Decisive actions needed to mitigate climate change — Environment Minister

The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, says swift and decisive actions are needed to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.

Lawal spoke at the 17th meeting of the Council of Environment on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to him, climate change is threatening ecosystems, livelihoods and biodiversity.

He said climate change caused environmental degradation, disproportionately impacted marginalised communities, exacerbated inequalities and perpetuated social injustices.

“We must redouble our efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, embrace renewable energy solutions, and foster sustainable practices across all sectors.

“Mobilising more financial inflow for environmental sustainability is essential because it allows for the allocation of resources towards projects and initiatives aimed at protecting and preserving the environment.

“As we are all aware, environment financing is capital intensive; to mobilise more financial inflow for environmental sustainability, there is the need to implore innovative financing mechanisms, such as Green Bonds, Carbon Pricing, and Public-Private Partnerships.”

According to Lawal, taking urgent actions will help in generating the resources needed for effective environmental protection and conservation efforts.

“I therefore urge members of this council to intensify exploration and implementation of financing mechanisms at their disposal.

“As we convene amidst pressing global challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss, our duty as custodians of the environment has never been more paramount.

“Each decision we make within these walls reverberates far beyond, shaping the health and sustainability of our planet for generations to come.

“Our nation stands at a critical juncture where the urgency to act boldly on environmental issues is undeniable; as guardians of biodiversity, we must safeguard our precious ecosystems from degradation and exploitation,” he urged.

Dr Iziaq Salako, Minister of State for Environment, in an address of welcome, said that there was need to galvanise more financial windows for environmental sustainability efforts.

“In our drive to build a sustainable future for our generation and the ones yet unborn, mobilising funding for climate and environmental actions is a core imperative.

“In doing this, we need to emphasis our areas of comparative advantages and present such to the global community as our contribution to addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate  change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

“The global north who is the greatest contributor to the environmental challenges being faced by the world is offering us all kinds of technologies, some of them controversial as the solution to the crisis.’’

He urged stakeholders not to lose touch with nature-based solutions that offered natural advantages and possessed a higher potential to reduce capital flight and improve the livelihoods of the people.

“The Federal Ministry of Environment at COP28 in Dubai December, 2023, championed and inaugurated the Ministerial Alliance for Ambition on Nature Finance.’’

He said that the inauguration was to give Nigeria a voice to prompt an ambition on biodiversity finance in global south countries like Nigeria where most of the biodiversity performing critical ecosystem services for the entire world was located.

“As the developed world comes around with their technologies and carbon credit schemes where they almost exclusively determine the pricing, let us also put forward our rich biodiversity worth trillion of dollars.

“Let us remain dedicated to the cause of environmental sustainability in the firm conviction that our collective efforts can pave the way for a healthier and cleaner planet earth,” he said.

In his remarks, Mr Koffy Dominque, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Representative in Nigeria and to ECOWAS, said that FAO was committed to supporting government at all levels to enhance sustainable natural resources management.

(NAN)