By Uthman Abubakar
The death of former President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday, July 13 has plunged Nigeria into nostalgic reminiscences about his administration’s policies bordering on global issues, most-prominently climate action and other related environmental issues.
His administration will be fondly remembered for formulating and implementing policies aimed at addressing climate change and environmental degradation.
His administration is credited with the enactment of the Climate Change Act of 2021 and initiatives related to gas flaring and environmental restoration. The Act chiefly focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change to fulfill both national and international commitments.
The Nigeria Climate Change Act provided a legal framework for the country’s climate action efforts. It established the National Council on Climate Change, mandated the development of a National Climate Change Action Plan and a carbon budget, and aimed at achieving net-zero emissions between 2050 and 2070.
The was to enable the country to achieve its climate goals, achieve long-term social and economic sustainability, and resilience.
However, while the Buhari administration made significant strides towards addressing climate change, its overall success in achieving its climate action policies remained limited and faced significant implementation challenges.
While Nigeria had pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060 and had developed policies like the National Climate Change Policy and the Climate Change Act, implementation had been slow and inconsistent. The country still faced challenges in achieving its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and its policies were not fully aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
President Buhari’s Climate Action Plan included fostering low carbon, high growth economic development path and building a climate-resilient Nigeria.
It also stated that the Federal government would expand the scope of sovereign Green Bonds.
Buhari’s Climate Action policies and achievements were practical fulfilments of his promises when he was elected president.
In his inaugural speech in 2015, the president assured that “Nigeria will become a more forceful and constructive player in the global fight against terrorism and matters of collective concern such as the fight against drugs, climate change, financial fraud, Communicable Diseases and other issues requiring herbal response.”
During his visit to New York in September, 2019, a few months after his re-election, the president announced robust plans and initiatives to reverse negative effects of climate change in Nigeria.
In a full text of his speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit sourced from Premium Times, Buhari also reiterated that “Nigeria will develop a more sectorial action plan, expand the scope of our Sovereign Green Bonds in line with our intended upward review of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) towards the inclusion of the water and waste sectors by 2020.’
In addition, the then Minister of Environment, in May 2019 at the valedictory press conference highlighted achievements of president Buhari in the environment sector.
The minister said that some of the noted achievements recorded by the ministry in the last four years were flood prevention and management of coastal shoreline.
Other achievements highlighted include: Installation of functional flood early warning system equipment in flood prone states, production of 4.1 million of assorted forest and fruit tree seedlings for various afforestation and land rehabilitation, planting of 10 indigenous tree species on 834.6 hectares of land through its National Afforestation Project in 2018 and among others.
The Buhari administration explained that the its New Climate Action Policy document captured emerging issues in the sectors not reflected in the previous policy.
During the 2021 world Earth Day celebration in April, the Minister of State for Environment, Sharon Ikeazor, called for the use of natural resources as a Panacea for Environment sustainability.
She further stated that the government has scaled up its commitment to mitigate, adapt and promote the capacity for resilience to the impacts of climate Change through the ratification of the Paris Agreement by president Buhari.
Yet, in all of these achievements recorded, some organisations and individuals have faulted the present administration for its lack of efforts in protecting Nigeria’s ecosystem.
In a statistics by Wikipedia, Nigeria’s total Greenhouse gas emissions were 492.44 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtC02e), totalling 1.01% of global emissions.
Carbonbrief also reported that Nigeria had one of the highest rates of energy poverty in the world and in its COVID-19 economic recovery plan, the government scrapped fossil fuel subsidies.
NatureNews had reported that Rivers State for the previous six years as at that time had suffered serious soot invasion. Also, in Ogoniland, a community in Khana Local Government Area complained of the growth of nipa palms which are affecting fishing activities.
The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) also called on the Federal and state governments to take leadership and responsibility in abiding by the principles and practices of Urban and Regional Planning for eco system restoration.
NITP stated this in a statement released on Saturday to commemorate the 2021 World Environment Day.
It decried the poor attention given to issues of climate crises and urban and regional planning in the country.
According to the statement, “In a nation like Nigeria, where little or no regard has been given to Urban and Regional Planning, this year’s celebration is an opportunity to sound a note of warning on the impending calamity awaiting us as a nation if we do not take heed.
“The constant unplanned use and development of what is glaringly a scarce resource (land and the environment around us) has unveiled the pervading ignorance amongst humanity of the value and role the Environment plays as life’s support.
“Man’s penchant for selfish motives has furthered the severe consequences of the abuse and misuse of the limited environmental resources as we continue to feel the increasing heat of global warming, as well as the rising incidence of flooding caused by swelling oceans, rivers and other larger water bodies, bringing man face to face with threat to food security.”
In spite of whatever challenges that militated against successful implantations, Buhari’s eight-year presidential stint was able to record notable achievements on Climate Action and other related issues, even if as a significant foundation for future sustainable progress.