Nigeria to inaugurate Green-Sky Programme to boost aviation

Capt. Musa Nuhu, the Director-General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), on Friday said that Nigeria would soon inaugurated the “Green-Sky Programme“ to boost aviation.

Nuhu announced this in Abuja, while presenting a paper at the closing of the 7th Africa Flight Information (AFI) Regional Conference in collaboration with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Speaking on the theme: “Green Flight to Eco-System Conservation in Nigeria Mobilising Market-Based Measures for Sustainable Aviation in Nigeria.“

According to him, the programme will create a “Green Value Proposition“ that readily will reward every eco-citizen flyer with smart eco-lifestyle incentives.

“ Through green marketplace products that profit the people and the planet green citizen, green profit good business one carbon neutral ticket at a time.

“The programme will develop, deploy and finance mainly Bio-diversity Conservation programmes through the Green-Feet-Green Initiative, an Ecosystem Conservation Vehicle that drives Reforestation/Afforestation Programme for Blue and Green Economy development projects across Nigeria.

“Green-Sky programme is structured to run on strategic green policy impact partnership to achieve the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets in the Nigerian Aviation sector through Nature-Based Solutions/Forest Carbon Offset programme,” he said.

According to him, the programme is anchored on collaborative culture to sustain the Aviation marketplace’s competitiveness by seeking and maintaining progressive partnerships to profit the people and the planet.

He said Green-Sky plan would empower eco-mobile citizen travelers to promote voluntary travel emission reductions through eco lifestyle flyers miles programme that accelerate eco-responsibility to a greener planet.

Nuhu said eco-passengers would activate future forest conservation and restoration programme for sustainable development.

He said the programme was designed as an eco-citizen stimulus programme that would go beyond open lifestyle incentives to create shared value, visions and possibilities that rally eco- consumer driven sustainable aviation value chain marketplace.

The director-general said that the move was to drive net zero emissions footprint for the aviation industry.

“The sustainable aviation policy leverages on the ICAO’s CORSIA scheme while re-purposing the Paris Climate Agreement to deploy nature-based solutions to meet the Nigerian Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

“ Through the first Aviation Eco-Label Regime that promotes out-of-sector market-based Long Term Aviation Goals (LTAG) commitment to the global Bio-Diversity Protection programme under the United Nation International Decade of Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030.

“The programme innovates a Climate Change Finance Mechanism for Green Airport Infrastructure, community-based Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Programme (Great Green Wall, Lake Chad) to create Green Jobs for Net Zero Emission Footprint for the country,“ he said.

He said the programme would be an omni-channel incentivize eco-citizen flyers to support eco- conservation programs through “ Green Sky Miles Carbon Offsets“ on domestic and international travel tickets in Nigeria.

”The global frenzy to innovate climate smart solutions across multi-industry stakeholders, multi-lateral development institutions and United Nations has created forced perspective for corporate leaders, heads of regulatory organisations and leaders of nations globally,” he said.

Nuhu said that the move had emphasised the need for concerted efforts to achieve Paris Climate agreement and Glasgow declaration to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius and global carbon concentrations in the atmosphere at less than 360ppm.

He added that “The Global Green Goal“` imperative had shaped the need for the Global Service Industry to think Ecology before Economics by creating a Carbon-Neutral policy framework.

“Also to think of the instrument to partner cleaner and greener industry-specific eco-solutions that promote possibilities that profit the planet.

“As Africa works towards situating a common position on the Green Economy ambitions of ICAO’s LTAG compliance framework, the Fly-2-Green Nigeria program leads the way to drive Eco-System conservation programs creating measurable and verifiable, gold standard Carbon.

“ Sinks across the Great Green Wall and the wetlands of Nigeria to guarantees up to 1M tons of voluntary emission reductions Carbon offsets, facilitating a net zero emissions footprint for the entire Nigerian Aviation industry.“

According to him, a UN report indicated that the African continent responsible for less than three per cent of global emissions and bears the brunt of over 60 per cent of global Green-House Emissions effects.

He said such had left the continent exposed to myriad of socio-economic, environmental, security and humanitarian challenges from desertification, the drying up of Lake Chad and Blue Bio-diversity losses within Pan-African wetlands and ocean shorelines.

NCAA boss urged the Africa continent to fully engage in climate smart sustainable aviation solutions that would meet the aspirations, ambitions and emerging opportunities.

According to him, Nigeria is home to a host of climate change challenges, most of all bio-diversity degradation and pollution.

“ Nigeria holds record for African country with highest deforestation rate hence, urgency to mobilize a common but differentiated Sustainable Aviation Solution for Nigeria that is designed specifically to ensure Bio-Diversity Conservation and Restoration across the communities.

“Green-Sky programme is the first Eco-Citizen Flyer Miles program that deploys incentive-based voluntary EcoLabel tokens to mitigate Aviation Industry Carbon Emission Footprint beyond the ICAO’s CORSIA scheme in Nigeria

“This is through forest impact programs that guarantee Bio-Diversity and Eco-System conservation to combat desertification and protect wetlands for SDG Goals 14 and 15,” he said.

(NAN)