By John Ikani
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria has urged urgent action from developed nations in particular to combat the effects of climate change in Africa, stressing that the blame game should stop.
Mr Buhari, represented by Minister of Environment Mohammed Abdullahi, made the call on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh on the sidelines of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27).
The sideline Clean Energy Transition event organised by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) provided an opportunity for Nigeria to highlight its climate efforts and concerns.
What President Buhari said
“Without a doubt, we are at a critical time with respect to the world’s climate future and our actions today and over the next few decades will determine the fate of future generations and the planet,” stated Mr Buhari. “This year, we have witnessed disastrous extreme weather events from terrifying wildfires in the United States to unprecedented heat waves in India, Pakistan, and Europe, to intense floods in my country, Nigeria.”
Mr Buhari, therefore, called for more accelerated actions from developed countries that contribute most of the emissions affecting Africa’s climate.
“For developing nations, particularly in Africa who, despite contributing the least to both historical and current emissions, are facing climate impacts to a disproportionate degree, the case for accelerated climate action is even more pressing,” the Nigerian president noted. “We need to see urgent and decisive climate action from the countries most responsible for the emissions that cause climate change.”
Mr Buhari stressed that “we cannot afford any more delays; our people and nations are on the line” and urged that the blame game should stop as he called for “affirmative and positive commitment to address these challenges.”
He said Nigeria and other African countries were committed to tackling the climate change crises.
“We are committed to tackling climate change by embarking on bold actions ourselves. African nations are demonstrating commitment via the signing of the Paris Agreement, the submission of highly ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and spending up to nine per cent of GDP in addressing climate change,” added Mr Buhari.
