EU puts its money where its mouth is by supporting Nigeria's climate change programme with €150m

EUROPEAN Union (EU) officials have announced that the community will support Nigeria with €150m to enable the federal government tackle the challenges it faces with regards to global climate change.

Earlier this week, speaking at the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations headquarters in New York, President Muhammadu Buhari said the government will include youth in the climate decision-making process. At the summit, which is holding on the sidelines of the 74th United Nations General Assembly, President Buhari, said that his government is taking the issue of reducing green house gases serious.

President Buhari said: “I want to announce that the government of Nigeria will develop a more robust sectorial action plan and expand the scope of our sovereign green bonds in line with our intended upward review of Nigeria’s nationally determined contribution (NDC’s) towards the inclusion of the water and waste sectors by 2020. In the water sector, Nigeria will issue a green bond for irrigation and construct multi-purpose dams for power, irrigation and water supply.

"We will strengthen solid and liquid waste management systems to attract more private sector investors. We will take concrete steps to harness climate innovative ideas by including youths in decision-making processes as part of our over-all climate governance architecture and we will mobilise Nigerian youths towards planting 25m trees to enhance Nigeria’s carbon sink."

Speaking at the European Union Climate Sustainability event held at the Dangote Business School, Bayero University Kano, Ketil Karlsen, the EU ambassador to Nigeria, said the community would back the government's plans. He added that the EU would also give Nigeria an additional €8m as technical support for effective implementation of non-climate change issues in the country.

He said: “We are supporting Nigeria with €150m for the renewable energy programme now.”

In New York, President Buhari reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to its obligation under the Paris Agreement, whose aspirations he said are enshrined in his administration's NDC. He added that in addition, his administration intends to develop a shelter belt across 11 states of the federation spanning a distance of 1,500 km and 15km across through the Great Green Wall initiative.