently in Abuja followed by stakeholders’ engagement which attracted different key and relevant stakeholders in seven identified sectors relevant to the project.

The Top 10 measures for Nigeria to reach net zero project is funded by the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and is being implemented by Society for Planet Prosperity over 10 months.

Leaders of some civil society organisations (CSOs) are delighted that the Federal Government of Nigeria has considered their calls for the commencement of the implementation of the Climate Change Act, following the appointment of a director to pilot the affairs of the National Council on Climate Change.

In recent weeks, the campaigners were persistent in their demands. For instance, at a virtual workshop for CSOs leaders held on Thursday, July 14, 2022, participants underscored the need for the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, set the motion in place for the establishment of the National Council on Climate Change in order to implement the Nigeria Climate Change Act, which was signed into law in November 2021 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Amid calls by youth groups for the commencement of the law’s implementation, the workshop was followed by the submission of a petition signed by 64 groups to relevant government agencies. While urging government to immediately implement the climate law, the campaigners expressed dismay over the delay by the government in implementing the core provisions of the Act.

However, apparently bowing to the CSOs pressure, government took a major decision that appeared to signpost the commencement of the implementation of the Climate Change Act with the announcement on Friday, July 29, 2022, of the appointment of Dr. Salisu Dahiru as pioneer Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council on Climate Change.

In a reaction, the President of the Society for Planet and Prosperity (SPP), who also is the Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development (CCCD) at Alex Ekwueme Federal University Nigeria, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke, said he is delighted that the government has listened to the message sent by leaders of Nigerian CSOs and NGOs to urgently implement the Climate Change Act.

Professor Okereke, who led the Technical Committee set up by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, to review the bill, said he hoped the appointment of the new DG would be quickly followed by the inauguration of the Climate Council and the elaboration of real policy measures to tackle climate change and transition Nigeria to the green economy.

His words: “Climate change poses an existential threat to Nigeria and the failure to treat the climate challenge with the urgency and gravity it deserves is already costing Nigeria billions per annum as well as the loss of human lives and critical ecosystem.”

Nnaemeka Oruh, National Coordinator, Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE), Nigeria, said: “I would say that the coordinated campaigns by civil society, the media, youth advocates, the international community especially the British High Commission, and of course by the National Assembly especially Rep. Sam Onuigbo, played a critical role in this. This is a win for Nigeria and an important step.”

While Barr. Nkiruka Stella Okonkwo, CEO/Founder Fresh & Young Brains Development Initiative, spoke in the affirmative that “It’s an exciting news. Yes, the CSOs engagement helped”, Dr Mina Ogbanga of the Centre for Development Support Initiatives (CEDSI Nigeria), described the development as “a strong step in the right direction”.

She said: “As the President of the River State Network of NGOs (RINNGOS) and CEO of Centre for Development Support Initiatives (CEDSI), we completely acknowledge this step as one that will cascade our climate change ambitions unto actualisation.

“I am very positive that the strategic advocacy of civil societies contributed in no small way to the government taking this step.

“As an organisation, we have continuously called for the implementation of the Climate Change Act as part of Nigeria’s contribution to safeguarding its citizens against the harsh realities of climate change impact.

“It is our hope that the composition of the National Council will meet all best practice standards to accomplish this very strategic step.”

Abdulhamid Tahir Hamid, Chief Executive Officer, Global Environmental and Climate Conservation Initiative (GECCI), acknowledged that the call for the government to implement the Climate Change Act “was very effective, and we now know that the government is taking it seriously”.

He added: “Therefore, with this good development on the appointed DG of the Council, we are still expecting for its urgent implementation.

“The Climate Change Act also includes provisions for members of the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, women, youth, and people with disabilities. It empowers the Council with significant powers to coordinate national climate actions, administer the newly established Climate Change Fund, mobilise resources to support climate actions, and collaborate with the Nigerian Sovereign Green Bond in meeting Nigeria’s NDC.

“The Climate Change Fund is envisioned as a financing mechanism for prioritised climate actions and interventions. The promotion and adoption of nature-based solutions to reduce GHG emissions and mitigate climate change is encouraged.

“The terms of the agency’s being given funds to start implementing work, and all those involved in the act should be called to be included in the implementation work that will begin as the law provides.”

David Michael Terungwa, Founder and Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Food Security and Ecosystem Preservation (GIFSEP), on his part, applauded the appointment of the Director General, saying that the delay in the implementation of the Act was uncalled for.

He said: “While we commend the appointment of the Director General, it is important to state that the long delay in the implementation of the Climate Change Act was not necessary considering its importance to the extent that it took a push and campaigns by civil society organisations and other stakeholders before the appointment of the Director General.

“Now that we officially have less than seven years to act to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (1.5°C), as agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement, urgent action is required more than ever before to deal with the increasing risks of climate change across the globe.

“In November 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Climate Change Bill into law. The Act reaffirms the Federal Government’s aim to cut current emissions by 50 percent by 2050 and achieve net zero emissions as early as possible in the second half of the century (net zero target for 2050 to 2070).

“However, the activities heralding the 2023 general elections are already gathering momentum and if you listen to all the political parties and all the campaigns, you hardly hear anything about climate change and the environment, which is one of the greatest problems facing humanity today and even our country.

“From every indication, it is indeed evidently clear that the global commitments from government leaders and industry are not on track to meet the 1.5°C climate target. People all the world are already suffering from catastrophic losses because of extreme weather events. The record breaking #Heatwave2022 is one classic evidence in this regard.”