Nneka Nwogwugwu
Director-General of the Nigerian Meteorological
Agency (NiMET), Prof Mansur Bako Matazu, has
tasked Africans to change the approach of
expecting finance from international bodies in
tackling climate change.
He said that “it is important that our approach to
generating climate financing must change from
being too expectant of hand-outs from the global
North and radically look inward to utilizing
whatever God-given resources.”
Matazu gave this charge in his goodwill message at
the just concluded NatureNews second anniversary
celebration and Hero of Environment Action
Development (HEAD) awards.
The DG, who was represented by Engr Mailadi
Yusuf, an official of the agency, said the call was
timely as issues of climate finance and
environmental sustainability had now become the
hot issues for discussions globally.
Speaking on the source of the funds, he said, “The
question, though, is where would the funds come
from? For us in the developing world that suffer
equal or more of the impacts of climate change
than the developed world and for which we have
very little or no contribution to causing the
phenomenon (climate change), this question is one
that must be answered as a matter of necessity and
urgency.
“The promise of the developed global North is still
nowhere near reality. It was only at COP27 in Egypt
that agreement to set up the Loss and Damage
Fund was reached, nobody knows how long it will
further take to actualize it.
“It is important that our approach to generating
climate financing must change from being too
expectant of hand-outs from the global North and
radically look inward to utilizing whatever God-
given resources, which were exploited by the North
during its industrial revolution and, which caused so
much of the GHG emissions that gave us Climate
Change and its negative impacts on the
environment.”
The DG also noted that proposed large scale private
sector investments required to significantly reduce
emissions, notably in sectors that emit large
quantities of greenhouse gases have remained
concepts on the tables of policy and decision
makers.
He advised that climate finance was equally
important for adaptation, for which significant
financial resources would be required to enable
societies and governments to adapt to the adverse
effects and reduce the impacts of climate change.
He added, “Climate finance must play a pivotal role
as emerging markets and developing economies like
ours, seek to curb greenhouse gas emissions and
build resilience to the impacts of climate change.
“As it is now, there is no level-playing field in the
approach to curbing emissions. The North is far
ahead in technological expertise that energy
transitions can be seamless. But, for those of us in
the South, the story is very different. We neither
have the technology nor the required funds to go
shopping. It is therefore advocated a critical review
of our commitments to the Paris Agreements be
undertaken, especially in view of recent
developments where even those rich nations are
having to re-open their coal plants in order to
address hitherto unforeseen situations like the
Russia-NATO-Ukraine crisis.
“Let me use this opportunity to advise that
whatever proposals or concepts we as a nation will
advance going forward, must incorporate the
findings of climate science to highlight the impacts
of Climate Change in our communities.
“It is only when we are able to prove that adverse
impacts of climate change still occurred even after
adhering to measures and advisories issued by early
warning agencies like NiMet that investors and
corporate climate finance providers will take
interest in our proposals and concepts.”
Speaking on the agency’s efforts in ameliorating the
situation, Matazu said, “I want to assure this
gathering and the nation in general, that NiMet as
an agency of government saddled with
responsibility to provide weather and climate
information to the general public, for socio-
economic development and safety of life and
property, will continue to work with all stakeholders
to achieve the desired objectives.
“We are already deploying our capabilities through
numerical weather prediction technics to issue
spatial forecasts, deterministic products and high-
impact-based forecasts, using ensemble products in
various sectors.”
