Reworking Nigeria’s climate change management tools

Changing weather and climate phenomena are impacting the world in diverse ways. Frequent high impact weather phenomena such as floods, drought, storms, tornadoes, as well as increasingly unpredictable weather being experienced all over the world are attributed to climate change and global warming, all of which have dominated global discourse.    One of the greatest […]

Changing weather and climate phenomena are impacting the world in diverse ways. Frequent high impact weather phenomena such as floods, drought, storms, tornadoes, as well as increasingly unpredictable weather being experienced all over the world are attributed to climate change and global warming, all of which have dominated global discourse.  

 One of the greatest challenges mankind is now contending with is how to arrest further rise in global temperature, manage the hazards of extreme weather resulting from the damage already done to the atmosphere and ensure sustainable development.

 Nigeria is highly vulnerable to climate change based on the Maplesoft Climate Change Vulnerability Index which places the country as the 3rd most vulnerable country in the world. 

To get out of this, it requires decisive and coordinated action.

Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are one of those human activities with huge negative consequences on climate change and coordinated global actions are being taken to reduce GHG. In Nigeria, GHG is a huge problem but there are also efforts to put the country on the map of the countries working to reduce it.

One of those actions is the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emission (INDC).

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Nigeria is considerably impacted by climate change. The north  of  the  country,  for  example,  is  highly  vulnerable  to  drought while the south to erosion. 

A  recent  Pew  Research Center  global  attitudes  survey found  that  65 percent  of  Nigerians  are  very  concerned  about  the threat climate change poses,  ahead  of  global  economic  instability  (48 percent).

Nigeria’s  INDC  demonstrates  its  determination  to contribute  to  the  success  of  the Paris climate summit in December 2015 and to grow its economic sustainably while reducing carbon pollution.

The  INDC promotes sustainable  development  and  delivery  on  government  priorities. The policies  and  measures  include the deliver of immediate  development benefits and   not   compromising  sustainable  growth. 

Ambitious mitigation action is economically efficient and socially desirable for Nigeria, even when leaving aside its climate benefits. The policies and measures alleviate poverty, increase social  welfare  and inclusion, as well as improve individual well-being, which includes a healthy environment.

Furthermore,  by  not  undertaking  these  measures  Nigeria  would  incur significant adaptation costs from exacerbated climate change.

Recently in an extensive convocation lecture on ‘Weather Observation, Modeling and Forecasting as Tools for Managing Climate Change Impacts’, delivered at the 17th convocation ceremony of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), the Director General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Dr. Anthony Anuforom, stated that Nigeria’s INDC addressed both mitigation and adaptation components as well as strategies and policies for implementation.

He said the country’s commitment under the INDC is to achieve 20 percent reduction in GHG emission (unconditional) or 45 percent reduction in GHG emission (conditional) by 2030. 

 According to him, the targets are to be achieved through the following measures: End gas flaring by 2030, off-grid solar PV of 13GW, efficient gas generators, 2 percent per year energy efficiency (30% by 2030), transport shift car to bus, improve electricity grid and climate smart agriculture and reforestation.

Dr. Anuforom said the adaptation component in Nigeria’s INDC is critical.

The committee included adaptation in addition to mitigation the Nigeria’s INDC.

The mitigation plans in Nigeria’s INDC contain strategies for the following sectors: Agriculture, forests and land use change; gas flaring; energy; transport and infrastructure; manufacturing; short-lived pollutants and air quality; climate smart cities and gender impacts and social inclusion.

According to Dr. Anuforom, the adaptation component of Nigeria’s INDC is derived largely from the National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action for Climate Change Nigeria (NASPA-CCN). The goal of the adaptation component spells out actions to be taken to reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts, minimize risks, increasing resilience, improving adaptive capacity, leveraging on new opportunities and facilitating collaboration within the country as well as the global community.

However, weather observation and forecasting, as well as other climate services provided by NiMet are required for implementing the strategies set out for most of the sectors.

The INDCs have now become NDCs that each country should implement. The priority areas listed in Nigeria’s NDCs are mostly weather-sensitive sectors, especially agriculture, water resources, energy, transportation, health and disaster management.

The implementation of Nigeria’s NDCs will be guided by  the Nigeria Climate Change Policy Response and Strategy, and the National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action for Climate Change Nigeria (NASPA-CCN). 

NASPA-CCN envisages a Nigeria in which climate change adaptation is an integrated component of sustainable development, reducing the vulnerability and enhancing the resilience and adaptive capacity of all economic sectors and of all people.