By Fatima Saka
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, on Tuesday called for broader action to reduce gas emission, being one of the major pollutants contributing to climate change in Nigeria.
Lawan made the call at the opening of a two-day National Green Summit on climate change organised by the Senate Committee on Ecology and Climate Change in Port Harcourt.
The theme of the event is “Collective Action for Gas Emission Reduction and Climate Change Mitigation in Nigeria: A Call to Action.”
Represented by Sen. Frank Ibezim, Imo North Senatorial District, Lawan said the Federal Government was fully focused on tackling climate change head-on, and as such, had set its zero emissions target by 2060.
“So, I am pleased to be part of this summit organised as an interactive platform for stakeholders in the private and public sectors, to engage on the critical issue of climate change.
“The interaction is coming at a time of increasing need for greater attention to questions about our environment, the importance of gas and the need to develop a carbon market framework.
“The development of a framework is part of a continuing quest to harness the benefits of nature to improve living standards,” he said.
Lawan said the summit would also discuss and proffer solutions on how to reduce greenhouse gas emission in line with the National Determined Contributions.
According to him, the summit will also look into the inclusion of the United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the National Environmental Policy (NEC), and the Paris Rulebook from COP 26.
“Examining possibilities from these efforts is helpful to growing our scope of actions; trusting in our collective ability to expand our understanding and charting new frontiers towards initiating new or more policy frameworks.
“The summit will subject issues to further technical scrutiny, before a possible recourse to the legislature either to enhance the Climate Change Act or to imagine future regulatory mechanisms.
“These endeavours amount to prioritising consultations, involvements, and inclusions in both climate change governance and matters that have short, medium and long-term implications for the people and society,” he added.
The senate president said the legislature was looking forward to receiving and deliberating on resolutions adopted at the two-day summit, to chart a better climate change framework.
On his part, Sen. Lawal Anka, Chairman, Senate Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, said that Nigeria was currently ranked among the 10 highest gas emitting countries in the world.
He said the country had been hard-hit by climate change, as witnessed in the rapidly drying of the Lake Chad Basin as well as the climate-induced conflicts in the country.
“So, this summit will harness ideas on possible legislative interventions, to ensure that Nigeria meets her commitments under the Paris Agreement on gas emission reduction.
“We have assembled eminent scholars and practitioners, captains of relevant industries, relevant agencies of government, civil society groups, and other stakeholders to brainstorm on the various sub-themes of the summit,” he said.